When high tide began to approach (towards 5pm, high tide projected to be 640pm last Saturday) the furthest outpost, closest to the shore, began to be battered by the surf's onslaught. The youngest of our all male construction crew wanted to destroy the entire complex before we left, but we convinced him to just let the ocean take it. He reluctantly agreed.When Dr Desert Flower and I walked the beach on Labor Day (September 2nd, about 40 hours later) there were no remnants of the 10ft x 8ft x nearly 3ft high castle and 1 foot deep moat.
I am getting "the hang of it" now, and have figured out the 'goldilocks' ratio of wet sand to dry sand that is required to make the structure formable and sturdy enough, without having it collapse in an amorphous slurry. It is one helluva work out, and there's something "to show" for it when it is done, so I know this will not be the last sand castle my hands make on the Pacific Ocean's California shoreline.
Next iteration: add working catapults and trebuchets
ReplyDeleteI have watched several youtube videos on "how to make sand castles" and apparently, I've been 'doing it all wrong', where so called "professional sand castle builders" (who would PAY a person to do such a thing?) make a 1:1 water:sand sludge paste, and then "glop" it on... and carve away. I may leverage such techniques, but I really favor my "compact a mould" and then "invert mould, gently tap, and remove" .... that works best for me.
ReplyDeleteMoving parts, would be difficult... but... I considered adding "life size" pungi sticks, internally, to discourage maniacal stomping by children and teens... but that would be very not-nice-natured, so I will forgo such bobby traps.
One good idea though... might be to assault the castle with catapults and trebuchets, and destroy it at the end of the day, myself.... but it is a 150 ft elevation change from parking lot to shore line, and I'd have to carry back all the siege engine equipment Back Up the incline, without help... and that would be painfully tedious.