|
At
The
Beach
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Yesterday, as is my typical Saturday practice, I
went for a walk at the beach. Shortly after sunrise, the sky was blue
and it looked as though it might turn out to be a beautiful day, a
welcome change from the really CRAPPY day we had on Friday. By the
time we arrived at the beach in the late morning, conditions
had deteriorated considerably. It was mostly overcast with
low-hanging light purple and gray clouds that look like bruises on
the sky. They had not yet developed to the point of
being the dark purple and nearly-black high topped cumulus clouds which, without warning, may at any
second emit terrifying (and spectacularly beautiful) lightning, so I decided to chance
it.
The wind was blowing
steadily out of the north, which is more or less typical for this
time of the year. It was not cold however, which is somewhat unusual.
The seas were slightly choppy, but not as rough as I would
have expected given the strength of the wind. Close in, the
sea was frothy, the deeper water was gunmetal
gray. (Why do you think they paint ships that color?) At the
horizon it was hard to tell where the sea left off and the sky began.
I only saw one
boat the whole time: the casino boat from Ponce Inlet. I guess
gamblers need their fix regardless of the weather.
The seaweed
was just awful. Usually seaweed lies in a single line right along the
high tide line. It was about half way between high and
low tides and the sea was dropping seaweed all the way
across the beach. I had to pick my way along so as not to step on
anything I couldn't see. [I walk barefoot and I am VERY conscious
of where I step.] The smell of the seaweed was bad enough, but on
top of that a Red Tide condition
that has cropped up on and off Daytona Beach for what seems like
weeks seemed to be "on". It didn't bother me a lot at first,
but after an hour or so, I realized I was uncomfortable and then I
started coughing. I cut my walk short.
A winter beach, particularly one that
is smelly with seaweed and choking with Red Tide fumes (or
whatever it is),
tends to be relatively uncrowded. A couple
of fishermen tried their luck in the surf. What a waste of
time that seemed to be with all that seaweed, but I
know that fishing is not always about catching fish. A few surfers paddled
around waiting for a wave. Several dedicated beach-walkers besides me picked
their way along the shore. Two intrepid
vacationing families spread their stuff and sat around in beach
chairs, kids building sand castles, apparently waiting for the sun to come
out.
Despite the smell I wandered
along the beach for a few miles trying to ignore the monkey-chatter
in my mind which was going on and on about all
the wonderful things I could come home and write about. It was
very relaxing and enjoyable, particularly since it was about the only
fresh air (well, with the smells, I'm not sure that's an appropriate term) I had
experienced all week. Finally the unpleasantness of the smells caused
me to turn around and head back toward the car before I ordinarily would have.
On
my return trip, I took a mental inventory of the the flotsam
and jetsam mingled with the seaweed. I saw:
-
enough small
Portugese man-o'-war jelly-fish to make me really careful about where
I stepped
-
one beer can (that
was unusual; typically I see lots of cans of all
types)
-
many broken pieces
of glass (very scary stuff for a barefoot long-distance
walker)
-
pieces of lumber of
various sizes and shapes, most of them broken, some with nails
sticking out (ditto)
-
birthday party
balloons and ribbons (bad for the birds!)
-
plastic cutlery
(probably from that birthday party)
-
lots of broken
pieces of Styrofoam of various thickness and
colors
-
several large
tangled globs of fishing line
-
one very large and
rusted deep sea fishing hook with four
barbed hooks (very, very scary for a barefoot long-distance
walker who was at that point a couple of miles from the
car)
-
a bunch of shoes
(only one of each style)
-
plastic and glass
bottles of every size and description, some relatively clean and
new-looking, some encrusted with barnacles after a long time at
sea
-
a paint
brush
-
the top of a
plastic tissue dispenser
-
a plastic toilet
seat cover (exactly how does one lose something like
that???)
I personally love the beach when it is not sunny and not crowded.
As a former
vacationer, however, I always feel a little bad for the tourists
when the beach is crappy. I can come back tomorrow or next week or
the week after. They only have a few days. I feel bad for them.
I think that may make me the only
full-time Florida resident who has compassion for the
tourists. When I feel like that, I try to sit
down and rest until the feeling passes.
Back to Recent
Posts |