Day 53 – May 2 – Sea Glass

You may wonder just what is sea glass – some marine animal that crystalized into something that looks like glass; maybe a plant that creates seed pods that look and feel like glass?  Well the simple truth is it is glass from bottles that have rolled over the rocks and sand until it has a smooth surface and then is washed ashore on a beach (in other words, trash that has washed up on the shore).

We left the campground about noon, the sun was shining and it was around 80 degrees, so we all put on shorts and water shoes to go look for sea glass on the Sea Glass Beach within the city limits of Fort Bragg.  That is 33 miles of twisting and turning blacktop road over the hills and through the forest while being thrown from side to side in the Liberty.  We arrived alive if not a little bruised and sore from the ride.  It was overcast and cool.  As usual the wind was blowing in from the ocean and it was very cool.  We walked the quarter mile or so from the parking area to the “beach”.  There were bluffs about 10 to 15 feet high over the beach.  There were steep paths leading down to the water’s edge, and there were people on the rocky beach looking for glass.

I found a place to sit on the top of the bluff and started picking up little pieces of smooth glass.  We didn’t know what sea glass was until Dorrie ran into a woman that shown her what to look for.

The pieces were small about the size of your fingernail and most were white or clear.  There were some brown/red that looked like they were from beer bottles.  Dorrie said the scarcest colors were blue and green.  I found some very small pieces of green and a couple of small blue ones.

I finally had picked up all the trash I wanted to get and whet back to the car to wait for the rest of them.  The shorts and short sleeve shirt were not the smartest choice in clothes for the day and I was cold.

Dorrie returned to the car not too long after I had, followed by Rick and Mary some time later.  I know they all enjoyed looking for the glass more that I did, but then they all like to go to garage sales also, so I rest my case.  I did enjoy being by the ocean, so it was a good experience.