Gifts From The Sea; Good & Bad

Growing up in on the east coast of Florida, I always found sea glass easily; now that we reside on the west coast, not.so.much. I think it has to do with our water being more shallow & calm (like me) or the fact that people just don’t toss glass off boats as much. Or we use more plastic than glass now?

Actual photo of Suz beach-combing and eating sea glass. Hey, I needed to get my protein somewhere.

Kelly and I love to peruse the Bahama beaches for sea glass, but we.can.not.walk.by.garbage. So we always bring an empty bag for garbage and either a cup or our pockets for our glass treasures.

Our first two days on the island we walked directly across the street from our rental to a nice beach area; there were hardly any shells and only a bit of sea glass and a bit of litter. I was disappointed in the sea for those two days and I hope the sea felt it.

My first two days worth of treasures. BTW, we always refer to small pieces of driftwood like this one as ocean pencils; you know in case you need to write a letter to a mermaid.

Two days later, we were actually with a group of the songwriters who arranged for a beach clean up. Kelly and I were the first ones there, being professional litter gathering nerds and all. This was happening just a bit down the road on the other side of a small hotel. Five minutes into our clean up, and what.do.you.know? Wam, Bam, Thank You Sea Glass Mam we struck gold. I was cleaning up garbage, but also spying all the glass. I made eye contact with Kelly who was about 20 feet away and we had a telepathic moment: she also saw all the glass.

It was coming UP from the sea and landing at our feet. NIRVANA!

*suz looks around to see if she was on camera*

WAIT. I’M HERE FOR A CLEANUP SESSION, NOT MY OWN PLEASURE.

We worked as a great team cleaning up a large portion of the beach; I found three toothbrushes, several shoes, shoe inserts, bottle caps, boat parts, plastic, rope, and water bottles. As a group of about 15, we filled up around 20 XL construction bags of debris in a few hours.

I have this weird thought that runs through my head when I’m cleaning up the beach whether in a group or just Kelly and I. I know one day, I will reach down to pick up something and it will turn out to be either a severed hand or a set of dentures (always with the teeth); that is when I’ll retire my clean-up bag. Until then I’m all in.

RETURN TO THE SCENE OF JOY THE CRIME

Later on, we headed back to our newly discovered Haven. It was almost too easy. Sea glass, here. Sea glass, there. Sea glass, every damn where.

I want need you to know that I am a purist when it comes to sea glass; I do not take pieces that are unfinished.

I threw back almost as many pieces as I kept since they weren’t fully cooked yet.

I had to stop myself every once in a while, look up and make sure Kelly was still in the vicinity and that we’d not accidentally wandered off to Cuba.

MOTHER NATURE SAID YOU HAVE ENOUGH

Three times at Sea Glass Beach when we were only about 10 minutes into our hunt, the damn rain would come out of nowhere. We would have to trot all the way back to the house holding the cup of sea glass , bag of litter, also me holding my boobs because when I go on vacation my boobs also go on vacation.

I just realized that I lied when I said I didn’t get any exercise last week: squatting, crouching and trotting while holding boobs does count as exercise!

My haul for the week. Note the three little pieces of blue (sky vodka) those made me giddier than fifteen year old Suz getting a new poster of Adam Ant!

Someone asked me what I did with my collected sea glass and without a thought I answered that I placed spells on them and then slipped them into the pockets of those who’ve wronged me.

Why, why, do I not have super powers?

My Aunt and Uncle have been staying on Marco Island for two months this winter and they complained that there isn’t any sea glass to be found. I’m now saving some wine bottles for the Coach to toss far out when he’s fishing. This is the kind of littering I can get behind.

Have you found sea glass before? Is this a new concept? Do you think I’m shellfish for keeping it?

xoxo

32 thoughts on “Gifts From The Sea; Good & Bad”

  2. I don’t think I’ve ever found sea glass. But I was always so focused on finding shark’s teeth (omg most are hard to see itty bitty teeny teeth *sob* my poor eyes) that I may have overlooked sea glass? Your haul is gorgeous! I didn’t know what I was missing until now. Your response to what you do with sea glass made me laugh. You are so darn fast with the wit Suz! May I never mysteriously find sea glass in my pockets…

    Also high five to you my fellow litter collector. We don’t live near a beach so we make do with roadside litter. Sad to share that there’s definitely no sea glass!

    Also belated YAY to you for recovering from your hearing woes. Sorry I’m late but I was so relieved to read you felt better. Now we just need to cure your tinnitus!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I was looking for sharks teeth as well; Kelly’s Michigan nephew is obsessed with it. I thought I found a few teeth, but alas, they were shells mimicking sharks’ teeth.

      My ENT says there is no cure for tinnitus; sadly, you gotta live with it. My overall hearing has improved although I am struggling with the damn steroids. Face flushing, heart rate all over the place, and hungry as a hippo.

      It’s SO nice to hear from you Maddie my fellow litter cleaner-upper! XO

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  3. This is such a magical post. I enjoyed every moment. More, please?
    I’ve never found sea glass while on beach vacations, but it’s right up my alley. I would love to make sun catchers out of them. However, I do like your idea of slipping them into the pockets of those who wronged you. So many ideas, so little time…

    Liked by 1 person

    1. So many ideas…so little time. I agree.
      A sea glass suncatcher would be magical in your window, right? Disco balls on one side, gifts from the sea on the other.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Living near Lake Erie, I was a sea glass girl for a while there. (Lake glass?) As soon as I saw your bits of blue, I smiled–The Coveted Colour! There are many artists in our area who use Lake Erie glass in their jewelry.

    I love your commitment to keeping the shoreline clean and safe; I also love your commitment to giving your whole body The Vacation Experience. My own boobs are almost constantly on vacation since I am not…amply endowed. A simple cami gets the job done there.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I have a friend who lives on Prince Edward Island who made me a sea glass necklace that I treasure! I get you, girl! I was in a store the other day and I saw some sea glass jewellery that said it was “cultured’ sea glass. So now people are “growing” sea glass, like pearls, I guess???
    Hilarious post, Suz. Thanks for sharing!

    Deb

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Cultured sea glass? My first thought was WHAT ARE YOU SAYING DEB?
      Then I put on my thinking cap and figured maybe it was ‘tumbled’ glass. Do you remember the old-time rock tumblers? My brother had one as a kid. But I looked into it: Cultured sea glass is just fake manufactured glass to look like sea glass.
      I’m sure it’s pretty, but nothing like the necklace your sweet friend gave to you.

      thanks for your note today; I love hearing from you.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. You cracked me up in this post. So many times . . . ending up in Cuba, holding your boobs, always with the teeth. Bah, ha, ha.

      Nice of you to gather litter while looking for treasures. I love your finds. Well done. I have found lake glass . . . from Lake Michigan. Does that count? I might have a few pieces here and there from visits to Florida.

      And no, I don’t think you’re shellfish. 😉

      Liked by 1 person

  7. It’s one of goals in life to find sea glass. I never have and it seems like at some point I should have, but considering I haven’t I’ll keep hoping. I like the photo of baby Suz. Cute tummy!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You need to plan a trip to the beach and get some sea glass soon.
      Thanks for the sweet comment BTW: I still have that cute tummy; even more so after vacation.😳

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Oh boy, did I love Adam Ant. I had a boyfriend in college who could do his weird dance move with the knees to the ground.

    Nope, I’ve never found any sea glass, but have always thought it would be fun. I’ve rarely even found decent sea shells, besides Palm Beach. We did find sand dollars on Coronado off of San Diego. That’s about it for beach finds. Maui had zippo of anything!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Well, if you can plan a trip to the Abacos Islands, I know a sweet spot where you can find shells, beach glass and some litter too!

      I should have stated in the post that the Coach ‘heard’ from someone on the island that the Bahamian government actually allows cruise ships to dump garbage off their ships when they are offshore in the Atlantic. NOT HUMAN WASTE or PLASTIC. But everything else. How horrible is that? This is why there is lots of sea glass and litter. *sigh*

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  10. What a fantastic haul! I always feel like I’ve hit the jackpot when I find sea glass, but don’t think I’ve ever once found any over here on the SW side. I do have big jars filled with shark teeth from earlier days, but those are even hard to come by now. Love your baby photo Suz, just adorable!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Martha; I was a cute little chubster.
      Finding sea glass on our side of the coast is rare but not unheard of. Keep on looking!

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  11. When Tara and I first started dating, we were walking on a beach alongside the Oregon coast and she started collecting what she called “sea glass.” I’d never heard it before and said something like, ooh, a broken bottle…exciting.

    Suffice it to say, I have never lived that moment down.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. If I had that, I would probably put it in a big glass bowl as a display – so pretty. And you can still put spells on it and MENTALLY slip it into people’s pockets.

    I hope you one day don’t come across a severed hand or dentures. Hmmm…maybe be careful about the spells you cast!

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  14. I always hunt for sea glass but never really find any! I have one little piece of red sea glass and it’s a treasure! In reality sea glass is litter so you are doing a good job by keeping it!

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  15. I am so thankful you had such a great vacation. You deserve it – – between COVID restrictions hampering lifestyles as well as experiencing the actual germ-y microorganism! Sometimes bad things make us appreciate good times even more.
    I liked hearing about how the sea glass is made. I never researched it before and thought it was so-named because of the appearance – – sparkly like the sea but sometimes cloudy like it has sea foam appearance. So what you are saying is the stuff I can buy at Hobby Lobby is probably manufactured by man rather than nature?!!
    I do have a sea glass “mobile” – – – strands attached to clear line hanging from a stick. It’s pretty and reminds me of a sweet trip to a craft fair with our older daughter.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you for your kind words, Lynda.
      Yes, it was lovely to get away although, I feel through this whole thing we’ve been so fortunate with our freedom.
      Silly me. Assuming everyone knew about sea glass, I’m the lucky one who grew up near the beach and it was always just there.
      Nope, the hobby lobby stuff is fake. If you want, I can take it to the ocean, toss it, and maybe it will be real one day? 😉
      Your sea glass mobile sounds lovely and don’t we just love to be surrounded by good memories?

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