Got to PCB last Saturday, July 23rd. We booked at Legacy by the Sea as they had supposedly 1 bedroom condos. Condos? Hardly...how about glorified high rise motel room. But, the weather has been great. Unfortunately, the seaweed is a huge problem. Everywhere you look, there is seaweed moving in. It is as bad as I have seen it. Heat index has been hovering around 105-110 all week and it is HOT but no rain and if you want the sun....it is here. Again...to bad about the seaweed. The kids are having a hard time enjoying the water.

We had reservations last year at Beachbreak by the Sea, a sister property to Legacy by the Sea. Our room was on the 1st floor and our view was some sort of a green plant blocking any view of the beach and ocean. We asked for another room and they gave us keys to a room right by the pool. We have no children and would have preferred a room on an upper floor so we could see the ocean. Needless to say we didn't stay and found a room elsewhere.

The "weed" we have along our beautiful coast right now is an important part of our ecosystem. It' is transitory and originates in the central Atlantic (www.smithsonianmag.si.edu-smit...). "chunks" break off and travel all over the Atlantic and gulf of Mexico. If not disturbed, it actually helps the beach heal from erosion. It is not "slimy" like the June Grass we sometimes see. As a matter of fact, if you pick some up in your hand you'll see it's full of mega tiny sea creatures (no, they won't bite), and because of that, many fishermen & ladies believe the fishing is better around these "rafts". We see this from time to time, particularly during an active hurricane season (3 of first 4 named storms have affected the Gulf Coast) and we view it just like folks in northern climates view leaves in the fall. If too much is washed ashore, it will smell a bit, but no worse than many beaches in the US smell at low tide. We have been HOT...14 days in a row over 90...our average high temp this time of year is 89! This weekend we cool down a tad with highs in the upper 80's through the weekend, and a few showers associated with a weak "cool" front stalled just to our north. Water temp is 88 and aside from the Sargassum, the water has cleared up dramatically. By the way, Even though you may want to stay "on property", you can find places without the Sargassum appearing at all. Hope everyone has a nice stay...ALOHA!!!

Thanks Wayne! That's good info to know. Many people just see seaweed as a nuicance, but it is important to our local ecosystem.

Funny voicemail by the way.... I think you're right!

They say that when life gives you lemons, you should make everyone happy and serve lemonade.....

And when the Gulf gives you seaweed??? Take full advantage of the abudance that Mother Nature's providing and:

1). Save yourself the $85 you would spend at the spa for the seaweed body wrap ... dive and roll ladies, then have your hubby wrap you tightly
in your beach towel and luxuriate in the nutrient rich "all natural" spa treatment that you might not otherwise indulge yourself in.

2). Collect the longest and widest pieces of the weed you can find and ....roll your own sushi!! Some raw tuna, a pair of chop sticks, a couple of bottles of saki and the party's on.....

3). Fill a large garbage bag with as much of the funky stuff you can fit, take it home with you after your vacation and use it to threaten your kids with...bad report card?, after school detention?, or breaking curfew.....then they're sleeping with the funky bag of seaweed under their bed for a week, yes...it's mean, but I bet it works.


So don't let the seaweed keep you away, go out and play! It's healthy, it's natural and there's always the outdoor showers to wash away the goo!

Any other ideas???....let me know!

Thanks Wayne...i was about to post essentially the same thing. My kids bring a little plastic aquarium to the beach that I've set up with a battery powered aerator. One of their favorite activities is to take a chunk of seaweed from the gulf and shake it over the aquarium. All sorts of neat critters fall out.

Before we let them go, I sometimes take photos of them with my macro setup (er, photos of the critters, not my kids. My kids keep coming back, I'm afraid.)