The Best Beach Ever!

On the morning of our last day together, we loaded up the van and took off for a very special beach! A beach on the Atlantic Ocean owned by NASA, and the US Navy! Through some sort of cooperative agreement, we were allowed a short time on this deserted beach after being cleared through security of course. I was warned to be very careful with my camera or risk it being taken away
(me too presumably). After the space shuttle is retired this is where the Taurus 2 resupply rockets for the International Space Station will be launched from (in the distance we could see the construction of the launch pad...I dared not bring my binoculars..I didn't want to appear suspicious...after all I'm just a nosy
tourist. As hot as Gibbs & Callen are
from NCIS/NCIS LA...I really don't
want to learn first hand about that sort of thing.


2 deer, darted in front of the van and off into the woods to some clandestine location that is off limits to us!

After a brief drive thru the compound we arrived at the beach of the US Navy. Truly a deserted beach! I was like a kid at the gates of Disney just chompin at the bit! I could hardly contain myself during Mark's lecture on dune ecology...I didn't hear most of it..I was about ready to explode with excitement! Perhaps if the weather had cooperated the day before (a kayak to a beach & beach day were planned) I may have been a little less excited....maybe...

All of a sudden, a golf ball thing MOVED on the sand and I shrieked
with excitement, surprise, terror as I ran toward it..with my camera of course! I had interrupted Mark's lecture...a ghost crab he calmly explained...usually they are out at night, but this one had come out of its shelter temporarily..until apparently I frightened it back into hiding.

Mark continued his lecture but I simply was wayyyyy to excited to stand there and listen....perhaps they should have medicated me with a tranquilizer dart. I bounded off in search of all things beachy as the rest of them exhibited some manners and patiently listened. First up, I wanted to get a closer look at that crab! There were many tracks indicating his home was a very busy place...I really wanted to put my hand in there.....but I wasn't quite sure of these critters and I am fond of my fingers...I passed and moved along.

It was the best beach I had ever been on! No people, quiet, no footprints ...only the prints of critters and seashells galore! The really good ones! I could have EASILY spent a whole day exploring such a special place....but time here was limited, we were there only maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour. Sad. So little time and so much to do!


Do I photograph in this exquisite light? Release my inner 5 year old and play? Explore? Collect shells? AAgh! I needed MORE TIME! So, I explored when photographing, and ran around like a 5 year old collecting shells! What a treat! We weren't bound to the "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints" thing. We were encouraged to take stuff! I had brought a quart ziplock baggie. WHAT A MISTAKE! I needed like 2 garbage bags! I quickly filled up my bag and started cramming larger shells in every available pocket, I had to give up photography because I needed to cradle more shells in my arms!

A huge treasure trove of whelks...
oh yeah, you know I picked up 3 or 4....why oh why didn't I bring a larger bad or my backpack???!!

A large bay scallop that made its way into my pocket......








A molt of a blue crab...quite colorful I picked it up as well!








There were HUNDREDS of molts of horseshoe crabs EVERYWHERE! But they were bigger than my arms for the most part, and so full of sand, that every time I tried to pick one up, it broke from the weight of the sand
:-(





A molt from a horseshoe crab about 30 yards from the Atlantic Ocean and others from the group checking out the treasure trove.







Mark found an egg case from a skate...he asked if I wanted it to add to my collection....eeeewwww no.








He also found a whelk egg case! Still wet and possibly viable it got put back into the ocean.


















With my arms loaded with shells, and my pockets overflowing, I determined that I now had time to run in and splash in the ocean! YAY! ...until I lost a few shells and barely got them scooped back up before the next wave appeared!






I just HATED to go! I would do this program again just for the opportunity to visit this beach again!






Kayak buddy Bobbie picking up a few shells for her collection! It was a miracle that I could even take photos with such an armload of treasures! And they sort of stunk....I put them waaay in the back of Bessie Blue and hoped they wouldn't pose a problem when I passed through customs! No one asked! And now, my tropical ocean themed bathroom has some nice additions!