The Rarest Finds: red, yellow, and orange seaglass. But sometimes, I get lucky...

Yellow bird. Near our hotel on the coast of the Big Island, Hawaii. July 2005. D&J.

Where the lava hits the Pacific.
Big Island
Hawaii
D&J
July 2005

J holding a broken piece of a large conch shell
on one of our beach walks south of La Paz, Mexico. Click on the image to expand it and admire her
pretty orange nail polish. Orange is her favorite color.

December 2004.

Beach Stones
Big Island, Hawaii
July 2005

This is what the jagged black lava outcroppings turn into once the ocean has had its way with it. Just like seaglass, the stones end up rounded and smoky.

Bunker in the Sand
Ocean Beach
2005

Silver Lava
Big Island
Hawaii
July 2005
D&J

Lava Moonscape
Big Island
Hawaii
July 2005
D&J

This feather is from a roseate spoonbill in Ding Darling Sanctuary, Sanibel Island.

Abalone Shells. The story is my girlfriend and I went up the coast to Occidental for her birthday. We drove to the coast, where I found these shells. February 2005.

Big Shell. I don't remember where I found it.

Painting beach stone (that otherwise would be a good skipper) and sand dollars from Ocean Beach, SF...

The story here is a bittersweet one. A little under two years ago, I realized I was falling in love with my friend, J, but from all indications she was not available for a realtionship. I took a long walk at Ocean Beach one hot day, and drew this silly, romantic image in the sand. Then I photographed it with my digital camera, printed out the image at home, and painted it with water colors.

I emailed a bunch of friends that I had taken this walk and written secret messages in the sand. I confided my feelings for J to one friend. She said this was the best of times, knowing I loved someone but not knowing how it would turn out.

She was right.

A month later, J and I were lovers. Two years later, we have broken up. I have lost her. All that is left now is my small collection of memories and images. This is one of them, from an early, hopeful moment.

When anything was still possible.

Sea Wall, Big Island, Hawaii, July 2005.

All of my Hawaii photos are from a trip we took there last summer. My girlfriend really wanted to see the active volcano, and we did, but that is another story. Most of the time we roamed the quiet beaches. I didn't find much seaglass, but I did shoot lots of photos...

Turtle by Log, Big Island, Hawaii, July 2005

Red Crab on Rock, Big Island, Hawaii, July 2005

Little Brown Bottle from the Pacific

Bottles from the sea. Lots of mythology around bottles. In my wanderings, I have found notes in bottles, though nothing very romantic -- mostly scientists measuring currents, etc.

Sanibel Island -- a small collection of shells found along Sanibel's Gulf beaches. Sanibel is one of the best shelling venues in North America.

Scroll down to see some of the reasons I love her...