Beach

When was the last time you went to the beach and actually felt the cool sand in your toes or heard the waves washing up or the gulls doing what they do? Oh too often I see many travellers sit at the edge of the dunes or the boardwalk, looking, but never venturing out. The beach was meant to be experienced, not just observed. So, kick off those flipflops (but be mindful where you leave them- I'll save that for a different blog)and head on down to the waters edge. Dip your feet in, breath in the air, listen to the sounds and look at the sights. You will walk away a different person...

What a wonderful day to be up early and taking in the sights

JACKSONVILLE BEACH — A woman was arrested today and charged with attempted homicide in connection with a fire that destroyed her boyfriend’s house at 815 16th Ave. S.

Melissa Armer, 23, is also charged with two counts of arson and making a firebomb. She is accused of setting the house on fire following a dispute with her boyfriend, Shawn Duerfeldt, about 2:30 p.m., said Jacksonville Beach police spokesman Sgt. Thomas Bingham.

Armer and Duerfeldt were taken to Baptist Medical Center-Beaches for observation and treatment. Two other people in the home escaped without injury.

As the chairwoman for First Coast Surfrider I am often contacted by other local groups to partner with or help kick start their own beach cleanup program. So, I decided to create a quick reference guide for how to run your own beach cleanup.

What’ll need before you begin:

• A LOCATION
  This will often be the reason for your cleanup. You noticed a polluted access, street, park or beach that needs your help!
• VOLUNTEERS
  You can hold a beach cleanup with just you and yourself, but having a few good men (women, children, dogs, aliens or anything else that can lend a hand) helps.
• DATE & TIME
  When do you plan on holding the cleanup? Consider local weather patterns and any outside factors that could negatively or positively impact your efforts. Will there be a lot of traffic (foot or car) at a certain hour? Will that traffic hinder or help the cleanup? If it’s a beach cleanup, the best time is when the tide is going out. This exposes new trash and gives you plenty of ground coverage.

Essential Cleanup Supplies:

• BAGS - Even buckets and boxes… go greener!
• GLOVES - Latex and non-latex in small, medium, large and x-large sizes.
• FIRST AID KITS - Include band aids, gauze, alcohol swabs, neosporin, pain reliever, etc.
• WATER - It’s important to stay hydrated!
• SIGN-IN SHEET - Keep count of your volunteers for safety and future reference; document their name, time in/out, email address. Also document the pounds of trash collected, a large bag half full is approximately 20lbs.
• VOLUNTEER HOUR FORMS - Volunteers need to document their community service hours; include volunteer name, date, location, time in/out, organization name and your signature.

Optional Cleanup Supplies:

• HAZARDOUS MATERIALS CONTAINER
• GRABBER - For those hard to reach places or dangerous items.
• DIRECTIONS TO NEAREST HOSPITALS - Extreme precaution, but you never know…
• INFO ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION - Crowded areas will attract attention, seize the opportunity to spread awareness about your group.
• CALENDAR OF EVENTS - Besides group info, give the volunteers and anyone with questions a copy of your upcoming events, so they can mark their calendars.

Additional Beach Cleanup Resources:

International Coastal Cleanup

I love the way the sky is ever changing. Reminds me that we are alive. It never ceases to amaze me, the kind, friendly conversations and salutations that are exchanged first thing in the morning at the waters edge. How ironic is it that the people I have been seeing over the past 20+ some years are for the most part the same people I still see in the early am? I thought about that and at first was wishing that everyone would get up early and get their day started like I did. Then I thought it is a choice we all have to make, sleep in or experience life's amazing sights? Hint...(you can always take a power nap after lunch)

Rain can be a good thing, we need the rain, right?  Maybe but I believe that too much of anything is a bad thing, MAKE IT STOP!  We need moderation, not forty days and forty nights, we need sunshine.  Our ball fields are clay filled lakes and our streets are under water.  Very soon, the time will change and our days will turn into nights.  Those of us that aren't lucky enough to live and work on the island will have only weekend beach time, that's just wrong.  We need the rain but do we really need it everyday??  I'm water logged!