Shipwrecked

This weekend we did some explorin'! We haven't been out and about as much as we've liked due to life getting in the way as usual, but we're working on that. So on Sunday morning we ventured out to a place called Shipwreck Beach. I'd heard a few things about it, and assumed the name was self-explanatory. Armed with our directions from ITT (information, tickets, and travel) and some caffeine, we made our way off base and along the coast. After driving right past the entrance, we figured it out.

The first thing we saw is the "mountain of seashells", or so it was called on the directions. It definitely was a mountain. It dwarfed my 5'11" husband. I don't know how or why they're piled a good kilometer from the water, but it was interesting to see.

After we took some snapshots by the many shells, we continued towards the beach where we saw ships, stranded on the shore. I wonder where they got the name for this beach... 

It was gorgeous. All the ships just stranded in the sand. It was so interesting to see how time had warped and roughened the wood, leaving debris all over the place.

 

 
With the beautiful blue skies and water, I was snapping pictures like crazy. It was a perfect day to go to the beach, and it was so much better than any beach day my husband or I had done recently. Jeff hates the beach, but he was like a kid in a candy store here.

There was so much to touch and investigate. Every time I turned away from my camera, he had his hands on some wood or was picking up some debris or climbing on rocks. It's why I assumed he would love this place.

 

 I think what struck me most was how natural it all seemed. In the states, a wrecked ship would have been carefully picked up and discarded, forgotten about within a month or two. Here, it becomes part of the landscape. You could tell these ships have been here for a long time and aren't going anywhere soon. The way Japanese embrace both life and death, growth and decay just fascinates me. Here's a ship that's well past its prime, falling to pieces, buried in sand and rock, and decaying. But it's beautiful.

 

I loved this place.

Besides the decay, it was just a pretty beach and a gorgeous day. I love how this picture captures my husband's footprints as he runs away from me. There was a small stream between the boats above and this rock formation. He jumped over it nimbly, and I stood and looked at it with trepidation. I pictured my clumsy self falling face first in the cold water, dragging my camera into the water with me. I looked up to ask Jeff to take my camera...and he was way down there climbing rocks.

He's a climber. But this turned out to be one of my all-time favorite pictures of him, so I don't mind.

I even managed to join him on the rock without a) falling on my face or b) dropping my camera and watching it shatter. Bonus - I didn't even fall climbing in all that debris.

I forced him to do a quick picture, of course.

Another favorite picture! He climbed the pile of rocks as I was still sitting and I yelled "Wait! Let me get a picture!" And as he was waiting for my to scramble down and get to the other side of the pile, he decided it would be funny to do the Captain Morgan pose. The seagull in the background is pure luck. Love it, though!

The seagull landed on the rocks, and Jeff continued to climb on the rocks. He was going to jump his way out to the farthest rock, but decided that might not be the best idea and stopped about halfway. Not without some laughter caught on film, though.

It was such a fun little trip. I can't wait to go exploring again.