Coastline Treasures

With both parents working, spending time with the children can be a struggle. That means that parents must make time for their kids. Kids who get more attention at home are more likely to become successful and productive adults.

There are many activities that parents can do to increase the bonding time they have with their children. One way to do this is to build model sailboats together. Building a wooden model ship takes an extended period of time and concentration. Working so closely with your child on such a project will bring the two of you closer together.

While taking a drive down the California coast to San Diego I could see the large Mission Bay Harbor.  What a gorgeous day, clear skies, winds blowing, and the harbor filled with sailboats.  It was breath taking, as I don’t remember ever seeing that many sailboats in one place.  We pulled over just to get a better view. The bay was filled with these beautiful boats just gliding across the waters, or so it appeared.

Mesmerized by these small sailing vessels, we drove to the docks where there were dozens of boats.  Some were smaller, some taller, some with simple furnishings and others well decorated with nautical décor.  I couldn’t keep my eyes off them while walking among all the different kinds of vessels in awe as I have never experienced the open waters.  I dreamed of what it would feel like with the wind blowing in my face and being in the vastness of the ocean.  As I kept dreaming, I was planning on when I could make it a reality.

I love ships and the open sea; the sky that goes forever, the smells of salt water, the spray of the ocean, and the sounds of the lapping water along its edge.  Ships have been a part of history since time began and a recent trip introduced me to the schooner.  This multi-masted sailing vessel has two of more sails that are parallel to the body of the ship.  They were popular with trades that required speed; slaving, privateering, blockade running, fishing and pirating.

Schooners were most popular in the United States and Essex, Massachusetts was their most significant shipbuilding center.  Essex built more than 4,000 schooners and most were used for the fishing industry along the Massachusetts coast.  These fabulous ships of the 1800’s can be preserved as a wooden model ship; I brought one home and enjoy it every day.

To this day, my grandmother hasn’t let me live it down. I’m referring to an incident from my childhood, when we drove over to Grandma’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. I was about 5 and had just finished stuffing my face with turkey with all the trimmings, corn, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. The adults were understandably sluggish after this bountiful feast, and so they failed to notice when I slipped away from the table and went to look at the glass animal figurines on a high shelf in the living room.

Moments later, the clatter from a few rooms over was almost deafening, and my parents and relations came running with genuine concern. When they saw that I had managed to knock over every last knick-knack, my fate was sealed. I spent the rest of that evening helping with washing and drying the dishes. It doesn’t seem to matter how old my grandmother gets; she’ll always remember that holiday from long ago.

Have you ever thought about spending a night in a lighthouse?  Lighthouses contain so much history, if only they could tell their stories.  Just imagine the families that have lived there and protected the seamen from the rocky shores.  Lighthouses are numerous along our Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as the Great Lakes.  They come in all shapes and sizes too.

There are several dozen lighthouses that can accommodate guests in the United States.  They are along the west coast; Washington, Oregon and California.  Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York along the east coast; as well as Michigan and Minnesota around the Great Lakes.  By today’s standards, some have rustic accommodations without refrigerators and a simple one burner stove with a solar heated shower outside along with changing your own linen.  Others are elegant Bed and Breakfasts serving champagne and spectacular meals.  No matter which way you want to experience an overnight stay at a lighthouse, there is one just for you.  Don’t forget to visit the gift shop and bring home a lighthouse décor souvenir.

While visiting a friend, I was amazed at the glass animal figurines that she had collected.  She had a large curio cabinet where she displayed them.  Not only was this a great way to display them but smart as well.  They all stayed safe inside away from the daily chaos of kids and animals.

She told me that when she was young and on a trip with her family, she bought her first glass figurine.  That started a tradition.  Every time she goes on a vacation, she brings back a glass animal figurine to add to her collection.  She said that sometimes it is an animal that might live in the region and sometimes she gets it just because she likes it.  Either way, she does not see this tradition changing in the near future.

I remember our trip to San Francisco when my children were young.  The sounds, smells, street entertainers, the sea lions, China Town; there was so much to see and do in this beautiful hillside city.  Trying to decide what to see first, we walked along Fisherman’s Wharf.  To my surprise, there they were; huge ships from the 1800’s on their own pier.  As we got closer, I discovered that it was the San Francisco Maritime National Park.

Here there were a half dozen or so ships from yesteryear.  Dating from 1886 to 1914 were real ships that had been used and restored.  There was a square-rigger, schooners, steam ferryboat, steam tug, and a paddlewheel tug.  We had a blast as the kids went running from ship to ship to walk aboard and explore.  The seaman that sailed these vessels had to have been brave to cross the seas in them.  Seeing these wooden model ships was such a wonderful surprise. 

Several years ago we vacationed on the east coast in North Carolina.  We stayed in the Outer Banks which is a fabulous place to visit with ongoing lengthy sandy beaches seeming to be endless.  I remember the blue skies with white puffy clouds and warm waters.  The west coast waters are so cold; it was a delight to be able to jump right in and not turn blue!

As we drove the entire length and visited site seeing spots, Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, Cape Hatteras, I was amused that I could take in the sites on the sea and in the bay at the same time!  The bay was filled with wind surfers, jet skies, sail boats and canoes.  Everyone was enjoying themselves as was I.  I didn’t want the trip to end so I bought myself a nautical décor souvenir that I enjoy each day.  Every day I am fondly reminded of our trip.

A glass figurine can be a great keepsake memory.  When I was really little, only about six years old, my great-grandmother gave me a glass chicken, and now when I look at that chicken I always think of her.  This chicken was the first figurine that made me start collecting figurines from different places I visited as memories of the trip.

Having a collection of these figurines became a great hobby for me.  I was always enthusiastic about finding the perfect figurine to add to my collection.  It never mattered what the style was, as long as it was something I could remember the place by.  Sometimes I would get a bell, others an animal.  But, no matter what the figurine was, it always gave me the perfect memory of that trip.

We all know that a wood model ship is a replica of some of the fascinating wood ships of the past, but do you know anything about the greats of these ships?  These magnificent ships date back to the 1400’s when the age of exploration began.  Since then, the ships have become much grander.

When wood ships were first being built, the grandest of the ships measured 167.3 feet.  Seeming small to us now, a ship of this size was huge back then.  Since their original creation, wood ships have grown to very large sizes for wooden ships.  In the early 1900’s, a wood ship was created that measured in at 450 feet in length.  Some of these great old wooden ships have even been retired into different roles.  For example, Caligula’s Giant Ship is now the foundation of a lighthouse.  Next time you buy or make a wood model ship, try to determine what ship it is replicating.