Blog The Beach

See the sunrise over the Atlantic, then watch the sunset over the Gulf. You can see both easily in the same day. How’s that for a day trip?

Above is a July sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean on New Smyrna Beach. Grab a hotel on the beach and wake up for the sunrise. If you’re really lazy, just step out onto your hotel balcony and enjoy the sunrise. Then go back to bed–if you can resist running out onto the beach and going for an early morning walk.

Have a leisurely breakfast, then hop in your car and make the 3 hour drive to the Gulf Coast. Relax, you’ve got plenty of time. Stop for lunch in a small town in the middle of the state, or drive non-stop to the Gulf and have lunch on the beach.

Where to watch the sunset? Clearwater Beach’s Pier 60 is a good choice if you don’t mind a bit of a crowd. Otherwise I’d say head south to Sunset Beach on Treasure Island, or further south still to Pass-A-Grille Beach at the southern end of St. Pete Beach.

Above: Fishing at sunset on Sunset Beach, Treasure Island, Florida.

If you’re further south, say Palm Beach or Miami, you’ll do best to take Alligator Alley (I-75) across the state to Marco Island (Tigertail Beach) or Naples (Naples Pier) to see the sunset.

If you’re in the Florida Keys, it’s even easier. Just walk from one side of the island to the other to see the sunrise over the Atlantic and the sunset over the Gulf.

Sebastian Inlet beaches have few shells. At least few whole shells. There are lots of shell fragments all over the beach and mixed in with the sand. In fact the shell fragments give Sebastian Inlet’s beaches a warm brown color. One of the things I noticed is that unlike most beaches in Florida, Sebastian Inlet beaches have quite a few highly polished shell fragments like those in the photo above. They look as though they’ve been in a rock tumbler for a month being polished to be made into jewelry.

This phenomenon is apparently the result of the powerful wave action near the jetty. This beach has a powerful shore pound and a steep beach, which seems to result in the shell fragments being abraded for long periods of time and achieving a high polish. I can’t think of any other explanation.

I also noticed a heavy shore pound down in the Vero Beach area, but I don’t recall finding the polished shells, so perhaps there are other factors as well at Sebastian.

The polishing really brings out the beautiful colors in the shells.

Above you can see the swells breaking forcefully directly on the sand at Sebastian Inlet. Some of these Atlantic ocean swells were 3 feet high as they smacked down on the sand with a powerful boom.

Suncoast Surfrider Foundation members and supporters defied the heat and blazing sun Saturday morning July 26th to pick up litter on Upham Beach. Cigarette butts were everywhere, as well as various plastic bottles, bags, paper products, etc.

It was observed by many people who frequent Upham Beach (myself included) that much of the trash comes from youth who come to the beach and leave their drink and fast food containers on the beach when they leave. This is purely selfishness and a lack of concern for the environment and for other people who come to enjoy the beach. I spent a lot of time on the beach as a teenager–surfing, skimboarding, walking, hanging out with my friends–and I NEVER left a piece of litter on the beach. Nor did my friends.

So how about it folks, I know YOU wouldn’t leave trash on the beach, so don’t let your friends leave trash on the beach either.  Just put the empty food and drink containers in the trash containers provided by your parents’ tax dollars.  After all, you walk right by the trash can on the way back to your car. Why leave a mess for someone else to clean up?

I just spent a couple of days exploring the beaches between New Smyrna and Vero Beach with my old high school buddy Alex Kerr. Don’t get to see him often since he lives on Guam, but he happened to be in Florida for the Coral Reef Symposium and an echinoderm conference at the Florida Technical Institute in Melbourne, so we got to hang out for a few days. I’ll be writing a lot about that trip over the next few weeks, but first I want to tell you about a nice little beach restaurant we found.

The desk clerk at the Holiday Inn New Smyrna Beach (1401 S. Atlantic Ave, New Smyrna Beach, Fl) told us about this little restaurant right on the beach at the end of Flagler Avenue. It’s right next to the Flagler Ave Beach Access which also has a ramp for cars to drive out onto the beach (driving your car on the beach is permitted on parts of New Smyrna Beach).

As you can see from the above photo the Breakers Restaurant sits right on the sand. There is a bar that runs the length of the building so you can sit and look out over the beach while eating and drinking. The ocean breeze is perfect for keeping you cool.

We took a seat in the dining area, and then as soon as we saw the bar overlooking the beach we moved straight to the bar and ordered lunch. We each ordered a Mahi-mahi sandwich and I got a side of potato salad (included with the meal). The food took a little while to arrive, but no problem. The view was gorgeous and we were in no hurry whatsoever.

The food was great, but the view was the real winner here. I’m really not much on “tiki bars” on the beach because I don’t drink alcohol, and they are usually crowded and a little noisy, especially the ones at hotels. But this one was fairly quiet and very laid-back at the noon hour on a Monday in July. My guess is that on weekends and holidays it is standing-room only.

So if you are in New Smyrna Beach and want to sit at a bar overlooking the beach and have lunch or something to drink, I highly recommend the Breakers Restaurant. It isn’t gourmet food, but it is much better than what a typical beach concession serves. I also recommend that you visit during the week, or else arrive a bit early for lunch.

There are plenty of people on the beach here to watch. If you get restless, take a walk along Flagler Avenue and do some window shopping. Or rent a surfboard and give it a try!

The Southeast Regional Lifeguard Competition was held at Siesta Key Public Beach on July 14 and 15, 2008. I dropped by on Tuesday afternoon in time for the surf boat race and a foot relay race. I wish I’d been able to come down earlier, but the weather wasn’t so great and I was hoping for a break in the clouds and rain later in the afternoon. The opposite happened, but I still managed to take some photos.

Check out my photos of the Southeast Regional Lifeguard Competition 2008.

If you see a photo of yourself or of a friend and would like a copy, I’ll be happy to email the digital image to you. Contact me by email at “beachhunter [at] beachhunter.net”   ( replace [at] with @ )

The lifeguards were in excellent form and were obviously enjoying the event, which I expect is a great venue for sharing techniques and knowledge. Lifeguarding is a very underestimated and under-appreciated profession. The safest beach to swim at is one with lifeguards, and the statistics prove it.

I’m looking forward to next year’s event.

And thanks to my friend Curtis Mcfee, a dedicated and long-time Sarasota and Manatee County lifeguard, for letting me know about this great event.

When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time with my buddies at this beach. We would walk from one end to the other, meet other friends, and just hang out, soaking up the rays. I still love coming here. Most of my friends have moved away, but I’m still close enough to come and enjoy Coquina Beach any time. My family used to have picnics under the Australian Pine trees during the summer. And I used to go in swimming with my dad and my brother. That was a lot of fun. I was a fish.

See those rock groins sticking out into the water? They looked exactly like that back in the late 60’s and early 70’s. I loved to snorkel around those rocks. Used to see sheepshead, small snappers, jacks, spadefish, blennies, crabs, and red boring sponge on the rocks. It was a big adventure for a little kid.

Compared to the rest of Bradenton, Coquina beach has undergone relatively few changes in the last 35 years, and most of the changes have happened in the last 2 years, but haven’t really changed the look of the beach.

While taking the Hubbard Marina dolphin watch cruise at John’s Pass, we passed by Dog Leg Island, a thin sliver of mangrove  island covered with nesting birds. Pelicans and American egrets were well represented, but this family of great blue herons caught my eye. That’s a big baby to have to feed every day!

Ever heard of Mexico Beach?

No, I don’t mean “beaches in Mexico,” I mean Mexico Beach, Florida! This small, quiet beach town is overlooked by most of the vacationers coming from the north.

Where is Mexico Beach?

Check out my photos and reviews of Florida’s Mexico Beach on BeachHunter.net.

[ I took this photo while standing on the Cocoa Beach Pier looking north south. ]

I get lots of questions like this: “We are going to be in Orlando for a week to take the family to Disney World. We would also like to take a day and drive to the beach. What is the closest beach to the Orlando / Disney area that would be suitable for a family?”

So I decided to put up a page on my BeachHunter.net website to give you some ideas about what the most suitable nearby beaches are. I suggest the best and closest beaches, how to get to them, where to park, how long the drive is, and why I like them. I also have a fun idea for the more adventurous among you!

Visit Beachhunter.net to see my suggestions on the best Florida beaches close to Orlando and Disney World.

In most areas of Florida, if you mention St. George Island, no one will know what you are talking about. Although hardly “undiscovered,” it is not well known in all places like, say, Siesta Key’s beaches.

I visited the St George Island Beaches last summer and spent a very quiet and relaxing evening on the very expansive and completely undeveloped beaches on the eastern end of this 20-mile-long barrier island in the Florida Panhandle, near Apalachicola. Visit my website, BeachHunter.net, and check out my trip photos:

St George Island Public Beach

St George Island State Park