This is my Life on...the Beach

March 31. 2008

We live in Paradise. I like living in paradise but I also love to travel. Then I can look back and say, "That was interesting but I really like paradise."

I'm not really a writer. I'm really a teacher. This week is Spring Break, so what better time to begin a task that I've been thinking about for over a year. After attending a Florida trails Conference in 2007 and listening to the authors speak about their travels around Florida, I realized I went on an adventure every day when I walked on the beach. I thought I should walk from one end of Florida's East beach coast to the other. I could be like the Barefoot Mailman . Only what would be my purpose? At this point my purpose is to show I'm moving in the world. I won't be traveling straight through. I'll be mixing it up a lot. Working slowly up and down the coast. Some days I won't even get to walk. Some days I may walk on a different beach.

Today's walk was casual. The weather was perfect. The sky was beautiful and the ocean shards of sparkling glass. I really wasn't having a wild adventure, but still it was pleasant. There are very few people on this section. There were incredible areas with no people or houses at all. I walked through Avalon Park and Round Island Seaside Park. I walked from one county, St Lucie County, into another, Indian River County. In IRC there were more houses on the beach. Wonderful houses with lovely gardens. One house looked like something from a dessert oasis; flesh colored with what looked like a tiled mural on one wall next to the pool.

As I'm walking along what was I thinking about? Obligations. Shouldn't I be taking care of business? Cleaning the toilets and washing the laundry? But then my thoughts started to wander. The day before I had a conversation with a friendly neighbor and we briefly discussed blogs. Aren't they a waste of time? What's their purpose? Everything is an incredible timesuck...so pick your poison. To get myself writing about walking the beach why not start a blog? It is sort of like writing a diary for the world to read. That will take some getting used to. Also, I want to be clever like some of those other writers out there. I'll have to work on that.

Section: Breaker's Landing North to Reef Rd the Moorings, Vero Beach
Water temperature: 71
UV: 8 at noon
Wind: From the South
Tide: low toward high
Time: 3 hours (round trip) 10:30am-1:30pm
Length: 4 miles give or take (8 miles, RT)
Marine animals: jelly fish
People: a few
Beach litter: medium, I picked up a lot of pieces of balloons