BEACH WALK

The tourists have thinned out a little. Not much, but if we go to the beach early, it isn't crowded.

Our beach has changed a lot during the past ten years. Here we're standing on the beach looking back toward the shore. This beach used to be a sandbar that was unaccessible at high tide. Now it's connected all the time, with several large tidal pools at low tide as seen below.

Where once the river flowed between the sandbar and the beach and back to the sea, has now become the tidal pools. This is the end of the river. If you could walk to the left, you'd come over to the houses.

As I said, a few people were out, including this paddle-boarder.

And a guy playing with his dogs.

And this bird. I don't know what it is but I'm sure someone does. He reminded me of a sandpiper except bigger.

He was a cutie, running in and out of the waves!

WALK ON THE BEACH

We went over to the beach to walk yesterday morning. There weren't a lot of people but there were some pretty shells like these:

And evidently a swarm of jelly fish had been caught by the tide because there were a lot of dead ones on the sand. We had to watch where we stepped. Here's one:

And of course, there was a car carrier in the distance. The tiny specks at the bottom are people walking on the beach at the edge of the water:

Our beach has changed considerably since we started coming here fifteen years ago.  Then, the ocean was about ten foot from the end of the boardwalk and low tide meant just a short walk to the water. No more. Now there's a little trek to get to the water even at high tide.

There was also a long sandbar out in the water that was visible at low tide. As the years passed, the terrain changed. The sandbar lengthened. The currents between the sandbar and the beach turned into a river. Then the river narrowed. Now the sandbar is gone and all that remains of the currents are a couple of tidal pools. Sand has filled in the rest. This is a pool as we come off the boardwalk. The ocean is at the bottom of the sky beginning from the left. You can barely see it on the horizon, and it ends at the dark line beginning abour two-thirds across which is where the King and Prince hotel curves out toward the water:

And this tidal pool is further up the beach. The water once ran through it and down to the first pool above. You can't see the ocean at all in this picture because it's to the photographer's left:

As a result of the sands shifting, the houses that once sat close (in some cases, too close) to the water, find themselves a fair distance from the ocean. Dunes have taken over what was once a river and then a tidal pool. Now only a shallow trench lets high-tide water into the pools that are left. I took this photo standing on the beach and you can see how far the dunes extend:

Nature certainly brings a lot of changes!

AROUND THE ISLAND

It's been kind of damp so we've had mushrooms popping up everywhere. These are part of a bunch we passed on our walk last week, begging for little girls to make a fairy village out of them.

And here are a couple of pix of our historic inn. It looks very cozy and quaint though I've never stayed there so I can't attest to its comfort.

And here is one of the last pics of our tiny airport terminal before the bulldozer got it. A new terminal is going up, one that will be connected to a new hotel. Visitors can get out of the plane and walk into the hotel, register, get a rental car, and see the island. It'll also be handy for pilots and plane crews, I'm sure.

MORNING WALK

So my guy and I were walking and to our pleasure met a lady with two dogs. To our amusement, a cat seemed to be leading the way. We found out that, indeed, the cat was with them.

The dogs were cute little things. The white one is fifteen and the other, only three. I didn't ask about the cat but I should have.

It seems that whenever Diane walks the dogs, her cat goes with them. I guess the cat feels she has to keep an eye on them, like a guard cat or something. Or maybe she just goes along to make sure they behave.

Anyway, the cat, being a cat, does not need a leash. She knows perfectly well what her job is.

WALK ON THE BEACH

We went over to the beach yesterday early enough to miss most of the tourists. It was very restful.

I didn't know it until we moved here, but beaches, especially on barrier islands, change. We have a huge sandbar where once it was simply sand underwater. Looking southward, the sand on the left is where the sandbar begins. It keeps going northward (behind the photographer and up the beach).

This is taken when we walked northward, and the sandbar continued. You can see a stream, the sandbar, and then the ocean in the distance. Around here is where the sandbar used to begin.

Still going northward. We (and the doggie) are on the beach, looking out over the sandbar toward the ocean. See how high the sandbar's edge is? The stream in the middle used to be quite wide but has narrowed considerably.

The first thing we came across was a stranded jellyfish. In ten feet or so, we found another, and then another. We ended up seeing five or six of them.

Then we saw some horseshoe crabs. Or at least their shells where they had molted. Quite a few were over on the sandbar. On the beach, we only spotted four or five. I guess everyone knows these aren't really crabs.

 

Coming back, I noticed some shells up in the dried seaweed. I suspect someone may have been collecting them and forgot them since usually large ones are found with small ones.

And finally, we came across this. I couldn't figure out what it was till I got closer. It's an orange peel! Someone must have been watching the ocean while eating it, then threw it down. And there are plenty of trash cans around!

I love walking on the beach because you run across all kinds of things.

WALK

The temperature climbed up into the sixties today and for the first time in a while, we felt like getting out. So we took a neighborhood walk and enjoyed the weather.

Along a sun-dappled road, different yards held cars, and a couple of bumper stickers caught my eye.

The first made me realize I may be one of those people out of the loop! I have been called a nut before.

The second made me think. And then laugh. Of course, I wonder how long it will be true.

A great idea for a story, isn't it? I can see the burly detective accosting the bespectacled author bent over his computer at a Starbucks. "Sorry, sir, but what you're doing is illegal."

"But I'm just writing my grocery list!"

"Ah. But you're also thinking about what to buy. I know you're about to add broccoli on there."

Scary!

EARLY MORNING BEACH WALK

We've had company for a few days but are getting back on our schedule. Today, instead of walking down to the village, we went over to the beach. Few people were out, and they mostly had dogs with them. This time of year dogs aren't allowed on the beach between 9 and 6 so owners have to walk their pets early or late.

It was great, seeing the sandy expanse with so few people on it! This is the view south:

And this is the northeastern view. The sun trying to shine down didn't help my photography, but the middle is sand, not ocean. You can see the waves from the lower right corner, going up toward the left. And barely a soul in sight! Lovely day! Lovely time to walk!

MORNING WALK

The weather -- with apologies to the northeast -- is perfect down here! Temps in the sixties, mostly sunny! We rode around the island yesterday with the top down.

This morning, our usual walk took us out of the complex. See the azaleas at the street? All over the complex, they're blooming. They must think it's spring, but I'm afraid they're going to be surprised in a few days!

So then we walked on down by Mallery Cafe, through the Village, and down to the pier. No big ships in sight but the tide was near high. Took a couple of shots of water dashing on the Johnson rocks. There was practically no wind today, but since the highest point on the island is nineteen feet above sea level -- the average is nine feet -- it's kind of scary to imagine what some really big winds would do to us.

And if you're wondering why they're called Johnson rocks, it seems that they were brought in during President Johnson's administration to keep the beach from further erosion!

WALK

On our daily walk, we enjoyed the beautiful weather and saw this Coast Guard ship cruising through the sound. Don't know what kind it is, maybe a work boat or something?

Then, coming back to the complex, the azaleas welcomed us. The pretty weather makes them think it's spring! It doesn't feel much like Christmas with the temps in the seventies and the flowers all in bloom. Really hard to get in the mood.

THANKSGIVING'S OVER, CHRISTMAS IS COMING!

On our morning walk, we ran into workers stringing up holiday lights on palm trees down by the pier. We supervised a while, then went on our way.

At the lighthouse, we heard music. Yep, Christmas music. Couldn't figure out where it was coming from at first. Then we looked up.

Evidently, the lighthouse is about to be decked out for the holidays, too. This year, that must include music broadcast from the top because that was certainly where it was coming from.

After a couple of songs, the music ended and people were seen working. The first picture shows the lighthouse full length, the next shows the workers on top. If I get some nighttime pictures later on, I'll post them here, too.

I love the holidays! And not just for the food.

GORGEOUS DAY

We walked out around lunch. Temps in the 60s. Sun shining. Blue skies. The ocean was tranquil with several pelicans diving and finding fish to eat. Reminds me of why I love it down here.

Came back by the park and the tennis players were out. Was surprised to see the cute tennis instructor with his shirt on but my guy pointed out he was instructing men. Not a pretty woman in sight!

WALMART

I hate going to Walmart. That's why we went early today when the crowds were in church.

Surprise. This morning was pleasant. We found a parking place that wasn't half a mile away. When I asked about the location of an item, an employee actually led me to it. So we whipped through the aisles and picked up our stuff. Then the rain came down.


So we walked a few minutes inside the store for exercise, then did the self-checkout business, left - the buggy guard smiled and joked with us as we left - and came home.

I'm uneasy. Are they trying to take over?

Tight Tummy

Went for our usual walk today. For the past month I've been holding my tummy in as tight as I can while I walk. Someone said it's a surefire way to a flat, flat stomach.

I don't think it works.