Buried treasure

Longtime readers will recognize the setting of the above photo, as I post more or less the same thing fairly often.

But they will immediately spot some differences from the usual. First, it’s a bit later than the usual sunrise shot. That’s because today’s swim was held at a very civilized 8:00. And second, it looks like someone has photobombed me with a metal detector.

Well no, dear friends, that’s actually MY metal detector, a complete surprise Christmas present from Lee.

I’ve long had an interest in finding treasure: cool rocks and arrowheads and fossils as a kid in Colorado, old pennies in a roll from the bank, collectible books and other stuff from the thrift store, money on the street, restorable watches from bulk lots at auction and on EBay. So metal detecting is an obvious next step.

But I’ve always thought the gadgets are expensive, and do I really need another hobby, and so on. So, the best kind of present: something I wanted but wouldn’t just go out and buy.

Sitting on the trowel is the very first thing I unearthed: the ring pull from a drink can.

Here’s the complete haul:

The piece of a plate was just laying there, but I figure it counts because I found it whilst detectoring.

YouTube and Facebook are full to overflowing with detectorists showing off their Roman coins, Napoleonic cannonballs, gold rings, etc. So there’s definitely room to improve. But I think this was the first of many happy hours geekily wandering on beaches and in parks looking for treasures.