My work day on Thursday

So another photo post. I know. But I like to make you jealous of my job, sometimes. Here's how I spent my afternoon on Thursday (for a story, haha).

Sand railing. Dune buggy-ing. I did it. Sand in my teeth, wind in my face, kind of did it. 

Though I didn't drive, which is probably for the best.

This guy did. He's 80. He's been railing since 1957, which was basically before they were really invented, and definitely before you could buy them in stores and rent them for an hour.

All suited up and on the beach. Pretty sweet ride, for sure. This guy knows how to drive.

He found a crab shell or something. He's a wily one, with so many friends it's ridiculous. And more stories than you can imagine. 

He told me one time he drove by three naked ladies sunbathing where they thought they couldn't be seen, and he was embarrassed. And one time, he ran out of gas in the middle of the dunes, and he was embarrassed then, too. I had a cold, and after we met up for lunch and an interview, he brought me what he called the best cough drops ever when we went buggy-ing. He claimed it cured tonsillitis. I'm not sure about that one, but I'll let you know if they are, indeed, the best cough drops ever.

A second trip

Guess what we saw!

A rusty peephole...with barnacles.

That's attached to a rusty ship!

Much more visible than the last time I was there. Definitely cool.

Plus, it's right outside the parking lot, so easily accessible. Pretty impressive, I'd say.

It was a wonderful day on Horsfall Beach. Sometimes I can't believe how great this little old life of mine is.

Shipwrecked

At Horsfall Beach, which has been nothing but pristine, long stretches of sand every time I've visited, surprised me the other day when I went out for a story on beachcombing. The U.S. Forest volunteer told me there was a shipwreck being uncovered, which I had no idea resided in the sands of Horsfall.

It's rusty and quite old, and after some research, I've figured out what ship it is, and that it gets uncovered after winter storms. According to The World newspaper information from when the Sujameco was discovered: 

The 3,542-ton, 324-foot steel steamer was built in 1920. It was traveling from San Francisco to Coos Bay on Feb. 28, 1929, and ran into fog while trying to find the entrance to Coos Bay. On March 1, the Sujameco hit the beach at full speed roughly eight miles north of Coos Bay. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Redwing and two Coos Bay tugboats couldn’t pull it from the beach. Its crew of 29 abandoned the vessel; it was later cut up for scrap during World War II. Its remains can sometimes be seen at Horsfall Beach during winter when sand recedes. 

And so here it is, peeking out! It was a nice surprise, though low tide had passed so I was unable to get much closer — it was so stormy that waves still were periodically lapping around the remains. I've seen photos online showing nearly the entire outline of the ship, so I know there's much, much more hiding under there!

It was a nice day and I was working. On the beach. I like the photo of this whole shell, but didn't use it for my beachcombing story and I wanted to share it. Horsfall Beach is one of my favorite places, if only we didn't have to pay to park there.