Planning a Beach Resort Vacation? Skip the Souvenir Shop & Hunt for These 3 Free Unique Souvenir Gifts
Wouldn't it be nice if on your next beach resort vacation, you could find some free souvenirs to bring home for your family and friends? Instead of having to hunt down a souvenir shop that sells location-stamped t-shirts and coffee mugs, wouldn't it be great if you could secure your gifts while you splashed in the salty waves and dug your toes in the soft, warm sand?
Read on for 3 souvenir gifts you can find by beach-combing the coast at your resort.
Agates
Sometimes when submerged rocks have crevices in them, sediments floating in the water gradually fill up those crevices resulting in beautiful, banded layers of different colors. These sediment formations are called agates. You can chisel them out of rocks if you happen to find some still attached to their hosts while scuba diving or you can scout the shore for agate formations that the currents and waves have plucked from sunken rocks and washed up onto the beach.
The best time to hunt for agates is mid-morning on a day following a heavy rainstorm. You'll want the sun to be bright, but still low in the sky. The rainstorm disrupts the water, carrying agates to the shore, and the sun then dries these agates and lights them from behind so they shine like brilliant pieces of glass.
Agates come in all sizes, and can be found on nearly any beach in the United States. They are most common, however, in areas where volcanic rock or limestone is prevalent since volcanic rock is naturally porous and limestone can erode, leaving ideal crater spaces for sediment to build up.
Whale Burps
Even the finest of fishermen occasionally lose a bit of fishing line while out on the sea. Over time, these bits of fishing line roll, crash, and tumble in the waves, picking up bits of ocean sediment as they do. Eventually, the line becomes the center of a round mass of seaweed, dune grass, shell fragments, and possibly a few seagull feathers. Those who are well-acquainted with the sea call these little marvels whale burps.
Because of their peculiar appearance, whale burps make wonderful souvenir gifts for those who couldn't join you on your vacation beach resort. They aren't hard to spot—just hit the beach when the wind is strong and look for floating, round balls of various materials.
Mermaid Tears
Legend has it that all mermaid tears come from a single mermaid who was banished to the depths of the ocean after going against Neptune's wishes and instead halting wind to save a sailor.
More likely, though, mermaid tears are the result of glass once lost at sea and polished by years of rolling about in the waves. Regardless of where they came from, mermaid tears, (also called sea glass) are fun to find and make great free souvenir gifts to bring back home to your loved ones.
Just as with agates, you should look for mermaid tears when the sun is low in the sky, causing the pieces of sea glass to illuminate from the back. The translucent stones can be found in shades of white, blue, brown, red, and green. They're commonly found on days following a full moon when strong tides have caused the surfacing of treasures from deep below the water.
If you're planning on visiting a beach resort and don't want to spend your days browsing gift shops for cliché souvenirs, get your loved ones truly unique gifts that cost absolutely nothing by scouting the sandy shores for the above 3 treasures. Click here for more information about your resort location options.
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