Yesterday's Trip to the Beach

Hi everyone, it's "the hubby" (as I'm often referred to) reporting on yesterday's sea glass hunting trip to LBI.

I arrived at the beach about 25 minutes prior to the height of the low tide. It was a sunny afternoon with little wind and the temps were in the high 50s- low 60s. Walking around with a light sweatshirt was quite comfortable.

I went to my favorite stretch of beach on LBI, an area that includes a block long stretch I call cobalt beach (because I have found 10x more cobalt sea glass in this area than any other beach I've set foot on)

As soon as I hit the beach, I noticed the tides were cooperating perfectly. The ocean was pulled well back from where it normally is at low tide, and I thought that I should have brought my waders with me (note to self, bring my water boots or hip waders next time)

As I walked towards the water, I looked to the north and got very excited. There were huge stretches of shell beds that were laying just above the tide line and by huge, I mean some were 30-40 feet long and over 10 feet wide. It was a sea glass hunter's dream.

So I made my way down to the water and preceded north towards the first of several shell beds. The adrenaline rush began when I was about 10 feet away because I knew that I would be spending most of my time on the beach in this small area because the beds were deep. It was about this time, I considered running back to my truck to get one of my sand pails because there was no way I was going to be able to carry the treasures that were waiting for me.

So everything was perfect- sun shining brightly, HUGE stretches of shell beds, with the ocean gently lapping at the bottom of the beds (acting more like a lake than the ocean) and I was the only one on the beach. The only problem was someone forgot to invite the sea glass!

The conditions were absolutely perfect and there was nothing. I went from bed to bed going north, turned south revisited the beds and headed further south to "cobalt beach"- surely there would be a bounty waiting for me there. As always there tide at CB was perfect, the shell beds laying exposed in the sand and every few minutes the water would get into the bed , shifting the shells and pebbles around. But there was no sparkling pieces of glass to be had.

In all, I did find about a dozen pieces of glass that were in various stages of what I call "under-cooked" (meaning they needed more time for the ocean to finish her job on the glass) I did find a nice piece of Coke-bottle glass, very thick and probably quite old. However, it had recently broke in the ocean and had a jagged edge. It will go back into the ocean (in an area where swimmers do not frequent) I also found a couple of sand dollars, and a few small shells for a project that I'm working on for Robin's shop.

This year has been a huge disappointment- between the dune build-up and local townships moving sand around to protect the beach (and burying the glass), the hurricane that arrive at high tide and pulled much of the dunes into the sea, further burying the glass and a very disappointing fall season, where there were no shells or glass to be found anywhere on the beach.

Yesterday, the conditions were perfect and everything a sea glass hunter wants to see was present- except for the glass. Officially, the full moon occurred last night, so maybe the glass was a bit late to arrive.

Maybe

til next time

Upcoming Craft Show, Full Moon, New Creations

Wow, the end of another year is creeping up slowly.

I'm attending a first time craft show on December 3rd. The show is being held at the Toms River Intermediate School in Beachwood. I'll have several new items with me for those that have beach-loving family/friends on their holiday gift lists, along with my Etsy inventory and several pairs of earrings, bracelets and necklaces that have been recently created.
I'll be adding images of new creations that may not make it into my Etsy shop before the final craft show of my 2011 season, so if you are looking for a piece of holiday jewelry created with sea glass, check back often to see what is hot off my crafting table!

Tomorrow, November 10th is the the full moon. On the east coast, we've had some very rough seas that have been hammering the coast line (the already battered coast line) and with the arrival of tomorrow's full moon, the tides will continue to wreak havoc on the beaches. For a hardcore sea glass hunter like my hubby, it should offer the potential to find some nice pieces of sea glass and who knows what else...?

Hubby is excited that the temperature is not yet frigid, and he'll be getting to the beach a few times over the next 3-4 days to see what the tides are leaving behind. Here's hoping the sea glass is plentiful on every one's favorite stretches of beach.

Posted above, are is my latest necklace creations, along with with a Patriotic sea glass bracelet. Enjoy!!

'til next time,
R