My parents, son, and I planned a road trip to Niagara Falls in the summer of 2016. During our planning, we decided to turn the trip into a two-week drive through the New England states with our last stop being Niagara Falls. One of the states on our bucket list was Maine. When I was telling my coworker of my plans, she started telling me all the highlights of Maine. One of her favorites was to go sea glass hunting.
Sea glass is produced by man and formed by nature. It begins as discarded bottles, jars, and glass that is tumbled and worn down by the ocean’s waves. It can take between 7 to 10 years to form “sea glass.” True, quality sea glass has no shiny spots, is well frosted, and has smooth edges. Sea glass cannot be reproduced by artificial means. The frost and pitting of the glass are the distinguishing factors of a nature-made artifact. Sea glass has been called many things, such as, beach glass, mermaids tears, ocean glass, and trash glass. Just remember if it comes from the ocean, it is called sea glass (bytheseajewelry.com).
Sea glass comes in a variety of colors, but there are a few colors that are considered super rare. These colors are orange, turquoise, red, yellow, black, teal, and gray. The more commonly found colors are white, brown, and green. Sea glass is used to make jewelry and other works of art. If you would like more information about the significance and history of the colors, please visit: (seaglassjewelrybyjane.com)
My family and I decided to do our hunting on Boothbay Harbor, Maine. We did not know what to expect as we were driving to the beach. Was the glass going to be scattered out like seashells or was it going to be hidden like pirate’s gold? We walked down to the tide pools and some was easy to find and other pieces, we had to dig in the sand. We all had the time of our lives. It was so relaxing sitting on a rock and finding buckets of glass. There was one moment that made our hearts stop beating. My dad had been digging in a spot for awhile when he let out a shout. We all went running to him and when we got close to him, he was holding this dark, golden doubloon. My dad had found pirate’s gold!!! I grabbed the coin to get a closer look and realized it was a 100 Peso!!!! We all laughed, but it was still an interesting find. How did that little peso get all the way to Maine? What was its story?
When I got home, I took some of our sea glass and dropped it into clear Christmas balls. Then, I dated the ornaments for some unique and memorable Christmas decorations. The rest of my sea glass has been placed into decorative jars and set around my house. As far as my dad’s “pirate’s gold”, it has a place of honor in my keepsake jar in my office.
In the summer of 2018, my family once again hit the road. We took a two-week road trip through California. During my planning, I discovered Glass Beach near Fort Bragg, California and I wanted to see all the sea glass. There was a plethora of sea glass, but also of tourists. It was a beautiful place to take photos and see the glass, but it was not as relaxing as our rock in Maine.
In the summer of 2020, we once again hit the road headed to Florida. I researched if there were any places to sea glass hunt. We tried to hunt south of St. Augustine, but sadly, we had no such luck. If you are planning a beach getaway, research online to see if your destination has spotted sea glass.
Happy Hunting!
In Loving Memory of James "Buddy" Hampton, Jr.
Comments