With a some extra time before my flight home from Florida, I hit the Atlantic coast to stand in the waves for an hour. I love this beach across the street from Patrick Air Force Base, south of Cocoa Beach.
I've been here before — this is the kind of natural, non-commercialized Florida beach I grew up on.
These are the leaves of a sea grape bush, and when I was young my mom showed us you can pick these to eat. You'll find these along the beaches in spots with their distinctive round leaves. Sadly, I couldn't find any grapes this time.
As a kid once when I was swimming in the surf I got my legs tangled up in a Portuguese Man o' War. A nearby lifeguard sprayed bleach on my legs, and all was well, but I had some pretty good welts. This was the largest I saw washed up on the beach, it had tentacles about 3 feet long, and I found a few babies nearby. They're gorgeous and painful.
