A Fort of Flotsam
The weather has started to change and I've been frequenting a favorite spot on the beach. I've grown weary of the amount of people that have discovered my secret spot, so I had no other option than to find a new one. I walked towards a rock outcropping at one end of a curve that forms the beach.
I climbed to the top and saw another portion of the beach that looked relatively uninhabited, so I carefully went down the steep slope and walked along the water. I noticed heaps of assorted flotsam washed up on the shore and suddenly an idea struck me. As a kid, I had an uncanny ability to make forts in my backyard, so I decided to make a beach fort using only the materials that had washed up among the rocks. I scanned the beach for a suitable location, and I found a small cave that had a naturally formed protrusion in the shape of an incomplete circle. This became the spot.
I began to work immediately. Gathering precut boards of wood, makeshift plastic containers, and tangled knots of rope and fishing line, I hoarded these items back to the site. I used hand-sized chunks of stone that had been sharpened by wind and water erosion and cut loose the usable strands of rope from the knotted mess of fishing line. With my bare hands I moved the stones I was just able to carry and began closing the gap of the circle by constructing a wall that will eventually be waist high.
I strung the 1x4's together by unbraiding the rope into thinner strands and fastening them together with basic overhand knots, and placed the frame over the opening of the cave. I'm planning on throwing a blanket that also washed ashore over the frame to provide shade, but it needs to be aired out since it appeared as though it was teeming with smallpox bacteria. I also dug out a fire pit and threw smaller, gravel-sized bits of rock to make up the bottom layer.
Once I started getting cramps in my arms and legs from lifting the heavy rocks I called it a day. I sat down on a tree stump that was near the site before going home, and I already started daydreaming about how great its going to be once its fully operational. I'm pissed I'll only have 3 months to enjoy it, but its worth it to have the solitude I think. Before I leave I'll burn it to the ground so that no one else can enjoy the product of my expended labor and sweat. When construction is finally complete I will provide photographic evidence for all to enjoy.
I climbed to the top and saw another portion of the beach that looked relatively uninhabited, so I carefully went down the steep slope and walked along the water. I noticed heaps of assorted flotsam washed up on the shore and suddenly an idea struck me. As a kid, I had an uncanny ability to make forts in my backyard, so I decided to make a beach fort using only the materials that had washed up among the rocks. I scanned the beach for a suitable location, and I found a small cave that had a naturally formed protrusion in the shape of an incomplete circle. This became the spot.
I began to work immediately. Gathering precut boards of wood, makeshift plastic containers, and tangled knots of rope and fishing line, I hoarded these items back to the site. I used hand-sized chunks of stone that had been sharpened by wind and water erosion and cut loose the usable strands of rope from the knotted mess of fishing line. With my bare hands I moved the stones I was just able to carry and began closing the gap of the circle by constructing a wall that will eventually be waist high.
I strung the 1x4's together by unbraiding the rope into thinner strands and fastening them together with basic overhand knots, and placed the frame over the opening of the cave. I'm planning on throwing a blanket that also washed ashore over the frame to provide shade, but it needs to be aired out since it appeared as though it was teeming with smallpox bacteria. I also dug out a fire pit and threw smaller, gravel-sized bits of rock to make up the bottom layer.
Once I started getting cramps in my arms and legs from lifting the heavy rocks I called it a day. I sat down on a tree stump that was near the site before going home, and I already started daydreaming about how great its going to be once its fully operational. I'm pissed I'll only have 3 months to enjoy it, but its worth it to have the solitude I think. Before I leave I'll burn it to the ground so that no one else can enjoy the product of my expended labor and sweat. When construction is finally complete I will provide photographic evidence for all to enjoy.
posted by Alex Cruz at
5:38 AM
3 Comments:
Cool idea, except the "burning" part. I'd leave it for some other "explorative" soul to enjoy and wonder "who made this fortress of solitude".
Signed,
DAD
Little do the Japanese know that this fort is a FULLY OPERATIONAL BATTLE STATION
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