There are few places I enjoy more than a good island on a warm day.
Minutes from my home is Anastasia Island where I grew up and older and tanner most every summer of my life to date.
A well~known highway called A1A runs through the middle of this long, skinny island.
On the east side of Anastasia Island is the Atlantic Ocean and on the west side is the Intracoastal Waterway which runs down most of the east coast of the USA.
At the southern most end of my summer island is this bridge.
If you follow A1A, it will take you here and here and eventually here.
On the Intracoastal Waterway side of the island you will find mostly private homes $$$ and razor sharp oyster beds.
But not here on the south end where I am taking you today.
If you want to come here to this beach on the week-end or later in the summer time when school is out, well, just forget about it. Maybe you should just go here instead.
You would not even be able to park near this beach on the week-end for all the people who know a good thing when they see it.
So. I am taking you here on a Tuesday.
I hope you brought your SPF 15, at the very least.
I am taking you here during low tide so we will have a beach to walk on.
You want high tide, you better be in a kayak or something.
Watch where you step, please.
If the shorebirds are hanging out on this stretch of beach, they have priority.
Be mindful, is all I am saying.
Yes, watch where you step and look down.
You will find bits of sea*treasures that are smooth to the touch.
Some of these treasures will want to come home with you which is OK but check your shells carefully.
You might find one of these sleeping inside.
If you do, please put it back where you found it.
If you put it in your pocket or leave it in your car you might be sorry the next day as salty dead things can smell to high heaven.
Trust me.
As you look around here on the bit of beachy island you will notice 4~wheel~drive trucks parked here. This is OK as they are not harming this area.
The tide brings more sand here day by day. You would not believe how much is deposited here by the tides and currents and the occasional hurricane.
Yes, I know what you are thinking. Sometimes the hurricanes take away what they give.
You never know from year to year.
One year's beach is another year's underwater.
Sea turtles do not nest here as most of the time this beach is under water when the tide comes in.
If a turtle should make a left turn instead of a right and end up here by mistake then the Turtle Patrol will protect the nest.
When I ride my bike on the beach sometimes I come here under the bridge for some cool shade.
If the sand is packed hard it is a pleasure.
If the sand is soft and mushy I have to push my bike or turn around and wait another day.
That's life for you. You never know.
Every day on this beach is a good day.
Shells sunning. Birds feeding.
Fish swimming in the deep water under the bridge.
Look close into the broken shells and you might find shark's teeth.
What!
Yep, shark's teeth. They are black.
See that water under the bridge...
Well, shark's teeth come from the sharks that swim there. I have seen them.
I have found the teeth on the beach, I have seen the sharks in the water. Both.
But not on the same day.
Little crabs and shrimp live in the tide pools formed by the pilings.
It is fun to squat down and look into each little tide pool to look for teeny sea critters .
Oysters attach themselves to the pilings.
Oysters make a fine start to a watery neighborhood and soon others move here, too.
Underneath the Matanzas Inlet Bridge is rather a holy place to me.
These pilings remind me of this place and of this place, too, in a way.
I hope you like this island.
I am going to leave you here for a few days while I go off to another island.
Just stay out of the deep water and you will be safe.
Oh, and wear your SPF 15.
Where am I going?
You know how I like to make you guess!
Let me just give you a bit of a clue. It is far, far away and it rhymes with Benice.
That is all I am saying.
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