“Key West or Bust” – Day 114
There’s always plenty to see on the beach. When you’re hiking the woods you’re limited to what’s nearby — sometimes just a few feet away. Everything else is blocked from view. On the beach you see what’s happening with the weather, what’s happening ten miles in every direction.
Today I hiked nearly twenty miles of beach, ranging from Patrick Air Force Base where some sort of radar installation stood right on the dune line …
… to the town of Melbourne Beach. A major storm had wound up out in the Atlantic. It had raised seas so high that it damaged a brand new state-of-the-art 168,666-ton cruise ship and caused it to return to port – Royal Caribbean’s ‘Anthem of the Seas’. And here that storm produced huge swells that had the surfers out in force. I saw many good demonstrations of surfing talent as I strolled along.
There were places where beach erosion had left virtually no beach at high tide. The bedrock was showing through in others.
It was a cool crisp day with a steady SW breeze. Here a cluster of black skimmers and royal terns were all standing facing into the wind.
The sky itself was a changing scene. Here the clouds help turn a dune covered with flowering giant agaves into a work of art.
Twenty miles of beach – it is going by too fast!
Here is the map of today’s walk, with links to more photos:
Cocoa Beach to Melbourne Beach at EveryTrail
EveryTrail – Find the best Hiking near Palm Bay, Florida
What a wonderful walk. I'm getting interested in the FL Trail.
Danny http://www.hikertohiker.com