Surprises

Just when I think I've been there/done that, seen it all, yeah-whatever-ho-hum-yawn...something surprises me.

I've gone swimming in alot places: amazing blue waters of the Gulf of Siam, the Adaman Sea, and the Indian Ocean, the murky Monongahela River, countless waterways on my triathlon travels, and the dark, cold Puget Sound (which surprised me with bright purple starfishes). So as we pulled to the parking lot of Barton Springs in Austin, I was mildly curious but couldn't get too excited about what was advertised as "North America's largest natural swimming pool." This jaded traveler thought: How could a swimming pool in Texas compare to the coral reefs off the coast of Zanzibar?

The trees surrounding the pool are full of great-tailed grackles--large, irridescent blackbirds that sound like squeeky toys on amphetamines. In the Texas heat, I was happy to splash around in the cool water (68 degrees year around). The bottom of the "pool" is stone in large tiers with plant life. Kevin, Mary, Ken, and Kim are swimming in earnest as our race is only days away. I'm more or less looking at the aquatic life and fish spotting. Deep in the waters are pumpkinseeds, perch, and small bass avoiding the splashing of serious triathletes. I'm ready to sell my right arm for a snorkel! I float over a drop-off on the stone shelf where many of these fish are hiding. From my left side I see an avian denizen of the deep: a cormorant, head straight, wings tucked, webbed feet with a beautifully efficient breast stroke kick swims about 4 feet under me. He swims quickly across the bottom to my far right and disappears into the darker depths searching for a fishy lunch.

I'm stunned, unable to take my eyes off it and completely awash in wonderment. In all the exotic aquatic places I've ever been, I'd never had a BIRD swim under me! I came up for air and had to tell someone about it. Kevin was the first audience member of "Omigod! A cormorant just swam right under me!!" I felt like a kid who opened up the present on Christmas morning and found her first bike.

So blessed be Austin, TX where I saw one of the coolest things ever and continue to await more surprises.