Marty and I take the plunge July 8, 2017

My friend Marty is my age.  She retired from her career as a pathologist at age 61 and moved with her husband to San Diego so that he could take a new job.  But she has a home on the Russian River, an hour north of Point Reyes, and we try to get together when she is there. 

On Friday, Marty drove down here and we decided to do some hiking in Tomales Bay State Park and dip into the Bay.  Marty is an avid open water swimmer, and she came equipped with a warm swim top and an incredibly cute pink cap, made of wetsuit material, to keep her warm.  I, of course, had none of this. 

We bought some good sandwiches at Perry’s Market (now called IP) in Inverness Park and headed for our first stop, Shell Beach.  We set out our towels and ate our sandwiches with the wind and sand whipping into our faces.  Kids playing tag all around us kicked up more sand and we just had to laugh.  Eventually, we made it into the cool water and swam around for a while, feeling like kids again.

We repositioned our car, hiked down the Jepsom Trail to Heart’s Desire Beach, and did the whole thing all over again, minus the sandwiches.  Inching our way into the water, swimming to the floating deck and along the buoys, and thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

It was an afternoon of pure joy, two getting-up-there-in-age retired ladies having a blast on a weekday in the summer.  We are ready to do this again!