I'm an avid beachcomber. So I was excited to go to Kauai on my honeymoon, and hopeful to bring home some trophy or other. I was dismayed to learn that the shell population was highly protected... and being somewhat of an ecologicly minded person, I was respectful of that fact.
When in Kauai... I noticed it was different from many other seasides I've been to.
I've beach-combed things from skate eggs on Virginia Beach, to Whelks down in Galveston, to driftwood in Oregon... but Kauai introduced me to my first sea glass.
I remember my first find with clarity. Our first evening in Kauai included a dinner that overlooked a strand of grassy beach. After an excelent meal we decided to get our first glimps of the beach that buffeted the endless pacific. No shells, bu plenty of coral skeletons. I made my way towards what I thought was a particulatly large peice... and it turned out to be a thumb-sized sea-worn porcelain figurine of a little girl.
Elated, I drug my hapless new husband further into the surf in search of more.
I never did find another figurine, but I stumbled across my first genuine piece of sea-glass, and another, and another. Beautiful browns and greens, I found later, are the more common pieces. Blues, Reds, Ambers and Purples are more valued than anything else.
----------------------------------------------------------
The real finder's treasure in Kauai is it's Glass beach.
How-to guide
http://www.ehow.com/how_2281710_collect-sea-glass-kauai-hawaii.html
A good Washington Post article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/23/AR2007022300626.html
A good display of sea-glass from a dedicated seller
http://www.tropicalglass.com/
If you decide you like the look, but cant afford a trip to the beach, or the high-prices that some glass sellers enforce, be comforted. Your local craft store is likely to sell emulated sea-glass at a good price, in bulk.
When in Kauai... I noticed it was different from many other seasides I've been to.
I've beach-combed things from skate eggs on Virginia Beach, to Whelks down in Galveston, to driftwood in Oregon... but Kauai introduced me to my first sea glass.
I remember my first find with clarity. Our first evening in Kauai included a dinner that overlooked a strand of grassy beach. After an excelent meal we decided to get our first glimps of the beach that buffeted the endless pacific. No shells, bu plenty of coral skeletons. I made my way towards what I thought was a particulatly large peice... and it turned out to be a thumb-sized sea-worn porcelain figurine of a little girl.
Elated, I drug my hapless new husband further into the surf in search of more.
I never did find another figurine, but I stumbled across my first genuine piece of sea-glass, and another, and another. Beautiful browns and greens, I found later, are the more common pieces. Blues, Reds, Ambers and Purples are more valued than anything else.
----------------------------------------------------------
The real finder's treasure in Kauai is it's Glass beach.
How-to guide
http://www.ehow.com/how_2281710_collect-sea-glass-kauai-hawaii.html
A good Washington Post article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/23/AR2007022300626.html
A good display of sea-glass from a dedicated seller
http://www.tropicalglass.com/
If you decide you like the look, but cant afford a trip to the beach, or the high-prices that some glass sellers enforce, be comforted. Your local craft store is likely to sell emulated sea-glass at a good price, in bulk.
