treasures

Long walks on the beach uncovered this...

To keep myself from bringing home the entire beach I set a few parameters for myself.

My treasure hunt consisted of collecting:

1. beach glass
2. interesting rocks with holes in them
3. pink rocks (although these looked a whole lot pinker when they were wet!)
4. flat rocks (for painting on)

Our long weekend on the beach was great. We stayed at Jalama Beach which is about an hour or so north of Santa Barbara. It's way off the beaten path. Standing on the beach you don't see a single multi-complex development or black-paved parking lot. Just cliffs, sand, water and some fog banks that roll in over the hills. It's a bit windy. The water is a little too cold for diving into without a wetsuit. But the stars are magnificent at night. And the sand is clean. No cigarette butts, candy wrappers or empty beer cans here. At least none that I saw anyway.

I'd like to do some more beach camping this summer. Maybe next time we'll bum it and tent camp (this time we slept in the luxury of my parents' camper trailer). Dust off the old camp stove I remember mom cooking pancakes on when I was a kid. Bury the ice chest in the sand to keep the ice from melting. Shower outside wearing a swimsuit. I'll never forget camping on Kauai several years back. Nothing says aloha more than hearing those morning showers sprinkle down overhead on your tent...hoping the wind doesn't just rip the tarp off leaving you soaked through.

Going to see what I can make from my little beach treasures.

Jewelery from the beach glass?

Paintings on the flat rocks?

String the rocks with holes on some string?

Let's see what I can do...