A Day at the beach and Stone Angels

Gorgeous, yes?
Today I went to Kealia Beach. I know I've posted pictures before of my favorite beach - but i couldn't resist - it was a spectacular day! I packed a lunch of cheese and strawberries and orange slices and iced water and had a wonderful time. i usually start my beach day by taking a walk up the mile and a half stretch of beach. Almost no one was there and the tide was out a bit. I found a bevy of small 1" or so shells where the tops were missing - and I thought - I wonder if i could use these as bezels with resin? So I gathered them all up! If I have time to play with them before i leave for LA I will post some pictures....
...The water really is this blue - several shades of deep cobalt.....
While beachcombing I saw a large blue shell - shiny, baby blue, and ...now this happened in seconds....I reached down to pick it up, but it was in the sand deeper than I thought ... and i had to dig down to pull it out...and when I did, it wiggled, and I dropped it! It was a crab- maybe about 5 inches across. Later i found a small one and was able to photograph it:Below is a man o war jellyfish. This one is about an inch across. They have a tentacle that can extend 10 inches, and their venom is still potent even after they are dead. If you step on one and you get stung, vinegar is what the locals put on to counteract the stinging pain! I've only ever seen them on the south side of this beach, which is part of my walk - but I swim and picnic on the north side, and there aren 't any there. Today I must have seen about 20 of them, most were only 1/3 of an inch or so. The one in this picture has his "sail" full of air and his tentacle is not extended. They just fascinate me....they are purple and blue....Just a few more pics..........interesting driftwood....
Across from the beach is an old Cemetery. I always drive by it, but I've never stopped. It has a beautiful stone angel that is bigger than the other stone markers, and I've always meant to stop....but it just seemed sacrilegious or something to stop. But today i decided I would go and visit anyway, and be as respectful as I could ...there are no keep out sign or anything...but i still felt a bit ill at ease.....
This is the entrance....
...This is how it looks back towards Kealia Beach....and here are a few of the gorgeous angels...
The cemetery was so beautiful and diverse. The "tomb" that is there, had a statue of Jesus laying down and a plaque with a dedication of the cemetery, established in 1934. There were stone markers, concrete markers, marble ones even some wood ones! Oh - there were many crosses made from PVC pipe! Here's a slide show with more pictures. I spent a lot of time here - it was so peaceful and inspiring!

On another note, Susan in Germany received my "Art in a Carton" I sent her. Here's a link you can click on to see what I sent her:
http://art-in-a-carton.blogspot.com/2008/05/hint-of-hawaii.html