Tuesday and Wednesday evenings we went for beach walks and stayed until sunset.

On Wednesday night, we were with our son and daughter-in-law at our favorite beach. Everyone but me went swimming or boogie boarding. The waves were unusually big. This area is known for having the “world’s safest beach.” Normally there isn’t a current, rip tides or big waves. Wednesday was different.

My husband, son and DIL were out in the ocean in front of our beach chairs and umbrellas. After a few waves, they were way down the beach. When they walked back from the other end of the beach, they said there was a really strong current.

There were only four other people on the beach that evening — a couple including a stunning brunette woman under a pop up tent and two ladies walking their golden retriever.

The brunette jumped into the ocean. She was getting knocked around by the waves, right and left. We watched her swimming and diving under the waves and she looked like she had it under control. Her boyfriend was sound asleep under their pop-up tent.

We were sitting on the sand when my husband said, “Where did she go?” We couldn’t spot the brunette in the ocean. Since my husband had fought the current earlier, he walked down the beach to where he ended up. He spotted her more than a quarter of mile away. He called to her and asked if she was okay. Finally, she gave him a thumbs up.

The brunette walked up the beach to us. “I could have died out there. That’s my new boyfriend and he was asleep,” she said pointing to the man face down under the pop-up tent.

She and my husband talked about how strong the current was. He explained he was worried when she was out of sight. He said he could tell she was afraid and struggling. He wanted to make sure she was okay. She asked our names and introduced herself, Jennifer Lopez. She offered to buy us dinner downtown Santa Barbara next week to thank us.

I said, “No, that’s okay.” My son and DIL said, “You should do it!”

Jennifer said she was thankful someone was looking out for her.

Tip: If you’re swimming in the ocean, you need to have someone with eyes on you in case you need help.

Another Rescue Story:

More than ten years ago in Laguna Beach, my daughter and husband were at the beach after the lifeguards were done for the day. They noticed two panicked people stuck in a rip tide. My daughter, a swimmer and lifeguard herself, charged into the ocean and got them to calm down and helped them. My husband joined her and they got the two people to shore. Walking back to the cottage we rented that summer, my daughter noticed a neighbor’s dog out in the street. She called the dog and brought him back to his owner.

P.S. No, it wasn’t THAT Jennifer Lopez, but she said it was her legal name.

What are your plans for the last week of summer?

Sunset at the beach.