At the risk of revealing my intense narcissicism, I am posting four photos of myself from this summer's adventures.
The top photo: Drake's Bay, Ca; foggy, overcast midday. We are cruising at the mouth of the Estero, getting ready to play in the waves on the sandbars there. There's a squid-lid on my head for warmth. Also, I'm wearing my Rocket Fins just in case I'm capsized for speedy recovery. Capsizing will happen: solid practice for rougher days up north in quest of abalone.
The second-from-top photo: Tomales Bay, Ca; foggy morning. Self-portrait. (I hate how my neck bunches up from the wetsuit and the way I'm holding my head. I like this shot because I can see how much older I really am than how old I tend to think I am. Plenty of gray hair and those lines from so much sun and wind, from so many half-thoughts and full smiles.)
The third-from-top photo: Tomales Bay, Ca; different day, cruising back to base. Sofia, my Ocean Kayak Scrambler, is a lovely diving platform and surf-creature, but she's at best a sturdy cruiser and so demands muscle to gain any speed or distance. Here, I'm feeling very relaxed from the efforts and experiences of the day. (This is one of my favorite photos.)
The fourth or bottom photo: Del Monte Beach, Monterey, Ca; ready for a kelp forest jaunt. (And yet, despite such anticipation, I obviously am not comfortable trying to smile for the camera. Why not wait until we are in the water for a photo? Hey, am I too skinny? too fat? What am I worrying about? Take the picture, so we can go and have fun. I know that I asked for a picture. So what, let's go.) Many otters--mommas & babies--that day.
Note: Recently, I received an email reporting that someone else may be presenting himself as "mattduckworthunderwater," as the blogger of this site, as myself (as odd and humorous as that sounds), so these few photos may make such a masquerade slightly more difficult.
