“A mom’s hug lasts long after she lets go.”
— Unknown
Posted by Jody on May 13, 2018
“A mom’s hug lasts long after she lets go.”
— Unknown
Posted in Atlantic Coast Beaches, Holiday | Tagged: beach, Mother's Day, Myrtle Beach South Carolina | 2 Comments »
Posted by E.G.D. on January 25, 2018
Soaptree Yucca at Dusk (Bits of This Plant are Edible!)
Once upon a time, I lived in Honolulu, and I have a number of Hawaiian friends who were happy to find and eat raw sea creatures on day trips to the beach. It’s part of the culture, though I have to admit, I found it a little bit yucky. You see, while thousands of people worldwide associate beach trips with seafood, I happen to be a vegetarian. The situation got me asking this question, though: what is a person to do when he or she is a vegetarian at the beach if he/she forgot to pack a picnic? After a bit of research, I now know that depending on the time of year and the specific beach, a vegetarian might have even better luck foraging for food than the shellfish eaters!
Now, of course, some of these edible plants are all kinds of obvious, like coconuts when you’re in Hawaii (or other tropical islands/ archipelagos) or like shallow-water seaweeds when you’re in Japan. Some of these things are less obvious, but are still quite easy to identify when you know what you’re looking for. Here are some articles with great pictures that can help you locate, identify, and prepare these specially edible beach treasures:
Edible Sea-grape. Photo by Drew Danielson (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
Four of the plants are recommended for their fruits, and one for its leaves, and they all look delicious! If you’re planning a foraging expedition in Florida, this is the article for you.
2. The next article is by Real World Survivor:
This particular article is delightfully specific in its plant descriptions and recommendations for what bits a person should eat!
3. Our third article is actually more like a very long, detailed list! DIY Wood Boat gives us the names and regions of a truly remarkable number of edible beach plants:
Edible Seashore Plants and Seaweed
It doesn’t give you much by way of pictures, but once you have the names and regions where the plants can be found, I’m confident you could google yourself some reference images!
4. Next is a UK specific article from Goeff’s Fungi & Foraging:
The article is informative, the reference images are lovely, and the author appears to be happy to answer specific questions about forageable beach plants, which is a really cool perk.
5. My last article selection is from Rhoscolyn Life:
Edible Coastal Flora to Look Out For
Seeing as Rhoscolyn is a British village, this one is also UK specific. I especially like this article for its helpful tips about how best to prepare the various coastal vegetables.
To wrap things up, there are all sorts of edible leaves, seeds, and fruits on the seashores of the world, but please bear in mind that some are protected, like sea oats, and some can resemble other plants that are actually poisonous, like several varieties of berry. Believe it or not, falling coconuts can also cause grievous bodily harm! I suppose my ultimate conclusion is forage away, beachgoers, but know before you go. Also, don’t forget to invite me to your picnic ^_^.
Photo by Wmpearl (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
Posted in Beach and Coastal Wildlife, Beach Flora | Tagged: beach flora, coastal plants, edible plants, foraging | 2 Comments »
Posted by E.G.D. on January 15, 2018
Hello, beachgoers! We’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve decided to bring it up again: the dead of winter is a fantastic time for beachcombing. I was perusing the internet today, and it seemed like every time I stumbled upon articles about the best beaches to visit in January and February, the writers of those articles were sending beachgoers to warmer climes either on/near the equator or in the southern hemisphere (where it happens to be summer). It might seem weird for some, but I quite like having at least a couple of seasons in my year, and I’ve never thought it was less fun to visit a beach in the winter than to visit a beach in the summer. Therefore, I was inspired to make a concerted effort, and I found a few great articles about finding treasures on the beach when/where it’s cold outside. I’ve decided to share my finds with the Beach Treasures and Treasure Beaches world!
The first article is from NCCoast.com (a website about the North Carolina Coast):
The Winter Beach – Shelling on the NC Coast
The article has fantastic advice about the best times to hit the beach, as well as advice about responsible shell collecting.
The second article is from CaptivaSanibel.com:
Best time for shelling on the islands comes during winter, extreme tides
I know the title seems to say it all, but the article is fantastic, and it quotes a true expert on the subject.
The third article is from chesapeakefamily.com:
Winter Beachcombing in Maryland
This article is a wealth of family daytrip advice that includes a list of great Maryland beaches to hit on cold winter days!
Don’t let the title of this last one from theislandermagazine.com fool you! It talks about beachcombing Galveston island in all of the cold months:
What I quite like about this particular article is that it covers most all of my favorite treasures, including sea beans, shells, shark teeth, and sea glass.
I hope that gives everyone hiding from the cold indoors some food for thought. Sometimes walking in a winter wonderland means day-tripping to your nearest beach.
Posted in Beach Treasures - Beachcombing | Tagged: beachcombing, sea glass, shark teeth, shelling | 3 Comments »
Posted by Jody on December 24, 2017
Merry Christmas from The Pass!
This was the fabulous wintery scene on Pass Christian’s beach earlier this month. I have no clue what this sandy guy’s name is but he shows up each year to wish everyone a Merry Christmas from “The Pass.” We’re always delighted to see him!
We wish you a Merry Christmas too!
Posted in Gulf of Mexico Beaches, Holiday | Tagged: Christmas, Pass Christian Mississippi | 4 Comments »
Posted by Jody on December 19, 2017
Gulfport Harbor Lights Winter Festival
“The sailor spends his Christmas in a harbour on the hook
Caye con les, no work today, let’s shell the ol’ log book
The waterfront is reveling, the season has begun
The sailor spends his Christmas in a harbour having fun.”
~A Sailor’s Christmas by Jimmy Buffet~
Posted in Gulf of Mexico Beaches, Holiday | Tagged: Christmas, Gulfport Mississippi, Mississippi Gulf Coast | 2 Comments »
Posted by Jody on December 18, 2017
Who doesn’t love a parade? On the Mississippi Gulf Coast, we have a parade for any and every reason! Seriously. You barely come to the end of the Christmas holidays and here comes Mardi Gras complete with up to 26 parades scheduled across our coastal communities. St. Patrick’s Day, Crusin’ the Coast, Veterans Day? You name it, we line the floats up. Don’t even get me started on the throws! You wouldn’t believe the things we’ve caught. Shot glasses, beads, footballs, beads, carrots, beads, backpacks, beads. Oh, and did I mention the beads?
But in my opinion, best of all are the Christmas lighted boat parades. In Long Beach, during the Sea Santa Sail-A-Bration, festively decorated boats cruise along the streets on boat trailers in a waterless boat parade. Gulfport hosts their yearly glittering Christmas on the Bayou parade and Biloxi ushers in the holidays with Christmas on the Water, another annual event showcasing still more spectacularly lighted boats.
While most folks pack a blanket and watch from the beaches of Biloxi for Christmas on the Water (or line the waterside edges of the casino parking garages), this year, we were thrilled to sail onboard the 100′ Capt. Pete which usually serves to ferry summer day-trippers to and from Ship Island.
Come along with us as we sail into the calm waters of the Mississippi Sound with this shimmering fleet.
Welcome aboard!
And that, my friends, is how we celebrate Christmas on the Mississippi Gulf Coast!
Merry Christmas, y’all!
~~~~~~~
Posted in Gulf of Mexico Beaches, Holiday | Tagged: boats, Christmas, Christmas on the Water, Gulf Coast Christmas, lighted boat parade, Mississippi Gulf Coast | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jody on November 23, 2017
Posted in Gulf of Mexico Beaches, Holiday | Tagged: beach, Happy Thanksgiving, Mississippi Gulf Coast | 6 Comments »
Posted by Jody on November 11, 2017
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
— John F. Kennedy
Thank you to all of our veterans! We hope you can take some time to relax and enjoy the day. You’ve earned it!
– From all of us at Beach Treasures and Treasure Beaches.com (including Greg, who happens to be a U.S. Navy veteran)
Posted in Holiday, Today's Special | Tagged: beach, John F. Kennedy, Myrtle Beach South Carolina, Veterans Day | 2 Comments »