Good one lol!
Fifty or so years ago, my best friend and I used to go to Manhattan Beach in southern California to hang out, work on our tans, and try to meet guys. My friend was much prettier than me, so the guys always gravitated towards her.
One day, a super handsome lifeguard approached us and talked only to me. My friend looked daggers at us both, and then wouldn’t speak to me for the rest of the day. It was the only time a man ever paid me more attention than her.
I’ve surfed Toes Beach a few times. McGurk Jetty is the most overdesigned jetty in Southern California. A pile of rocks would have sufficed. I heard a theory that it’s unique architecture was intended as an unmistakable landmark for planes landing at LAX. I don’t buy it, but why else would you expend so much metal and concrete for a mere jetty?
Obviously he was a man with impeccable taste.
Never go to a beach with the name Slaughter. You never know what kind of situation you might end up in.
Awhile back I was visiting cousins in Delaware. We tried all day to find a relaxing beach that was not too crowded or expensive. Storms kept us from settling anywhere too long and we were kicked off one pleasant spot.
Still hankering for some beach time we checked the GPS and found a place called Slaughter Beach that seemed like a great find.
It was not.
We pulled up, parked, changed in a modern, clean bathhouse and headed for the beach. There were very few cars and even less people milling around although it was still early to mid afternoon.
We soon discovered the reason why we stumbled upon a delightfully deserted beach location.
Apparently we pulled up when all of the horseshoe crabs headed en masse from the sea to the shore. They were either spawning or molting or dying or engaging in ancient preprogrammed horseshoe crab activities.
It was a sight to behold. There were hundreds of them as far as the eye could see.
Some of them were as big as kitchen garbage can lids. Many of them seemed dead but I was not about to inspect too closely.
We did find a spot relatively free of horseshoe crab shells and stayed for a couple hours but I did not feel comfortable and did not go into the water.
According to online information the name Slaughter Beach originates from a previous prominent resident or a historical event from the distant past or in part because of the macabre horseshoe crab activity on display.
Sometimes names are a warning.
Kraken Beach. Nuff said. ![]()
Seriously there @Ellecram that is one cool, if unsettling, story. A beach cobbled with horseshoe crabs is more nightmare fuel than a relaxing day to frolic mostly naked in the sun & water.
If you ever get a chance to fish for tuna, do it.
Physically exhausting - especially for nerds like me whose version of “pushing weights” is “pushing a mouse”, but man. Hour long fights with a fish who might outweigh you.
And then, so much fresh tuna that you can give it to your friends, your dog, your cat…
The boats I went with had a strict catch/tag/release policy. You got to keep the first, but (assuming your arms are strong enough) you manage a second, or a third, they tag and release.
A single tuna is so, so, so much more meat than an average person can deal with; I got one fillet that probably weighed 15kg and was as long as, but wider than my leg.
Stop, you’re killing me!
The amazing thing (to me): it was just a slab of tuna, nothing fancy, just grilled with a tiny bit of black pepper on top. How can something so simple be so good? I asked if we could thank the chef in person and the whole kitchen staff came out and we chatted briefly. But, yeah, they must have had a monster fish because they were still serving it two days later and it was just as good then. Makes you want to eat healthy.
And I really like that catch and release policy you mentioned.