A Sandcastle on Navarre Beach

A Sandcastle on Navarre Beach.

I have always been in love with sandcastles. Growing up in southern California, my family went to the beach most every weekend all summer long. Laguna Beach was my favorite, because of the rocky shoreline that revealed starfish, sea urchins and other sea creatures when the tide was out. I also loved Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, because of all that sand which was great for building sandcastles.

At an early age my parents taught me how to build a sandcastle using my hands to form the walls, then digging the moat and forming the outer walls. Fingers worked just fine to create windows and doors. No, we didn't have plastic forms to build sandcastles back then, just our hands and a lot of imagination. When the castle was complete, my dad showed me how to drip sand onto the structure to create the roof, spires and other decorative elements. Then it was all topped off with an assortment of seashells and colorful sea glass.

These days people use plastic forms and a variety of plastic shovels and rakes to build a sandcastle. It's still a fun thing to do, but not quite as unique and artistic as the ones I built as a child.

Yesterday my husband and I attended the Navarre Beach Sand Sculpture Festival. I expected to see an assortment of sandcastles, but such was not the case. Instead, there were the following sand creatures: a crocodile, a sea turtle, a gorilla head, horse heads, a snake, Humpty Dumpty, a giant eye and a giant face. Oh, there was also a race car, but only one sandcastle. Go figure. You can see the lone sandcastle in the photo above.

I'd love a beach festival of just sandcastles, but maybe sandcastles aren't popular these days? Oh well, I guess I'll have to go down to the beach and build my very own sandcastle, just to see if I still know how to do it the old fashioned way. On the other hand, when Hurricane Isaac battered the Gulf Coast several weeks back, I walked along the beach collecting plastic forms, rakes and shovels for building sandcastles. I wondered how all those brightly colored plastic forms ended up abandoned and half buried in the sand. Anyway, I now have enough plastic tools to build a modern day sandcastle.

I'm sorry to say that I don't have any photos of those sandcastles I built all those many years ago, when I was just a kid. Well, at least I have the memories. One of the things I remember from those long ago days, was watching the rising tide wash away the sandcastle at the end of the day. There was something special about creating a momentary work of art, a sandcastle here for a few hours and then gone.

For those who might be interested in the Navarre Beach Sand Sculpture Festival which continues through Sunday, here's the link with all the info.

Navarre Beach Sand Sculpture Festival

If you want to see more photos of the sand sculptures I mentioned above, and some enticing photos of Navarre Beach, check out the two blog posts I did yesterday.

For those of you who know I love to make lists of great books to read, well, here's a list of sandcastle fiction. (Listed in no particular order.)

Sandcastle Fiction:

Sandcastles by Luanne Rice*
Sandcastle and Other Stories by Justin Bog**
Sand Castles by Antoinette Stockinberg**
The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian
Sandcastles by April Hill
The Sand Castle by Rita Mae Brown
Sandcastles of Love by Sydell I. Voeller
Castles on the Sand by E. M. Tippetts
Sandcastles by H. H. Campbell
Sand Castles and Seashores by S. C. Harvey

All of the above books are available in eBook format.

*A book I've read and very much enjoyed by one of my favorite authors, Luanne Rice. I actually have a hardback copy of this keeper book.

**To-Be-Read Books on my Kindles (Two, my old Kindle Keyboard and new Kindle Fire).

Note: My book list above would have been longer, but there aren't that many sandcastle books. So maybe I need to write one? Just sayin'...

Please feel free to comment below and add any sandcastle books that I might have missed.

Before I forget, I came across a how-to book about building sandcastles. So in case anyone is interested, here it is:

Sandcastles Made Simple by Lucinda Wierenga

Navarre Beach Sand Sculpture Festival

Sand sculptures at the festival.

The Navarre Beach Sand Sculpture Festival started today and runs through the weekend. Ten professional sand sculpture artists are in town for the event. Also, twenty amateur sand sculpture artists are competing for prizes.

Navarre Beach Sand Sculpture Festival

My husband and I went to Navarre Beach this afternoon for the first day of the Sand Sculpture Festival. What an awesome day of bright sun, turquoise Gulf waters and lots and lots of sand.

Following are some photos of today's sand sculptures.

A close-up of the sand gator. 

I think my favorite was the sand gator. But the sea turtle and the gorilla are close seconds.

I wanted to jump right in and start on my own sand sculpture. But that wasn't an option today.

My mind was instantly scrolling through all those sandcastles built in years gone past. Of course, my favorite was the time my husband and I sculpted a sand mermaid. Then our daughter, niece and nephew decorated the mermaid with dried sea-grass and seashells. Oh, those were the days!



The sand gorilla.

The ten professional sand sculpture artists were busy working on their entries for the festival.  So I took some photos of their unfinished works.

A sand sculpture artist at work.



An unfinished sand sculpture.

 

 

The unifinished sand sculptures were so intriguing that I may just have to head back to Navarre Beach on Sunday afternoon to see the finished products.

 

 

 

A shaved-ice stand.

 

 

 

 

 

No beach festival is complete without craft, souvineer and food vendors. Everything from a lemonade stand to a shaved-ice stand to t-shirts to clothes with bling. This festival has it all.

 

 

Blingy Boutique - boots, clothes & jewelry with bling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't forget to take a look at my earlier post today, "Greetings from Navarre Beach, Florida," for an assortment of enticing beach photos.

  

For those looking for another list of great books, check out tomorrow's post about sandcastles.

 

Greetings From Navarre Beach, Florida

A bright, sunny day on Navarre Beach. Photo from pier.

This was an awesome day at Navarre Beach. Bright sun, puffy white clouds, tranquil turquoise Gulf waters and sugar-white sand.  The Florida Gulf Coast doesn't get much better than this.

Here's a quick photo tour of Navarre Beach.

I took a long stroll down the Navarre Beach Pier. What a perfect place for great photos.

Navarre Beach Pier

Walking on the pier is only $1 and fishing is $4 to $7 depending on age, with kids 5 and under free.

For those who love to fish, the pier is a great place to catch pompano, flounder, cobia and mackerel. If you're like me, the pier is just a great place to gaze at all that beautiful water, sand and cerulean blue skies.


Beach Bar/Restaurant at the Navarre Beach Pier

Navarre Beach Vacation Guide

Navarre Beach - Beaches to Rivers


I took a bunch of photos today which I hope you'll enjoy.

The Beach Bar at the Navarre Beach Pier was packed with a Friday lunch crowd.


View from the Navarre Beach Pier.

Only a handful of people were walking or fishing on the pier. One little boy, about five years old, reeled in a small sand shark. After his dad took his picture with the shark, it went back into the water.


The pier is a favorite spot for retirees, who come equipped with a fishing wagon, complete with fishing gear, an ice-chest and sun umbrella.


The youngest person on the pier today was a seventeen month old toddler in a pink bikini. She was determined to walk the pier on her very own two feet, shod in pink Crocs.



Retirees fishing on the pier.

To the west of the pier are high-rise condos and beyond that a long line of beach houses. To the east of the pier the beach is just a spit of pristine sand and sand-dunes.

 I remember this beach from way-back-when, minus the high-rise condos and only a handful of beach houses.

Navarre Beach has changed through the years, but it's still as awesome as ever.

A sea of umbrellas west of the pier.

To the west of the pier was a sea of umbrellas. To the east only a handful of beach-goers.

The beach east of the pier.

Be sure to check out my next post about the Navarre Beach Sand Sculpture Festival which started today and runs through Sunday. I took a bunch of photos of the sand sculptures that you won't want to miss.

Remnants of Isaac on Pensacola Beach

The pier on Pensacola Beach on 8/29/12.

I went back to Pensacola Beach this morning to see the remnants of Isaac. The winds were still gale force and the sky dark with storm clouds. The pier was open, so I walked all the way to the end and watched in awe as waves broke and splashed the end of the pier. A few other hardy souls were out there taking pictures.








On the pier facing south to the stormy Gulf.

I talked to an assortment of people. Some were locals and others tourists. All were as impressed by the wind and waves. We're so used to Pensacola Beach having flat turquoise water, so this churning dark cauldron is a definite oddity.

Awesome waves at the end of the pier.

Although I took dozens of digital photos, none of them really convey the size and power of the surf pounding the beach and pier.

Josh from PensacolaSurf.com

On the pier I talked to a young surfer (hey, everyone seems young to me these days) named Josh who was taking pics for his website: PensacolaSurf.com

Josh was kind enough to let me include his pic and the link to his website on my post. Be sure to check out Josh's website for the awesome pics and movies that he took today of the wild surf on Pensacola Beach.

I convinced Josh to take of few pics of me with my camera. Unfortunately, with my hair standing on end, I looked like a wild woman. Nope, I won't be sharing those pics here.






The west end of Pensacola Beach.

I drove to the west end of Pensacola Beach where the sea oats waved in the wind. The surf pounded all the way up to the line of sand dunes. Only a few people were there taking photos.

The parking lot at the west end was still half underwater. Happy seagulls waded through their new-found pond.







A view of the east end of Pensacola Beach.

Then I drove to the east end of Pensacola Beach. The wind seemed to be stronger there and was blowing foam off the surf.

A handful of people were walking on the east end of the beach.  One woman was doing a dance step along the edge of the surf.

Prayers are needed for those harmed by Hurricane Isaac.

Over the last several days I've logged a lot of hours watching Tropical Storm then Hurricane Isaac as it pummeled the Gulf Coast. Louisiana is currently under a frontal assault by the storm. Prayers need to be said for those still facing the brunt of the storm. The Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast is still being pounded by heavy surf, driving rains and high winds. The Florida Panhandle got off easy in this storm with just heavy surf and gale force winds.

I think storms are awesome, but I have to agree that it's time for Isaac to leave the Gulf Coast.

Hurricane Isaac Bypasses Pensacola Beach

Pensacola Beach on 8/28/12.

I went to Pensacola Beach earlier this afternoon to take photos of Hurricane Isaac as it bypassed our beach. I drove over the one mile bridge in pounding rain and gale force winds. The gusts were so strong it felt like my Jeep would be blown over the side. Definitely a breath-taking moment.

 As I pulled into the parking lot on the main beach, the rain stopped abruptly and the sun broke through the clouds. What an awesome sight!




Watching as Hurricane Isaac bypasses Pensacola Beach.

To the east the beach was nearly deserted except for a few hardy souls at the edge of the surf. The clouds in that direction were dark and mean looking. A sure sign that Hurricane Isaac was out there somewhere.

Some gusts of wind were almost strong enough to knock you off your feet. A couple times I came close to losing my balance.





A weather news crew reporting on Isaac.

To the west, facing the pier, a news crew filmed while the sun temporarily broke through the clouds.


I walked along the beach picking up treasures, colorful plastic sand shovels and molds for building sandcastles. I had an armload of the abandoned sand toys in no time. It seemed odd that children had left them on the beach, half-buried in the sand, waiting for me to pick them up.

Waves breaking over the end of the pier.

The waves were huge by Pensacola Beach standards, with some actually breaking over the end of the pier. I snapped several photos, hoping I would get a few good ones.



Churning surf under the pier.

I walked under the pier and watched in awe as waves broke underneath. I would have stayed there longer, but I was getting pelted with stinging wet sand. I said something to a person standing nearby and ended up with gritty sand in my teeth.

Awesome waves at the west end of Pensacola Beach.

I got back into my Jeep and drove to the west end of the beach where the churning surf had practically swallowed up all the sand. It was an awesome sight watching the huge breaking waves where the water is normally almost flat as a pancake.

My hair and glasses were soon coated with salt spray. I'd witnessed the might of Hurricane Isaac and was thankful the full force of the storm had decided to bypass Pensacola Beach.

Life's a Beach at Pensacola Beach

Today at Pensacola Beach

My husband and I went to the beach today to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We fell in love all those years ago on Pensacola Beach, so it seemed like a fitting place to go. (Well, we fell further in love in New Orleans at Mardi Gras, but that's a different story.)

Anyway, it was a beautiful day at the beach, but windy as all get out. The beach umbrella lasted just a short while before it started to crumple and had to be packed up.

Behind us, to the NW, the sky was getting darker by the minute and we could hear the rumble of thunder. The skies over the water were a bright cerulean blue with some scattered puffy white clouds. 

The surf was rougher than I like. My husband swam, but I just waded knee deep. I'm not as strong a swimmer as I used to be, so I don't swim on days like this.

The beach wasn't too crowded when we first got there. So it was nice to just sit and watch the waves and the sea birds. In short order busloads of teens arrived and they swarmed over the beach. It was like a giant tide of teens heading in our direction. The tranquility broken, it was time to head home.

I had taken my Kindle with me to the beach, but didn't end up reading. All I wanted to do was sit and look at the water, the clouds, the birds and the few people who wandered into view.

There was one tall, lean, broad-shouldered hunk with a tattoo on one bicep and a sexy six-pack. There was a also a hunky surfer dude with a tattoo around one bicep, long blond hair and a six pack too. Hmm! My husband said, "Check out the blond." He meant the cute blond chic in the black bikini. Hey, it was a good day to people watch. What can I say?

Normally I would spend some time at the beach reading. I almost always have a paperback with me. This time I brought my Kindle. I have to say it's great to bring to the beach. Mine is packed with every kind of book imaginable, including some great beach reads. Well, this brings me to the beach books part of this post. Below are some beach books that I hope you'll find interesting. (Please note that the books listed are in no particular order and all are available as eBooks.)

Beach Books I've Read:

Bluewater Killer by C.L.R. Dougherty
Widow's Tale by Maureen A. Miller
Mai Tai One On by Jill Marie Landis
SEAL of My Dreams by Stephanie Bond, et.al.
Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
Key West by Stella Cameron
The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe
Swimming Lessons by Mary Alice Monroe
Firefly Beach by Luanne Rice
Beach Girls by Luanne Rice
Beachcomber by Karen Robards
A Shore Thing (Otter Bay) by Julie Carobini
Murder on the Rocks (Gray Whale Inn) by Karen McInerney
A Dangerous Harbor by R.P. Dahlke

Beach Books TBR in my Kindle:

Endless Summer by Christopher David Petersen
Stay Close, Novac! by Jan Romes
Summer with Fidel by R.G. Lawrence
Deception in Savannah by C.L.R. Dougherty
Memories by Deanna Lynn Sletten
South Beach Cinderella Sharon Potts
All Keyed Up by Mary Stella
Across a Moonlit Sea by Marsha Canham
Summer Secrets by Barbara Freethy
Iguana Bay by Theresa Weir
Bulls Island Dorothea Benton 
Trouble in Paradise by Lynn Byer
Haole Wood by Dee DeTarsio
Chasing Sunsets (Cedar Key) by Eva Marie Everson 
Florida Heatwave by Michael Lister
Letters on Balboa Island by Kathy Holmes
Safe Harbor Judith Arnold
Confessions of a Beachcomber by E.J. Banfield
Mai Tai Butterfly by JoAnn Bassett
Key Lime Blues (A Wes Darling Mystery) by Mike Jastrzebski
Beyond the Misty Shore by Vicki Hinze
The Fisherman's Daughter Sydell Voeller
Tsunami Blue by Gayle Ann Williams

Beach Books on my Wish List:

Bluewater Vengeance by C.L.R. Dougherty
Chocolate Beach by Julie Carobini
Truffles by the Sea by Julie Carobini
Beach Roses by Jean Stone
Barefoot in the Sand by Roxanne St. Claire
Barefoot Season by Susan Mallory
On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves
Moonshell Beach by JoAnn Ross
Ten Beach Road by Wendy Wax
The Beach Club by Elin Hilderband
Beach House Memories by Mary Alice Monroe
Suddenly One Summer by Barbara Freethy
On Shadow Beach by Barbara Freethy

More Beach Books:

On the Beach by Nevil Shute
Beach Music by Pat Conroy
I Have a Secret by Cheryl Bradshaw
Wild Point Island by Kate Lutter
Life's a Beach by Malena Lott
The Honeymoon Cottage by Barbara Cool Lee
Beach Flirts by Lisa Scott
A Week at the Beach by Virginia Jewel
Beach Rental by Grace Greene
Hot Fun in the Summertime by Chicki Brown

YA Beach Books:

On the Line by Jackie Nastri Bardenwerper
Before You Go by Ella James

I'm sure I've missed a bunch of great beach books. So please feel free to mention them in the comments below and I'll add them to my list.

Welcome to Pensacola Beach!



Welcome to Pensacola Beach! 

I happen to live just a couple miles away from one of the most beautiful beaches in all of Florida, Pensacola Beach. Imagine miles of sugar-white sand and turquoise waters, a bright summer sun, a smattering of puffy white clouds, a nice ocean breeze blowing in from the Gulf, the smell of salt air, sand between your toes, a cold drink in your hands and hunky lifeguards. Hey, I had to include the lifeguards.

This being a holiday, Memorial Day, weekend, I thought it might be the perfect time to give you all a quick guided tour of our beautiful beach.

This is more of a family beach as opposed to a party beach. Though you'll find a little of everything here. Parts of the beach are alcohol free, for those who so desire. Other parts you can actually drink on the beach, but bottles are not allowed. Smoking is also not allowed on the beach, though there are places where you can smoke.

A few colorful beach bars can be found just steps from the sand. Some yummy restaurants too. If you're looking for a quiet spot, just drive a mile or more to the east or west of the water tower and you'll find that perfect spot to laze away the day. Don't forget beach umbrellas, sunscreen and boogie boards.


Sometimes the waves are big enough to surf.

 Surf is usually non-existent on Pensacola Beach, which is known for it's flat, tranquil waters. On the other hand, some days the surf is up and actual surfer hunks grace our beach. Ah, those are great days to people watch, uh, I mean, hunk watch.

I prefer the west end of Pensacola Beach. That's the quieter part of the beach, more family oriented. There are picnic tables, barbecues and covered areas, available for free on a first come first serve basis. Don't worry, you'll still find hunky lifeguards on this end of the beach. Sometimes you'll even find a cute little bikini-clad lifeguard too. Hey, we don't want you guys to feel left out.



The west end of Pensacola Beach.

As for me, I prefer beach umbrellas, a comfy beach chair, a good book and some music. Jimmy Buffett, Bob Marley and Kenny Chesney are pretty much my beach favorites.

If you pick a weekday as opposed to a weekend, there are parts of the beach you can have all to yourself. No hunks. No cute beach babes.

This being a holiday weekend, our beach is crowded. So if you really want to see some beach hunks and babes, then now is the time to visit Pensacola Beach. If you're like me, I'll wait until the holiday weekend is over.



Greetings from Pensacola Beach!

Teri Heyer at Pensacola Beach

My husband and I went to Pensacola Beach today. It was packed with tourists from practically every state in the union. Well, this is good for the local economy considering we are still reeling from the PB Oil Spill from two summers back.

Yes, if you are seeing ads about how beautiful the beaches are here, the ads are correct. The sand is powdery, sugar-white and squeaks when you walk on it. The water is usually a sparkling turquoise with very little surf.

Today was the roughest surf I have seen here in years. Only one surfer ventured out into the waves. It was so windy I thought my hair was going to be blown from my scalp. No, this isn't usual for our area, unless we have a hurricane heading our way.

Yes, hurricanes do come here. Hurricanes Opal, Ivan and Dennis all left their mark in years past. Another hurricane season starts June 1st. Hopefully the hurricanes will fizzle out in the Pacific or the Gulf this season and not make landfall.

One of the reasons for hitting the beach this morning was to shoot the photo for the cover of my latest book, "Romance in a Bottle." It's a short story with plenty of laughter and romance. This is the first of a series of Beach'n Short Stories that will be available for your Kindle, Nook or other eReader over the next several months. The stories are all set on Pensacola Beach, so you'll soon know all about this beautiful and fun area.

Be sure to check back to see the cover for "Romance in a Bottle." The book itself will be available at Amazon and Smashwords in May and at Barnes&Noble, Diesel, Kobo, Sony and Apple by June. If all goes well, I'll be releasing a beach book a month through the end of summer.

I'm really excited about "Romance in a Bottle" and hope you'll all enjoy reading it soon.