Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

Swim accessory for floaters??

Thursday May 24, 2012 and Friday May 25, 2012
Oscar Scherer State Park Site 89, Osprey, Florida

 

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Gee what will we do today??

As it turns out, this visit to Oscar may be nothing but beach.  The park is a lot different in the summer than in the winter.  A lot less going on than in the winter when they have pancake breakfasts and other sorts of activities.  But now, it’s too hot to do the hiking and even the kayaking that is here. 

 

Thursday

I go running early but it’s so humid I am slogging around. 

By the time I finish the stretching and weights and shower, I decide I’ve missed the best part of the day which for me is early morning.  The sun here is just too strong even in late May to be out from 11 to 2 even though I have both #60 sunscreen and an umbrella and I wear a hat, a t-shirt and keep a towel over my legs.  With all that protection, still yesterday my cheeks and nose looked red.  

 

So I decide to do the laundry first

Then I’ll  go to the beach about 3:30 and stay for a few hours when the sun is waning. 

With 104 campsites, there are multiple bathrooms at Oscar Scherer. Every other one has one washer and one dryer outside.  There is only cold water for the washer supposedly so that the folks in the showers have plenty of hot water.  You have to have your cold water detergent with you, which I do, since we’d been here before.  But I have to say that if you only want to wash clothing that simply needs to be “freshened”, cold water works fine, but for stains, not so much.

The price is right though.  You get a 32 minute wash for $1.25 or a 48 minute wash for $1.50.  Dryer is 55 minutes for $1.25.   AND one of the bathrooms with washer is just across at an angle from site 89.

 

Now where did I put that??

Anyway, one thing leads to another and when I go to start the laundry I can’t find the laundry quarters in their paper sleeve, in a jar above the dining table.  I spend too much time looking for them.  How can you lose things in such a small space?  They have to be here somewhere.  I am sure there were some left from last laundry.  But I admit probably not enough for this one.  This all adds up to a trip to get quarters BEFORE I can even start the laundry.   Long story short, it is 5:00 before the laundry is finished.  Now I can’t go to the beach or I’ll miss dinner.  Then it’s 6:30 before dinner is finished and at that point I just give it up.  Hard to believe I’m within 5 miles of the beach and there was a day I didn’t go.  But it’s true.   Happily there is tomorrow.  :-))

 

Tonight we get the big thunderstorm that was promised by the lightning in the clouds last night.  We turn the seats facing the windshield and sit in the dark and watch it flash across the sky and light up South Creek and the cypress.  It is beautiful.  I am too busy ooohhing and ahhhhing to think about getting my camera out.  But I learned last night that lightning is very hard to catch unless you have some sort of rapid fire repeater camera.

 

Friday

So now it is tomorrow and I’m out early to hit the beach.  David sleeps in.  I hop in the car, I’m there by 7:30 and AGAIN I get the primo parking space.

 

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I’ve developed a bit of a routine for these ‘great way to start the day’ mornings.  I bring down my chair. umbrella, water, books…boy I have a lot of gear.  I pick out a spot near the water and set off beachcombing for half an hour or so. 

 

I walk in the water looking at the high tide line to see if there are any interesting shells. 

I don’t find anything fabulous but they are lovely just in their natural setting.  So I leave them all and just take their pictures.

 

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Anyone from Michigan? 
Does the shell to the left look like a Petoskey stone??

 

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 What am I seeing here?

This one catches my eye.  I stop and look.  I see sad.

 

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As I walk, I notice areas marked off.

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I go up to take a closer look.

There are perhaps a dozen of them already and it is only the end of May

 

 

 

 

This really makes me smile.  I wish I could be here in the dark to see the mother come to lay her eggs.  I wish I could be here when the babies find their way back to the sea.

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I wish I could be one of the volunteers patrolling the beach to protect them.  I am so glad it is both a state and federal offense to disturb these nests.  I am proud of the governments for this.

 

 

I come back, swim out to the buoy and back, rinse the salt off in the showers provided near the parking lot and sit down with my journal. 

 

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I’m being watched.

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I have breakfast at 9 or 9:30.  I bring toast with peanut butter, a banana, and an orange or a pear.  After that I read, watch the folks coming out for their time on the beach.  About 10 or 10:30  I go for another swim.  It really is a wonderful way to start the day.

 

There goes the silence.

As I come back in from my swim a swarm of kids and their drill sergeant drop their tons of gear right next to me. 

 

I assume this is a school class field trip of some sort.   The teacher in lime green makes sure those kids pretty much never even get their feet in the water even though it is shallow for at least 30 feet out from shore and there are no waves other than lapping.  It is funny to hear her commanding  “Line up.  Ladies and Gentlemen get your buckets”.

 

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Four mothers seem to stand around and talk on their cell phones and eventually use them to take pictures.

 

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“Line up”. 
The commander divides the kids into “teams” and sets each one up to make what she calls sand sculptures.  I hear the kids talking about mermaids, dolphins, sea turtles.   She goes around to each group and asks “Do you have a plan?  You have to have a plan”. Yes they were that close, I could hear every word clearly.

 

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A few minutes later the commander comes by and dumps little plastic sand molds in the middle of each group and says “Mermaid? No no you can’t do that.  Build a castle”.   I think - What????  

 

They no more get started on one event when 5 minutes later she calls 

“Line Up” 

and they rush off to do something else. They never did get to finish their “castles”.   I wonder if her tactics are because all the kids are ADD or our children’s attention spans are becoming short because the teacher is ADD. 

 

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“Line up”. 

They disappear for nearly an hour.  Lunch??


I go out for another swim in the warm lovely CALM water.  Here they come  back at the sand castle task and then the teacher is pouring water on the kids.

 

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“Line Up.” 

Rather than let them just get a bucket of water each for their “team castles”, they line up and she steps 2 steps back and fills the buckets with water.   I’m almost hysterical watching this.   I know teaching is a difficult job.  I did it in a former life, but I want to walk over. put my arm around her and say gently “just lighten up, there are 5 adults here, you don’t have to control every moment, let them play, let them create on their own, they are children”.

 

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But I do find some children making up their own games.

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The gentleman buries the ladies in the sand.

Later the Ladies go out into the water.  They try to coax him but the gentleman refuses.  Instead he stands on the shore watching them and  dancing to his ipod.  Or is he performing for them??  Whatever.  He’s groovin’, they are cheering him on.

 

 

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Today is an exceptionally beautiful day – just a light breeze and warm gulf waters. 

No shock, even at first, getting in the water.  If this were the Atlantic in Virginia I’d have to be looking for jellyfish the water was so warm.  But here, I can just go out and float the day away if it weren’t for the sun.  I’m always worried about staying out too long. I’ve done some damage to my skin in previous excessive sun days.   Maybe I should go out in a long sleeve shirt, long pants and some sort of summer type ski mask to cover my face.   That would make a great picture for someone.  

 

What do YOU think?

The ski/swim mask will be the hardest to come up with.  Don’t think I’ve ever seen such a swim mask.  Can’t be made out of anything warm.  Have I stumbled on a niche item that could make me rich?   A full face swim mask made out of speedo bathing suit material 50 SPF fabric of course, to minimize the risk of skin cancer for those who want to stay in the water a LONG time.  What do you think??  Can I pay the medical bills with this idea??

 

I stay playing and watching others play until the winds pick up and  I get hungry for lunch. There is no end of fun at this beach.

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40 comments:

  1. This post makes me feel that I am right there! Thanks for the pictures. They are super! As for the teacher, she is young and needs a mentor (ya think:-)

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    1. Oh Nan I'm so happy to hear that my ost made you feel like you were there. AS for the teacher, I know she was trying REALLY hard.

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  2. A wonderful, light hearted day.... and you so deserve it. Loved the little crab watchin you. I'll bet he thought he was having a restful morning till YOU arrived! lol Hope David had a wonderful rest.

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    1. I'll bet he did too. Wonder if he had as much fun watching me as I did the class. Maybe there is a blog about me in crabville. :-)))

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  3. Keep giving me beach pictures...I'm going to get there again one day :) Loving the west but sure miss the beach.

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    1. Thanks so much for saying that Gail. I was wondering when my commenters would get bored of nothing but beach!

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  4. That group of kids was great free entertainment for you! Loved it.

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    1. You are so right Cathie. Everything at the beach is free entertainment. One of the things I like so much about it. The shore line dancing man was a hoot!!

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  5. Love the commentary on the day. The water is just beautiful! When we were in Mexico a few years back we got to witness the turtles hatching and crawling out to the water. It was a neat experience!

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    1. I'm so glad you liked the commentary Laurie. I'm always afraid I have too much those dreaded blabberfingers.

      I sure envy you your experience with the turtles. Seems like I'd have to plan it and be on the beach at night frequently to see them. I guess they come in very late at night when it is dark dark. Just my luck, I'd fall asleep before they got there and wake up all sandy looking at the tracks. :-))

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  6. Sad to see a teacher being way too controlling... loved the footprints in the sand photo.

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    1. So glad you liked the footprints photo Jeannie. I think she was just working too hard, maybe trying to impress the parents??

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    1. It was Loree, it really was such a fun day.

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  8. Sherry, when I was a kid--about 14--I was asked to babysit for three little kids in Jupiter, FL (not the island, I don't think). Flew all the way from NY in a prop airplane to West Palm Beach. The house was right on (feet from) the Loxahatchee River on six acres of land that was a fernery. Have a great story about an encounter with a manatee, but I'll save that for another day.

    Anyway, at the time, the road we walked to "town" on was sea shells and sand. In the town was a package store, a post office and a drug store of sorts. I've always wanted to see how much it changed; then, again, maybe I don't.

    I went one night to a beach with a friend of the family who was a game warden to watch for turtles that came up on the beach, dug their holes, and returned to the sea. It was a very laborious process--the Mother turtle, oddly enough, cried gelatin tears all through. The one we watched layed a 157 eggs (I have never forgotten) as we counted them--they looked like ping pong balls. The game warden carried a gun and told me that people sometimes would cut their flippers and tails off for soup (how cruel)--he said he was allowed to shoot them if he caught them. Kids sometimes would sit on them as they got way up safely on the beach and on the way back--as if her job was not difficult enough.

    Well, my goodness. I've just about written a post. You and David are always in my thoughts--if you are ever in Atlanta--my home is your home. My daughter and I never made it to St. Augustine and we drove in blinding rain all the way from the coast almost to Macon. No wind, fortunately.

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    1. Your comment was a great one. I know everyone will enjoy reading as much as I did. So sorry to hear about your trip down the coast. Perhaps another time?? We hardly had anything from the storm.

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    2. Allowed to shoot them? Not that I would mind, necessarily...

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    3. Rox, I think blogger has posted this in the wrong place. It doesn't seem to be a comment to my comment on Hobopals comment. Blogger clearly has no brain. So help me out here.....Shoot what? The kids? The dancer? My swim face mask idea?

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    4. Hobopals wrote: "The game warden carried a gun and told me that people sometimes would cut their flippers and tails off for soup (how cruel)--he said he was allowed to shoot them if he caught them." That's what Good Luck Duck was referring to...I'm with Good Luck on that one...although, I would think the ability to arrest seems more likely than actually using the gun for its lethal purpose.

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  9. The last time I volunteered at Pea Island NWR, I was on nest patrol. The eggs hatch overnight as well. I was thrilled to be able to help the little turtles make it to the sea on their own. The ghost crabs were the biggest problem.

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    1. That's the job I need Judy, nest patrol. Where do I apply?? Ghost crabs hurt the eggs? Aren't they about the size of the eggs?

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  10. Those kids deserve a prize for staying out of the water. As a child, that temptation would be really hard to resist.

    Cute crab picture!

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    1. Glad you liked the crab! Maybe the teacher kept the kids going from one thing to another at lightning speed so they wouldn't have time for temptation.

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  11. This must have been a class for children who were too creative. They're sent there to stifle their urge to use their imagination. [Notice the three homophones I squoze in?]

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    1. I really appreciate the educational benefit of your comment. Homophones indeed. :-) You raise the level of this blog considerably. Thanks so much!!

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  12. Thanks for the beach day. I am going through an "I miss Florida" day. It was good to see the beach.

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    1. It's great to hear that I'm not driving all my commenters away with nothing but beach days. There are a couple more to come. I'm glad you'll be along.

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  13. Add a solar powered fan to that floater's mask and I think you might just have something. Pay the medical bills? Let's let Medicare do that and we will go sailing with your new royalties! ;)

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    1. A fan while you are floating on the cool gulf waters in the cool gulf breezes? Are you kidding? No thanks. Leave it to you to think of such a thing. Well yes if Medicare will pay ALL the bills which is yet to be seen.

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  14. As usual your blog is a treat. Too bad about the "line-up" teacher. The kids would've had so much more fun if she'd been less demanding. Maybe she was inhibited by the parent's presence. That "sad" shell couldn't be more wonderful. I think I would've had to take it home. It's always interesting to watch the beach through your eyes.

    As for me, I would've commented here sooner, BUT. Like those lost quarters you couldn't find (how well I know that experience--something is right in front of me, I overlook it SEVERAL times---then, maybe I see it. Or get my husband to come look. Being the other looker is a job we share equally!) Anyway, back to the point. I was LOOKING in my head trying to find the name of the book that I read a few years ago about the Turtle Lady. Husband read it, too. He remembered the story, but not the name or author of the book. I thought and thought. Finally, sometime in the overnight hours, it hit me. Checked with Amazon. Yes. The book is "The Beach House" by Mary Alice Monroe. Because of reading that book, I knew something about the efforts to save sea turtles.

    Hope things are going well for you and David. You know I look forward to your posts. Rose

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    1. Oh Rose I'm so happy you find the blog a treat. I'm flattered that you enjoy looking at things through my eyes. I was wondering where you were. I look forward to your comments. Thank you so much for the title and author of the book. I'm going to see if I can get a copy of it to read.

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  15. Like the beach but sure don't miss the Florida humidity. It was 3% yesterday here in New Mexico. I didn't even know humidity could be that low!

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    1. Goodness 3% it's a wonder you all don't dry up like grapes into raisins. :-) My skin would be crying uncle. I had quite a bit of trouble with my eyes in the dry southwest last year. Humidity here was 61% today, not toooo bad but much better by the water than inland that's for sure.

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  16. I'm with you...would love to see those baby sea turtles make their way to the water!!
    As for the teacher...well, I'm a retired teacher of 35 years. Sounds like she may be a little ADD herself or just simply a control freak. Anyway, lots of creativity might have been lost!!

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    1. Welcome Happytrails. Thanks for the comment. I totally agree and hope maybe she will relax and lighten up as she accumulates experience. 35 years teaching is quite an accomplishment. Congratulations!

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  17. I think that crab was sizing you up to see if he could finshing you in just one meal! ;c)

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    1. He definitely had big eyes but I don't think his stomach could keep up.

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  18. Keep on sending the beach pictures! It'll be a few more months until I see one! In the meantime, I will be loving the mountains and cooler temps we are having! Yep - we have arrived in PA. :-)

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    1. Thanks Tricia for the vote on beach pictures. I do think your plan beats my current one. Cool mountains - better idea for sure!

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  19. Sounds like the teacher was ADD - she should have just let them play. The worst was telling them to make a plan and then vetoing their plan to make a mermaid - why not a mermaid??? As for the lost quarters, that sort of thing happens to me a lot, as you well know ;) Nice blog - just like one other commenter said - made me feel like I was there...wish I was!

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