glass beach and rock balancing

While we were in Hawaii in January, we visited a small beach that we had heard about on our last trip there. Supposedly, it is where glass "trash" from far out in the ocean washes ashore. Evidently, there are many such beaches and some people even keep it a bit of a secret as to where good glass combing beaches are located. Talking with a woman the second morning I visited here, she said there is actually a Facebook page dedicated to glass-hunting lovers. I haven't checked it out because I'm not sure I'm really at that level of a gatherer. Not yet anyway.

With my propensity towards looking for tiny treasures along the waters edge, I suppose it could happen. And of course, with my daughter's new found love of making rings, and my long admired interest in learning the particular skill of silver work...I may become a gatherer at the next level. 

So, this is Glass Beach.

                       It's not very big, but instead of sand granules, it is all little pieces of glass.

Sea glass galore. Most of it is brown as you can see, but the challenge of the whole experience is finding larger pieces and mostly good colors...like the blues and the greens.

It was really a surprise when I looked closely and saw that it is a beach of full of sea glass with a few sand grains and small rocks mixed in. I found a pretty nice collection of good pieces here and Chuck and I followed a path around to the lava rock coast where we hiked down and found some more pieces and some little shell and coral treasures as well. An interesting adventure!

The second morning that I visited, I was there earlier and by myself for a few minutes. When I looked over towards the end of the beach I saw this rock sculpture that someone had stacked. It was not there the day before, in fact, in this same spot there had been a monk seal basking in the sun. I snapped a couple of pics of this balancing act that was actually about waist high, before continuing on my glass seeking expedition. Soon, another couple joined me on the beach. I turned to point towards the balancing rocks telling them they should check it out. But, as my eyes searched the beach it was no longer there. Instead, I could see wet sand and just one of the toppled rocks closer to the water. The tide had brought the waves up higher and had erased the stack just minutes after I had been there. I felt like I had stumbled onto something special that no one else would see that morning.

The entire time we were enjoying our Hawaiian beach stay, I was finding one heart shaped piece of coral or rock after another , so when I saw this... I felt like a rock star!

Speaking of rock stars, do you remember my post last summer about the sand sculptor Ray, that did that amazing elephant in the plaza in town? You can refresh your memory by clicking here to see his wonderful work. He's back again and working on a new one! I went by yesterday and saw Ray and his helper Nickoli working on their new sand wonderment! I hope to get more photos of the progress they make each day. While I was there, Ray had taken a break to 'balance rocks', which is another one of his talents and I believe a way to break from the sand and re-focus his mind. I blogged about it last year too, when I discovered a young boy trying his hand at it after learning some tricks from Ray. You can read all about it here , if you want.

I asked him if it was ok that I stand close to watch and he said "yes, of course'. It is so very fascinating that he can balance these rocks with such precision and steady hand. He had tried to get the round rock, in the above picture, to balance on the big one without success, so he moved on to the smaller stack to the right. He kept trying, but it just wouldn't 'catch', as he called it. And then they all tumbled. He turned and smiled at me and said...'you can try it now", as he walked away to work on his sand sculpting once again.

So, this is what I stacked. Not quite the balancing act that his was or the one on the beach, but very much me.

I considered it a success and walked away with a smile!

And a reminder to keep your heart balanced and not let the heavy things weigh you down.

Also, to remember that no matter how big the accomplishment...everyone is a rock star!