You Never Know What You’ll Find at The Beach

I hear the sea calling.

This weekend Janessa and I plan to head down to Padre Island National Seashore for a few days of fishing. We’re going to camp on the beach, unless we run into a storm or extreme tides.

There’s not really any other place like the National Seashore – about 65 miles of beach that you can drive and camp along. Once you get past mile 15 or 20, you rarely see anyone. Some mornings you wake up to see coyotes or deer on the beach.

You never know what you can find on the beach. A few years ago, Janessa and I drove down about 40 miles and found a big net. I assume it came from a shrimp boat. It was half-buried in the sand. I tried to pull it out with my jeep. I tugged and tugged on it, but it wouldn’t budge.

The net had some hollow glass floats attached to it. Even though they’re hollow, the glass was thick. I don’t think you could crack it with a hammer. They were the size of basketballs. I’m not sure we could have done anything with the net even if I freed it from its shallow grave. The thing was huge. I always regret not cutting some of those glass floats out of the net to take with me.

Another time we ran into a family who built a beach bungalow out of creosote poles that washed up on the beach. I’ve always wondered where these poles come from. Old oil rigs in the gulf? Telephone poles that get knocked down in hurricanes? I have no idea. The National Seashore is dozens of miles or more from civilization. But you can always find lots of these tall poles on the beach.

We stopped to speak with the patriarch of this family. He was in his 70s and told us they meet up at the National Seashore every year. They drive down the beach and find some See poles and drag them back to their camp. I was fascinated at how they erected them. He said they dig a long, sloped trench and then use their vehicles to pull them upright. They make a framework of poles and then attach decking and walls out of other materials they found on the beach.

The man said they do this every year. Sometimes, remnants of their last bungalow remain and they just have to “shore” it up a little. Other times, they discover a hurricane or storm knocked it down and they have to completely rebuild it.

I hope to catch some fish this weekend. But even if I don’t, I know it will be a memorable trip. It always is.