16 March 2025
Considering I live only 4 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, I don’t get there very often. In most cases, I would be at a beachside restaurant and sometimes walk across A1A to put my feet in the sand, but that’s pretty much it. I think I did that two times this year.
That’s quite a change when I first moved here in 1985. I started with an invitation to Shark World down in the Keys which eventually became the Keys Marine Lab. From that event, I started taking students down to the lab for field trips where we would go both into Florida Bay and the Atlantic as well as snorkel in the canals leading to the Ocean.
I’m actually scuba dive certified back from the time I took students from Itawamba Junior College down to DeFuniak Springs to become scuba certified. I’ve only scuba dived once in the Florida Bay side with a student of mine looking for lobster. Almost anything you want to see you can see by snorkeling and tanks are a waste of time.
I suspect my lack of putting my feet in the Atlantic is like someone living in Orlando and not getting to Disney World or Epcot very often. Back in my younger days I would go to (then named) John U. Lloyd beach and sunbathe and then cool off in the Ocean. Then there’s Haulover Beach just south of Aventura which is the nude beach. No tan lines there. I would spend hours soaking up the rays and cooling in the Ocean.
The sun caught up with me and I’ve quit sunbathing. Instead of going into the Ocean, I jump in the pool. Besides, if I go to the Ocean, I would pay outrageous parking fees. I could get a resident pass but that’s more trouble than it’s worth for the few times I go to A1A and eat at restaurants.
Still the Ocean calls. I spent time in the Coast Guard in both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. I used to walk out onto the bow of the ship at night and look up to see the stars. The Milky Way was pretty obvious when you are in the middle of the Gulf.
I’ve seen both the Atlantic and Pacific but have never been in the Pacific. Too cold! I did stick a toe in one time. The best part of both regions of the Ocean are close to shore where you find more life forms. In the middle of the Atlantic, life forms are pretty rare.
To commemorate how close I live to the Ocean, I’ll jump in the pool and pretend it’s a saltwater pool and explore for marine life.
Stay tuned!