Posts Tagged ‘Florida Gulf Coast beach’
Posted by Jody on July 3, 2016

Venice Fishing Pier, Venice, Florida
“And forever in peace may you wave.”
~You’re a Grand Old Flag by George M. Cohan
~~~
About the photo:
The Pier was originally built in 1966 for $133,877. It was destroyed in July of 1981 by the “No Name Storm”. Rebuilding took place in 1984 with Greenhart lumber from South America, the only place in the world to purchase this wood. It did not have to be treated, nor did it shrink, because it was grown in the swamps. In February 2004, the Pier was totally removed. The construction of the current Pier cost $1.75 million dollars, and the money was raised by a municipal bond (recreational). The decking of the Pier is now made of plastic wood fiber composite, is built to withstand a category 4 hurricane, and has a projected life span of at least 50 years.The Pier is 720 ft long (219.45 meters), 22 ft wide, and the height is 20’ feet (6.096 meters). Water depth at the end averages 16 ½ feet (5.03 meters). The Pier is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, with free admission, and no fishing license is required. Papa’s Bait Shop is located midway down the Pier and is open 7 days a week at 6:30 AM. Source: Venice Fishing Pier
Have a fabulous, fun, and safe July Fourth!
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Posted in Gulf of Mexico Beaches, Holiday | Tagged: 4th of July, beach, beach photography, Florida Gulf Coast beach, Independence Day, Venice Fishing Pier, Venice Florida | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jody on May 29, 2016

Honoring Memorial Day

Venice Beach Memorial
~~~
DEDICATED TO
ALL VETERANS OF ALL WARS,
THE DISABLED AND THOSE WHO
GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE HOPE
THEIR CHILDREN WOULD NEVER
NEED TO FIGHT OR GIVE THEIR
LIVES TO KEEP OUR COUNTRY
STRONG AND FREE, BUT ESPECIALLY
DEDICATED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE
THAT IF CALLED, THEY WILL EMULATE
THEIR PARENTS IN UPHOLDING
THE HONOR OF THESE
UNITED STATES.
~~~
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Posted in Gulf of Mexico Beaches, Holiday, Uncategorized | Tagged: beach, Decoration Day, Florida Gulf Coast beach, Memorial Day, Venice Florida | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jody on May 28, 2016

Weekends Rock!
~Morning at Caspersen Beach, Florida~
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Posted in Gulf of Mexico Beaches, Weekend's Rock | Tagged: beach, beach photography, beachcombing, Casperson Beach Florida, Florida Gulf Coast beach | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jody on May 25, 2016
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What will you call your beautiful beach bungalow?
~~~~~
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Posted in Gulf of Mexico Beaches, Today's Special | Tagged: beach, beach house, Florida Gulf Coast beach, Sanibel Island Florida | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jody on May 24, 2016

Caspersen Beach, Venice, Florida. Yes, collecting shark teeth is allowed.

The best of our finds (so far)!
Have a great day at the beach!
~~~~~~~
We’re off to Sanibel Island!
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Posted in Beach Treasures - Beachcombing, Gulf of Mexico Beaches, Sand and Shoreline, Sharks, Today's Special | Tagged: beach, beachcombing, Casperson Beach Florida, Florida Gulf Coast beach, shark teeth, Venice Florida | 6 Comments »
Posted by Jody on May 23, 2016
There is a camaraderie among beach treasure hunters in Venice, Florida, that charms folks into returning over and over again. Locals and repeat visitors are quick to lend a hand along with plenty of advice. Perfect strangers will plop a load or two of scooped up seashells onto the sand in front of you to get you started. I’ve seen more than one longtime treasure hunter simply pick up a shark tooth on the sand and gift it to someone they’ve never met before. Everyone has a system of finding the treasured shark teeth on the shores of Venice. Some of us have a whole beach bag full of how-tos.
Here are a few tips, tricks, and how-tos we’ve learned along the way. They’re all tried and true!
1.The Dig and Sift
The Dig and Sift is accomplished by simply reaching into the water to get the biggest portion of settled shells possible, then sifting through the seashells and fragments in hopes of spotting the perfect shark tooth specimen. You can buy a fancy pants scooper (sold at the local Walmarts for just under $18.00) which is simply a little wire basket on a pole. Folks ’round here have been known to attach a kitchen sieve to a $1.00 thrift store golf club to achieve the same results. Clever! Right? The cheapest bet: scoop with your own two hands, although you should plan on chipping the polish off of any prettily manicured nails. (Come to think of it, this may indeed be the most expensive option of the three!)

The Dig and Sift
2. The Sweep and Trap
The Sweep and Trap system doesn’t require braving the surf. You just need to find a section of the beach where the surf is washing over a patch of smallish seashell fragments. Crouch on the sand and start to run your hand back and forth across the small bits and pieces while the surf comes and goes. Now, with this system, you’ll likely see a treasure or two get away before you can actually grab what really did look like a shark tooth. Hence the “trap” part. Quick reflexes are necessary to trap any dark, suspicious form before the waves wash your suspected precious beach treasure back into the sea.

The Sweep and Trap
3. The Scoop and Toss
Can’t find a place where the waves are washing across a section of seashell fragments? Have a friend simply scoop a colander, bucket, or basket of seashells and sand from the water and plop the load along the surf line for you. Follow the “trap” part of technique #2 from here.
4. The Dig Like Heck at the Shell Banks Left Behind After High Tide
🙂 Self explanatory:

The Dig Like Heck at the Shell Banks Left Behind After High Tide
5. The Walk and Scan
Enjoy a lovely walk on the beach and just look down. I can’t tell you how successful this system has been for many a beach treasure hunter on the beautiful beaches of Venice. Yes, this how-to is too obvious, but we just had to mention it!

The Walk and Scan

The Ultimate Venice Beach Treasure!
Good luck & have a wonderful day at the beach!!
~~~~~~
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Posted in Beach Treasures - Beachcombing, Gulf of Mexico Beaches, Sand and Shoreline, Seashells, Sharks, Tallies & Tips | Tagged: beach, beachcombing, Florida Gulf Coast beach, shark teeth, Venice Florida | 4 Comments »
Posted by Jody on May 22, 2016
Here’s a look at our awesome Saturday morning on Caspersen Beach in Venice, Florida. What a fabulous day it was for beach treasure hunting!
Hunting for shark teeth is a lot like “Where’s Waldo?” Scroll through the photos and see if you can find a shark tooth or two with us. >>>

Everyone is out to find those treasured shark teeth on Caspersen Beach

Dressed for success!

Anything in there?

Caspersen Beach, Florida

Wonderful shelling too!

We were told by a local fisherman that this character is a Yellow-Footed Bait Stealer.

Wooohooo! My Beach Treasures!
It’s great to have a waterproof camera. Isn’t it? We have a couple of Fuji FinePix XP70 neon colored wonders just for these occasions!
Have a wonderful day at the beach!
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Posted in Beach Treasures - Beachcombing, Sand and Shoreline, Seashells, Sharks | Tagged: beach, beachcombing, Casperson Beach Florida, Florida Gulf Coast beach, shark teeth, Venice Florida | 6 Comments »
Posted by Jody on July 13, 2014

Rest is Not Idleness
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day,
listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time”
~Sir John Lubbock, The Use of Life
~~~
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Posted in Gulf of Mexico Beaches, Today's Special | Tagged: beach, Florida Gulf Coast beach, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Sir John Lubbock | 11 Comments »
Posted by Jody on March 17, 2014

Gulf Islands National Seashore
“May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.”
~ Irish Blessing
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
“The stunning sugar white beaches of Gulf Islands National Seashore are composed of fine quartz eroded from granite in the Appalachian Mountains. The sand is carried seaward by rivers and creeks and deposited by currents along the shore.”
Source: Gulf Islands National Seashore, Florida District
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Posted in Gulf of Mexico Beaches, Today's Special | Tagged: beach, Florida Gulf Coast beach, Florida Panhandle, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Irish Blessing, St. Patrick's Day | 6 Comments »
Posted by Jody on January 15, 2014
Our family really loves the Venice, Florida area. In fact, I would describe Venice, also known as “The Shark’s Tooth Capital of the World,” as one of our absolute favorite playgrounds.
There’s just so much for beach lovers and outdoor enthusiasts to do in Venice. It’s a designated “Bicycle Friendly Community” where you can ride bikes along the Intracoastal Waterway and over to the more secluded Casperson Beach. You might also want to pedal to the South Jetty where splashing dolphins frolic against the brilliant Florida Gulf Coast sunset. You can relax and enjoy lunch, with superb service, at Sharky’s on the Pier (Greg and I still try to duplicate their Boathouse Salad at home!). You can swim, kayak, beachcomb, bird watch, and walk the beaches to your heart’s content. The best thing of all though, is that beachcombers can “pick your own” prehistoric shark teeth that pepper the sandy shoreline.

Prehistoric Shark Teeth
Located in Sarasota County, the City of Venice is perfectly situated on the Gulf of Mexico, an easy-breezy one hour drive south of Tampa.

Venice Resident, A Great Blue Heron
Venice doesn’t brag of sugar-white sand beaches. You won’t find dozens of name brand, highrise hotels lining the coast. And you definitely will not see a lot of flashy souvenir and t-shirt shops at the seashore. But what you most likely will find are some of the friendliest folks you’ll come across anywhere and great souvenir prehistoric shark teeth to take home with you.
Don’t think you need any fancy-schmancy equipment to collect prehistoric shark teeth. On our first visit to the area, we asked our hotel desk clerk if there was any secret to finding shark teeth at the beach. Perhaps something only the savvy locals would know? She smiled and ever-so-politely replied: “Just look down.” So, we followed her advice. It’s that easy!
Do you have a favorite shoreline where you find shark teeth?
~~~
Please feel free to leave a comment. We’d like to hear your own thoughts and tips on Venice beach ~ or any beach!
~~~
Helpful links:
City of Venice, Florida
Venice Area Chamber of Commerce
Discover Natural Sarasota County
Sharky’s on the Pier
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Posted in Beach Treasures - Beachcombing, Gulf of Mexico Beaches | Tagged: beach, beach fossil hunting, beachcombing, Casperson Beach Florida, Florida Gulf Coast beach, Florida's best shelling beaches, prehistoric shark teeth, Sarasota County Florida beach, Venice Florida | 18 Comments »