The Essential Beachcomber

A spur of the moment trip found me on Captiva Island this past Tuesday.  The pictures on facebook of a huge shell pile were too tempting for me.  I hurriedly packed a bag, jumped in the car & drove the 2 hours south to Captiva for the 6pm low tide.  I had been digging my way through the monstrous shell pile when my phone rang.  It was Hubby.  "This better be good" I thought as I stopped excavating my way through the mass of seashells.  "The ambulance is here.  I think your Mom is having another stroke." He said soberly.  So, 10 minutes later I am heading back home to Englewood trying to keep calm & not let the thoughts in my head take over.  You know, the "what if's" and the "should have's".  "I didn't even hug her good bye", I thought to myself.  I just ran out of the house thinking about the stupid junonia that would have my name on it in that big shell pile. Now, 3 days later, she is recovering from her 2nd s...

Walking out to the Boca Grande Pass for the morning sunrise show. It seemed like such a good idea at the time.  I invited  a few of my girlfriends to meet on the beach to watch the sunrise.  Now, as I am laying on my bed checking the alarm I set for 4:30 am and the back-up alarm for 4:45 am on my phone for the third time I am wondering if I really thought this all the way through? I love making my way to the beach well before dawn to watch the sunrise - by myself.  Inviting and coordinating girl friends is now overwhelming me and starting to feel similar to herding cats.  I have already packed a beach bag with lemon-poppy seed muffins, bananas, & coffee essentials. I've checked the weather and the tides.  My clothes are laid out.  I'm ready to hit the road at 4:25 am and pick each friend up in 15 minute intervals as we make our way out the 11 miles to Boca Grande Island for the sunrise. After finally falling asleep I woke to the first Big...

  (Photo Credit:  Meghan McCarthy / Daily News File Photo) While most people follow the traditional spring, summer, fall, & winter seasons;  Here on Manasota Key we observe two seasons - Lights on and Lights off.  May 1 is the official start of Lights off or better known as Sea Turtle Nesting Season.  Most beach side Manasota Key Motels, condos, & homeowners have already made the annual move to shield all outdoor lights visible from the beac h.  Sea turtle hatchlings have a natural instinct to move towards the brightest direction. On a natural beach, the brightest direction is most often the expansive view of the night sky over, and reflected by the ocean .   Environmental lighting on the beach such as street lights, outdoor lighting on buildings, and even a lamp shining from a living room window can confuse the mother coming ashore to lay her eggs and the baby hatchlings some eight weeks later looking for their way to the sea. Sea tur...

My shark's tooth jar is always half full. Englewood is an accidental town of sorts. Situated on the Gulf coast somewhat close to I-75 and even closer to the historic Tamiami Trail don't text while driving through or you'll miss it. Even most Floridians couldn't tell you where Englewood is located.  (Also on that list would be Chiefland, Alva, & Gulf Hammock & I have kinfolk in them all) Most vacationers end up in Englewood for a quick stop to visit their retired parents on their way to the real vacation destination of Disney World.  Other tourists stumble upon the beaches of Manasota Key while on their way to more well known beaches like Boca Grande Island or Siesta Key.  At any rate it's one of the best ac c idents you could have. Although Englewood beaches cannot boast of the sugar white sand of Siesta or the swanky shopping of Boca Grande.  Our beaches have their own distinctive treasure to brag about - fossilized sharks teeth . The officia...

A honey hole (or honeyhole ) is slang for a location that yields a valued commodity or resource. A local landmark or road near a honey hole may have "Honey Hole" in its name .    In fishing , a honey hole could be a particular spot in a body of water (or used as a general term for the entire body of water) where conditions are ideal for catching fish. In popular culture , American Pickers , a documentary reality television series where the stars often refer to some "picks" as honey holes because of the amount of amazing objects they contain.                        ( From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) I love daylight savings time!  The long dark early evenings of winter are over (well the Florida winter never really started but the dark is gone here in SWFL)  The sun now sets at 7:45pm instead of the earlier 6pm of the "fall back" pre-daylight savings time .  I am a "spring ahead...

What do you see?  A skull?  A ladle?  A river of green? Have you every taken an ink blot test?  Take an ambiguous ink blot and show it to 10 different people and you will get 10 different responses.  Our interpretation of the ink blot is supposed to be a peek into our personalities.  Well adjusted people give answers like it's an ant, a cloud, or Justin B ie ber.  People with "issues" say something like "it's an ink blot".   I think our responses could bounce either way depending on what kind of day we are having or the amount of stress that we are under.  Bottom line, we all see the world through our own particular set of internal glasses.  The optimist sees the glass half full.  The pessimist sees the glass half empty.  The opportunist drank the glass of water while the other two were deciding.  I think one of life's biggest challenges is to co-exist with people who see things differently t...