4/11/18 Report - Florida Rep Responds To Beach Access Issue. Figural Bottle. Traveling Bottles.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Figural Cologne Bottle
Photo submitted by Scott B.

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Joe P. received a response from the Florida representative that he contacted concerning the beach access issue.  As I've said, I'm not going to play attorney and try to explain House Bill 631 or what I think it will or will not do.  There is much confusion about the bill.

Part of the confusion and problem comes from the fact that the bill, like most legislation, isn't easy for the average person to read and understand, and the articles that have appeared in the media are not totally accurate or clear.  In fact I'm sure the articles are responsible for a large part of the concern and confusion.  I'll give you an example of that later.

Here is the note Joe received from his representative.

Joe,

Thank you for your email. I always appreciate hearing from my constituents on the issues of importance to them.

I want to share with you a news story from Jacksonville that was posted last week. I believe it does an excellent job explaining what the bill actually does and does not do. Should you have any questions after reviewing it, please feel free to send them to me. 

https://www.news4jax.com/news/florida/leaders-clarify-how-new-law-will-affect-your-access-to-florida-beaches

Best,
Bill Hager

I hope you will read the entire article, but here is a brief excerpt from that article.

But after backlash online from people who are worried it will give owners the right to kick people off public beaches, local leaders are trying to set the record straight.

State Rep. Cord Byrd, whose district includes Duval and Nassau County coasts, told News4Jax on Thursday that it's complicated, but to simplify it, those who own property on the beach generally own the land up to the sand dunes, which are protected by the state and are off-limits.

Byrd said the wet sand in between the water and the dunes is public property, and beachgoers have a right to access it. He said the new law doesn't change that...

The public is speaking up and making it clear that they are concerned and do not want beach access to be restricted.

The article is helpful in tone, but leaves much to be desired.  I do not believe they really mean "wet sand."  I would guess that what they really mean by that is the beach up to the mean high tide line.  However, if the "wet sand" or "beach up to the mean high tide line" is all the public will have access to, that would indeed be a BIG reduction in the amount of beach that the public will have access to.

The third or last sentence in the excerpt above, I think would be more accurate if the word "wet" was omitted, so it would read, ..the sand in between the water and the dunes is public property, and beachgoers have a right to access it.  It appears to me that the reporting has caused a lot of the confusion and turmoil.

Without telling you what I think the law will or won't do, or guess any more about what the article was trying to say, I'll just say that the public is making itself heard and at least some of the law makers have taken notice.  And regardless of what the law will or won't do, it is good for citizens to let their representatives know their concerns.  Joe's representative certainly responded more politely than some of the other representatives that I've heard about.

This isn't the kind of thing I like to write about.  In fact I don't like to write about it, however I think it is necessary because of the importance of the issue and the confusion and concern surrounding it.

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Scott B. sent me the photo of his friend's cologne bottle at the top of the post.  It still has a label on it, so he knows exactly what it is.

The locomotive bottle I found was only half the size of the cologne bottle, but could also be a scent bottle if it isn't a candy bottle.   The small size would make me think perfume rather than cologne, and I have a found a lot of small perfume bottles in the area, but the locomotive would seem to me to be more likely for a male than female.

Thanks for the email and photo Scott.

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Here is an email I received from one reader concerning bottles and bottling plants.

I've enjoyed the mention of bottling companies in your blog over the past few days.  It is a rich history-and a personal one for me.

My great-grandfather started a Coca Cola bottling company in Kissimmee in 1909 or so.  Three generations operated the plant until it was sold to Orlando in 1970.  It is a little hard to fathom now, but the bottles were recycled and refilled at the local plant until they wore out.  My father has told me many stories about the process, since he worked at every station as a teenager!

This is something I find extremely interesting.  It is easy to imagine Coca Cola bottles traversing the country in much the same way as a coin.  My dad tells me that more than half the bottles were from another location at any given time-many from out-of-state-unless they were filling a bunch of recently delivered new Kissimmee bottles.  The bottles traveled in cars or by other means until they were recycled at the local bottler for 2 cents.  They were then cleaned, refilled with Coca Cola, sold and the travels started again.  This is why it is not unusual to find a bottle far from where it originated.

Fascinating!

Russ P.

Thanks much Russ.  I had no idea how many local versus out-of-area bottles would be processed at a plant.  Glad to have that information.

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Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

As you can see the surf will increase a bit tomorrow.  Nothing real exciting, but it could be enough to move some sand in some areas.

The tides aren't big now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/31/18 Report - Ship Remains on Florida Beach. Locomotive Bottle and Mystery Object Finds. Happy Easter!

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com

Shipwreck Timbers Left On Beach At Least Temporarily.
Source: See staugustine.com link below.

Officials had to resort to their second plan of securing the hull section in place Thursday evening after the equipment that was planned to move it got stuck in the sand and couldn’t make it to the site.

Tonya Creamer, spokeswoman for the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum, said Friday morning that the artifact is still on the beach and researchers plan to continue collecting as much information from it as they can...

Here is the link for more.

http://www.staugustine.com/news/20180330/update-ships-hull-secured-on-beach-after-attempt-to-move-it-fails

Heaven forbid!  The public actually gets a chance to see it.  As I said the other day, you might want to take a little day trip to see this.

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Small Figural Bottle Found.

I didn't go metal detecting yesterday but I did go for a little walk to see what I could find.  No more rubber worms - thank goodness - but I did find this nice little figural bottle.

I walked down the beach a short ways and didn't find anything, so turned around and started back.  I don't go real slow the first trip, so it is something of a scouting mission.  So on the return trip and not having found anything, I looked for smaller objects on the return trip.

This one wasn't easy.  It is very irregular and small and partly covered with sand.  At first glance I thought it looked like broken glass, but it was a little odd, so I decided to take a closer look.  You can see what I found.

Back View Showing Small Opening.

Barely readable on the bottom of the bottle is J S Co.  Above that is what appears to be 3 D P.

At this point I suspect it is either a candy container bottle or a bottle for perfume or some liquid.  The closest thing I have found so far are candy container bottles, but the opening on this one is so small that the candy would have to be very small.

Any help on ID would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

Front of Train Bottle.

I also found the following item on the return trip.  I don't know what it is.

Mystery Find.

All I saw of this one is the top of the blue bubble on the top.  When I saw it I thought it was a mostly buried marble, but marbles usually aren't usually buried that deeply.  It was odd looking.

Another View From What Appears To Be The Bottom.

From the bottom you can see a smaller but similar shaped white object inside the bigger object.  The entire object appears to be a clear plastic. the bottom is flat. Another cylinder or disc is inside but does not reach the bottom.  There is no apparent functionality to it other than what you see.  What do you think it is?

You can improve your eye-balling skill through practice.  Bits and pieces that are not part of nature begin to stand out and attract your attention, even when they are small and perhaps barely visible.  I walked past both of these items once, until I set my focus on small objects for the return trip.  Very much like metal detecting, except you are using your own perception system.  I nearly said eyes, but a lot of it is information processing, as is always involved in perception.

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Here is the surf prediction for the next few days.   Towards the end of the week, it looks like we'll have an increased surf.

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As I always say, "There is always some place to hunt and something to find."  Sometimes you might have to make some adjustments and try some other places or techniques, but it is out there.

Let me know if you have any ideas about either of the newly found objects.

Happy Easter,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net