Dana Point

The day was gray and misty when I left Long Beach. Big huge droplets of water that were not quite rain collected on my face and eyelashes and the wind and swell added their own abuse. Definitely didn't make time on yesterday's paddle, that's for sure!Finally, though, in the last ten miles the sun came out and it was perfectly warm. I'm hoping for more of the same today!! I could almost ditch my wonderful Roxy, which I've been wearing a lot now that June and I swapped out the donated one for a size that fit! I'm still hesitant about paddling long distances in anything else, so I think that I'll just suck it up and wear it a couple of more days. Can't hurt! Besides, I'm always chilly in the morning. I might, though, leave the stinky booties. Maybe June can figure a way to strap them to the roof racks. Yesterday I almost left them where I put them-outside of the van so they don't stink it up! June looked at me before we got going and said, "wait, something's missing, it doesn't smell in here." and of course, that would be my booties! The water has been warming up considerably, so I think I might go barefoot today. Woohoo!Paddling in I met up with Chris Koerner who met me on the water on his SUP with his dog! Then we were joined by the Ocean County Sheriff folks who escorted me on with their fire hoses going like fountains! It was pretty amazing!June and I were totally spoiled-Chris and his wife Shirley put us up in their rental property overlooking the stretch of coastline I paddled today. They also brought over awesome salmon for the grill. Queenie with one of the paddling  clubs came and brought an amazing salad and the best rice! Carl's cousins came over but missed the yummy barbeque. It was wonderful to see Gloria and Geoff on their new home turf! We'll be seeing them and more of Carl's cousins on Saturday. I can't wait!It's a little hard to pry myself out of this amazing place. The views are fantastic, and so are the people-like so much of this trip. June and I have been amazingly lucky with all the wonderful people we've met who have helped us along the way. This adventure would simply not be possible without them!