I drove my wife out to the airport this morning for her flight to Canada for a 4 day business trip. We took the scenic route along the South Shore and I brought my gear along to hunt the other end of the island where the airport is located. Along the way we saw the horsey types out for a Sunday morning ride.(kinda like surf church only without the gold)
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I got to the airport with time to spare so we had the customary 'one for the sky' drink, a Dark and Stormy. We ran into friends which is normal for a small airport on a small island and chatted with them while sipping our drinks and waiting for my wife's flight to be called.(this is the way flying used to be before airport security went OTT)
Finally it was that time, so I kissed my wife goodbye and headed down the road to Clearwater Beach and a little looting; at least that was my plan. Clearwater Beach is the old US Air Force Base beach and when conditions are right it will give up old gold and silver so I was hopeful as I drove through the abandoned base and past the old McDonalds Restaurant which is now a no name restaurant due to Bermuda's anti-franchise laws.
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I made the turn at the end of the runway and headed down to Clearwater Beach, the old NASA tracking station is just behind this beach and you can see the dome in the background of this pic.
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I changed into my farmer john wetsuit and hauled my gear down to the beach, hopeful of finding more old silver as I had on my last hunt here a few weeks ago. As soon as my feet hit the beach I sank up past my ankles in soft sand and as I moved into the water it only got worse, it was like wading through sloppy porridge. This was not looking good but I decided to give it a go anyway as I wanted to be there when my wife's plane ramped up for takeoff so I could give her a final 'Bon Voyage'. (my wife is french so work with me on this)
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Eventually, the Air Canada flight rolled to the end of the runway which is right beside the beach and I waved to the plane as always and my wife who always sits in the aisle didn't wave back because she couldn't see me but she'll be happy to know I waved when she calls me tonight from the hotel in Montreal. After takeoff, I worked that beach every which way possible but it was a no go, pull tab city and I mean over 100 pull tabs had been pulled down into the wet sand and shallows.(they all wound up in my finds pouch)
After 3 hours of hunting I managed to pull 32 cents from that beach, nothing else, not even a cheap hoop earrring.
Lootwise, Clearwater beat me today - Funwise I really enjoyed myself. The wind wasn't too bad and the waves were calm, I wound up digging a huge amount of junk but that is a lot less junk for me to dig next time, plus I had a front row seat for the planes as they came in on final approach.
[attachment 153594 KingofJunk005.JPG][attachment 153595 KingofJunk006.JPG]
It's a unique beach to say the least, planes flying a few hundred feet over your head and today there was a motorcycle race on the unused section of the old space shuttle emergency landing strip. To say that it was loud was an understatement but I'll be back to hunt Clearwater Beach again, the next time I drive my wife to the airport.
Cheers,
BDA
[attachment 153590 KingofJunk001.JPG]
I got to the airport with time to spare so we had the customary 'one for the sky' drink, a Dark and Stormy. We ran into friends which is normal for a small airport on a small island and chatted with them while sipping our drinks and waiting for my wife's flight to be called.(this is the way flying used to be before airport security went OTT)
Finally it was that time, so I kissed my wife goodbye and headed down the road to Clearwater Beach and a little looting; at least that was my plan. Clearwater Beach is the old US Air Force Base beach and when conditions are right it will give up old gold and silver so I was hopeful as I drove through the abandoned base and past the old McDonalds Restaurant which is now a no name restaurant due to Bermuda's anti-franchise laws.[attachment 153591 KingofJunk002.JPG]
I made the turn at the end of the runway and headed down to Clearwater Beach, the old NASA tracking station is just behind this beach and you can see the dome in the background of this pic.
[attachment 153592 KingofJunk003.JPG]
I changed into my farmer john wetsuit and hauled my gear down to the beach, hopeful of finding more old silver as I had on my last hunt here a few weeks ago. As soon as my feet hit the beach I sank up past my ankles in soft sand and as I moved into the water it only got worse, it was like wading through sloppy porridge. This was not looking good but I decided to give it a go anyway as I wanted to be there when my wife's plane ramped up for takeoff so I could give her a final 'Bon Voyage'. (my wife is french so work with me on this)
[attachment 153593 KingofJunk004.JPG]
Eventually, the Air Canada flight rolled to the end of the runway which is right beside the beach and I waved to the plane as always and my wife who always sits in the aisle didn't wave back because she couldn't see me but she'll be happy to know I waved when she calls me tonight from the hotel in Montreal. After takeoff, I worked that beach every which way possible but it was a no go, pull tab city and I mean over 100 pull tabs had been pulled down into the wet sand and shallows.(they all wound up in my finds pouch)
After 3 hours of hunting I managed to pull 32 cents from that beach, nothing else, not even a cheap hoop earrring. Lootwise, Clearwater beat me today - Funwise I really enjoyed myself. The wind wasn't too bad and the waves were calm, I wound up digging a huge amount of junk but that is a lot less junk for me to dig next time, plus I had a front row seat for the planes as they came in on final approach.[attachment 153594 KingofJunk005.JPG][attachment 153595 KingofJunk006.JPG]
It's a unique beach to say the least, planes flying a few hundred feet over your head and today there was a motorcycle race on the unused section of the old space shuttle emergency landing strip. To say that it was loud was an understatement but I'll be back to hunt Clearwater Beach again, the next time I drive my wife to the airport.
Cheers,
BDA
