Sunday, April 5, 2015

Sea Glass Extravaganza!

I'm strangely enthralled with finding beautiful things.  It's a combination of the joy of discovery, and the fear of the item never being found.  There's just something about spotting that perfect piece at goodwill, a lost earring on the ground, or a 4 leaf clover among so many 3 leaves.  A few years ago I learned about sea glass, and it struck something inside me.

It's quite poetic; the accidental beauty of sea glass.  Humans dumping their trash into the ocean for years upon years, only for the ocean to patiently roll the hardest parts along the sand and through the waves to produce this beautiful smoothed little gem.  The glass is frosted by the salty sea water, breaking down the outer surface of the glass.

The glass holds pieces of human history, now gone with the advent of plastics.  They are archaeological pieces.  Blues may come from medicine, vapo rub or nivea bottles, reds may come from pre-plastic tail lights, and pastels often come from perfume bottles.



When I started planning my trip to California, this passion for sea glass was certainly in the back of my mind.  Sea glass certainly can be found anywhere, but my understanding is that it is concentrated on English, Japanese, and Californian shores.

So, trying to contain my excitement, I asked the friend I was visiting, "do you know if there's any sea glass near you?  I think it's supposed to be more common out there, and I've always thought it would be cool to find some."

To my surprise, he says, "I think there's a whole beach of it!"  It turns out that Glass Beach in Fort Bragg is 2 and 1/2 hours from Sonoma where he lives, but my very sweet companion was willing to drive me there.  We drove through beautiful redwood forests, quaint towns, and along lovely coastline.

It was more than worth it.  The beach was so unlike the East Coast beaches I'm used to.  Covered in glittering sea glass, with imposing awe inspiring cliffs.  The place was incredibly beautiful.  I collected a few interesting pieces, and we stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast with an ocean view.

If it weren't for my crazy crafting, I don't think I would have visited this incredible spot!



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