For the last few years, every time I go to a beach, I leave behind fairies made from the shells I find while walking the shores there.
I've been told that Coronado Beach can be shell heaven or be totally bare. And I caught it on one so-so day then a few days of bareness. So I was lucky to have found enough to create this little sprite, my beach treasure hunt didn't yield many shells. Lots of sand dollars though. My husband was a champion sand dollar finder, he even found living ones that we couldn't pick up. They were everywhere he looked.
I never break or alter a shell for my fairies, so I was happy to have him find this 3/4 sand dollar that made a pretty skirt with the ruffled conch shell topper.
The shore was a bit rocky, lucky for me, one was just right for the fairy's head, because I couldn't find a shell that worked anywhere.
There might have been a lack of shells, but the sand itself more than made up for it. There were GOLD FLAKES OF GLITTER throughout on my first day there!!!!!!!!!!
Real GLITTER!!!!!!!!!!!
Apparently, the waves are filled with Mica flakes that wash up on the shore. When the surf is light, they are big, fat, flakes of gold glitter. On rougher days, the mica is pulverised into a shimmer of stardust. Every day, the sand along the water is different, but it is always sparkling.
I was in love.
I just wish the sparkles had photographed better. The glitter (and that is what real glitter is made of, MICA flakes) was one of the most unexpected treats I've ever come across on a vacation.
Well, beaches each have their own personality and specialness, like the quartz crystal on Siesta Key that keeps cool to the touch no matter how hot the sun is. And the heart shaped pieces of coral that wash up on Kaanapali in Maui. Or the shark's teeth fossils all over Venice Beach.
Why oh why do I live in the smack dab, middle of the USA, as far from any beach as you can get?
Of course, I really can't complain. We have made it to the ocean quite a bit in the last few years for Kansans.
Which is why I make all these sea shell fairies to leave behind, I want to show my love of the shore, and my gratitude for the opportunity to be there.
I treasure each moment I get to be by the water. And thank my lucky stars that I had a chance to be there.
Every day should be considered a gift, but a day by the beach is a true treasure.
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