15 Wednesday Jan 2014
Posted in Adventure, message in a bottle, Mystery Message, News, Romance, Science, Travel, Uncategorized
Tags
beachcomb, beachcomber, beachcombing, Bob Buffington, Buffington, Clint Buffington, Keith McComas, Kristy Suttle, Lebanon, Lebanon Democrat, Mariner of the Seas, message in a bottle, message in a bottle blog, message in a bottle hunter, mystery message, Robert Buffington, TN
In 2009 my dad found a message in a bottle. Look at this thing! 
07 Tuesday Jan 2014
Posted in Adventure, archives of the sea, Friendship, message in a bottle, Romance, Travel
Tags
adventure, Asheville, beachcombing, Clint Buffington, freeland, how to open a message in a bottle, maggie valley, message in a bottle, north carolina, The Nordic Empress, Tina Fey
After learning everything I learned in the last post, I knew I had to meet Phil in person. So, one day in August 2011, I loaded up the car and headed to Maggie Valley.
The night before I hit the road, I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking about everything I wanted to ask him and tell him, wondering whether we would really get along, and wondering–on the scale of crazy–just how crazy it was that I was about to walk into the home, the actual dwelling place, of a complete stranger… Is that, like, really really crazy? Or just a little crazy?
In any case, I went.
18 Monday Nov 2013
Posted in Adventure, archives of the sea, Friendship, message in a bottle, Travel
Tags
beachcombing, bottle, business card, Canada Dry, Clint Buffington, cypress gardens, John E Freeland, message in a bottle, old message in a bottle, winter haven
May 21st, 2011. The sun is blinding. Even the wind coming off the ocean is hot. My mom and I stand blinking in the sun beside a rusty green truck that looks dead parked by a small beach.
We have come here for beachcombing, so we wander down to the shore. After just a few minutes of walking, we decide to pack it up because there doesn’t seem to be much here other than trash and incredible heat. Mom heads straight back to the truck, and I say I’ll be there in a minute. We had planned to cover half the beach, but, being obsessed with covering every square inch of sand, I decide to walk the last 50-yard stretch we haven’t seen yet. Here’s what it would have looked like to watch us from above:
Mom and I take slightly different paths back to the truck, which happens to look like a race car in this bird’s eye rendering.
07 Friday Oct 2011
Posted in Adventure, archives of the sea, message in a bottle, Romance, Travel, weird news
Tags
adventure, beachcombing, Caribbean, Clint Buffington, Godzilla, Guinness, history, humor, illustration, Inspiration, message in a bottle, Neptune, Ovaltine, scroll, stick figure, travel
In 1959, something bizarre and completely unprecedented happened in the Atlantic ocean.
I know what you’re thinking: Godzilla sighting…
23 Friday Sep 2011
Posted in Adventure, archives of the sea, message in a bottle, Travel, weird news
Tags
adventure, advertising, beachcombing, beer, Caribbean, Clint Buffington, Guinness, history, message in a bottle, travel
Friends and neighbors, imagine my surprise when I found a message in a bottle from my favorite beer company, Guinness!
Check it out:
07 Wednesday Sep 2011
Posted in Adventure, archives of the sea, Breaking a bottle, Love, message in a bottle, Romance, Travel
Tags
adventure, beachcombing, Clint Buffington, daydreaming, humor, illustration, message in a bottle, romance, stick figure, travel
Finding a message in a bottle is fun!
It’s also extremely addicting. And when I’m landlocked and working, and my mind wanders back to the beach, and to bottles shining in sunlight–
I start getting a little batty! The unopened bottles in my home become the tell-tale hearts of my life, always pulsing in their cardboard box, hijacking my concentration. I stare at them and want to open them and yes, yes, their time will come!
But I have to be extremely careful. The papers inside are the only links I have to the senders, soon to be (hopefully!) my friends. Each one is priceless, each brittle paper. So I wait until the time is right for each bottle, wait till I have time and a quiet day stretching out before me, when I can gather the tools and supplies I need. And then, the bottles know: there is no escape!
