Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Last Walk on Atlantic Beach

Monday was our last day at Jonathan Dickinson State Park so we decided to take a drive over to the beach area next to the Jupiter River inlet. It is our last contact with the Atlantic Ocean on this trip. The sky was overcast and there was a bit of wind, but the temperature was quite mild. We walked south down the beach for some distance enjoying the brisk air. The walk back north was harder because the wind was blasting the sand into our faces. For some reason, I thought this was what the air on an Atlantic Ocean beach should be like, compared to the gentle air of the Keys!



Most of the beach sand was clean  with an assortment of small shells. 



On one section of the beach there was a scattering of large sandstone rocks. I thought they looked like the water-worn skeleton of some ancient beached beast. In this image you can see a large berm of sand. This may be the original land level, with the beach eroding to its present level over the years. 


It seems they are rebuilding the beach, by trucking sand into the area and dumping it onto the beach. At first I said something about it being "restored", but then I realized that the erosion of the beach was a natural process, and man is simply replacing the sand how he wants it. Nothing wrong with that. Don't want that big building to fall into the sea.


On the North end of the beach there is a rock jetty that edges the Jupiter inlet. The dark, quieter water in the foreground of the image above, is the water flowing out of the river. We can clearly see where it met the ocean waves. Aqua dynamics.


As we walked back to the Jeep in a light spray of warm rain, I had a bit of fun walking behind this fat fellow. He is an immature seagull, still sporting his baby feathers. He was twice the width of the grownups, and didn't know what to do when I came up to him.  The other seagulls flew, but he tried to run away and looked back at me as if to say: "Why are you doing this to me?"

From a TV cartoon 35 years ago: "I'm the baby, gotta love me!"

I wouldn't hurt him, but it was a bit of childish mischief that prompted me to chase him. Maybe I'm part dog.

4 comments:

  1. You can be happy that you're not there during the hurricane season, I think. Those nice fresh breezes might get to be a bit stiffer. Happy to see you enjoying yourself, Merikay. Chasing sea gulls is a good example.

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  2. nice day for a walk on the beach, even with the sand blowing in your faces..would have much rather been experiencing that rather than working today!

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  3. Walking along the beach is always great

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  4. I loved your giant sea creature eroded by the sea!

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