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Bellows Air Force Station

This is the beach we camped at this weekend.

It is incredibly beautiful. The water was so clear it was like swimming in a pool. The ocean has amazing shades of blue and green in this area. Some beaches on the island have very coarse, beige sand. Bellows has a very fine, white sand. When we first arrived one of the moms said, "I love this beach! The sand is like sugar! It's so pretty!"


Someone else said, "Ugh! I hate this kind of sand! It sticks to you like glue. Three weeks from now you'll be taking a shower and you'll still be finding sand on yourself somewhere."

It's funny how people can have such different opinions about what makes a good beach.


All the kids with us had a blast in the ocean. The waves were just big enough for some boogie boarding. The water was clear enough for good visibility while swimming.


Katie came and told me that one of the boys her age had told her there was a Portuguese Man of War in the water. "No, there isn't," I told her.
"No one would be swimming out there if there was a Man of War in the water."

"But Mama," she said, wide-eyed, "He said it brushed up against his leg."

"He's just trying to scare you," I scoffed. "Just ignore him."

Shortly thereafter, one of the pre-teen girls came shrieking out of the water. A Portuguese Man 'O War had wrapped its tentacle around her left arm, leaving three burning welts circling her forearm. She ripped it off with her right hand, stinging that hand in the process. When she made it up to the beach and the adults were trying to help her, she wiped her nose with her hand, transferring some of the burn to her nose.


Ben caught the Man of War in a bucket and then buried it deep in the sand to keep it from stinging anyone else.

It was only then that I found out Man of Wars and jellyfish are at this beach on a regular basis.

This went from being my favorite beach to a beach I never want to visit again in about two seconds flat.

No one wanted to go back in the water, we all went back to the camp and played games.

We all went back in the water eventually. We just kept a close eye out for any more dastardly critters. We managed to keep anyone else from being injured. We ended up having a fabulous time.


And if we have to sacrifice a few kids to the jellyfish, well, at least we had a fabulous view.

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  1. AnonymousJuly 1, 2010 at 2:38 AM

    We go to Bellows A LOT....(once a week...sometimes more...we were there on Monday and are headed there tomorrow) and have NEVER seen jellyfish or man of wars...we've been there when the signs are up, just never seen one....guess we are just lucky (knocks on wood now)..but I always keep vinegar in the cooler....just in case. It is my favorite beach....but my Dad hates going there when he visits...because the sand sticks to you. LOL

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  2. AnonymousJuly 2, 2010 at 2:08 AM

    Hey, this is Rory. I really like the blog mostly because I got stung by a portagese manofwar and it hurts. It feels like being elitracuted then bees stinging you so dont go any wear that might have them. Oh, and I almost forgot they're see throw. Rory

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