It's a simple answer: never turn your back to the ocean.
If you're anything like me- the ocean is an overall place of calm & serenity. This is spoken -mind you- after growing up on the east coast & getting my ass handed to me time & time again- in the rough surf. I've definitely been a stranger to the knowledge of which direction was sky & which was sand, but it's been a long time since I've had any kind of close encounter until now, as I come to you after a humbling experience.
A few weeks ago my partner & I took our pup & set out for the 2 hour drive to the Oregon coast for the weekend to go see the King Tide; a biannual event where which the tides are 1-4 feet larger than usual & are quite the spectacle. We try & catch it every year. It's a great time to go beach combing during low tide, & kick back & observe during high tide.
We collect buoys & have upwards of 20 lining our driveway & front yard, so the idea of finding more to add, & the potential promise of finding an antique glass Japanese fishing float is pretty alluring.
As well as see the sea, I wanted to get some pretty photos of an upcoming collection I was about to release to the public: the Color Palette that would look beautiful in the sun or at least with ocean in the background. The earrings had their backs sawed out so the light can get through. In this case the brightness of the oceans crest would suffice.
I hung the studs from a strong reed plucked from nearby dunes & stood at the shore while my partner shot pics beside me. All of a sudden a sneaker wave came & punched through the reed, filling up my boots & then my pants, & before I knew it I was running for shore & feeling the strong pull. It all happened so fast!
I knew better than to be distracted there, but I had either a false sense of security, or you could chalk it up to another absent minded action of someone being distracted by their phone (camera).
Even at the shore you can still be struck by a sneaker wave. Luckily our little dog was fine, as were we; I'd gotten the worst of it as well as a good & arguably necessary reminder of my place.
When I got out of harms way & up on dry land I could see I was missing multiple earrings. Somehow we were able to recover 2 of the 3 pairs that got slammed out of my hands. That's 4 individual earrings that we found on the the wet shores as the waves swelled & receded. How wild is that? My kind boyfriend ran back & forth as the waves came & went, finding a solo earring on the turf each time. I stil can't believe it.
I posted about my experience on instagram & a few folks wanted to know where we were, in hopes of finding the earrings! Haha. Amazing. I'd love it if someone found them both & wonder if that already happened. To find such a treasure could really make your day!
All in all, the cost of 1 pair of earrings was a slap on the wrist for what could have been, & that's ok with me.
Next time you're at the ocean, remember to enjoy it while keeping it in your site, and maybe if you're lucky you'll be rewarded with a treasure.
