you're really lucky, you might even find an emerald."
"An emerald?" I asked. "With a metal detector? How is that possible?"
"Well," she replied, "while the Spanish were mining for gold and silver in South America, they found emeralds. Knowing they were valuable, they put them on the ships to send back to Spain.
"When the ships went down, the emeralds went down with them. They'd get encrusted onto metal objects in the ship's debris field. They'd wash up on the beach, and every once in a while, people would find them. Even with a metal detector."
I nodded, "Cool. So tell me, how long have you been detecting on the Treasure Coast?"
Anna paused, then said, "I've been coming to these beaches for years. Usually on weekends or whenever I could get a few days off from work."
"And I've been pretty lucky. I've found a few old Spanish coins, some jewelry and lots of small iron artifacts.
"But no gold. That's what I really want to find. And I'm thinking this storm might be the lucky break I've been looking for."
I nodded, "So you've found some Spanish coins? What was that like?"
"Pretty exciting. At first I thought they were just iron chips because they were heavily encrusted and so small. But when I got home and looked at them closer, I realized they were Spanish Reales, pieces of eight.
"The small ones I've found really aren't worth a lot, but it's always exciting to find a three hundred year old coin."
Anna took a sip of her wine, then asked, "So what have you been finding with your detector?"
I laughed, "Today was my first day using a metal detector. And after five hours on the beach, all I have to show for it is a few lead fishing weights."
Anna smiled, "At least you found something. Proves your detector is working the way it should.
"If you hang around until after the storm, you'll do better. Especially if you search the beach I'm going to."
I waited for her to tell me more about her special beach, but when she didn't, I changed the subject, "You mentioned getting days off from work to search the beach. So what kind of work do you do?"
She shook her head, "Until recently I worked for the power company as a meter reader. But now that they've put in smart meters, they don't need people like me to go house to house to read the meters any more. So I'm out of a job.
"But I'm not worried about it. I've got a little money saved up, and a couple of job offers I'm considering.
"What about you Walker? What do you do for a living?"
I smiled, "I guess you could say I took an early retirement.
"See, the company I worked for closed their plant and moved it to Mexico. They laid me off, and I ended up with this motorhome and a little money in the bank. So I decided to come to Florida and just camp out for a while."
Anna nodded, "Sounds like fun."
I agreed. "It has been so far."
I changed the subject again, "So back to metal detecting and finding treasures. You mentioned you might share some tips with me. How about it?"
For the next hour, Anna shared her secrets for finding treasures, along with a list of beaches she planned to hit right after the storm.
Her strategy was to avoid the beaches that everyone else would be detecting, because she felt those beaches would soon be hunted out.
So instead, she was going to a secret beach access point that most people weren't aware of. She'd had luck at this beach before, and felt it was the best place to start after the storm.
After telling me of her plans, she said, "If you want to, you can come with me."
I smiled. "That'd be great. I'd love to detect your secret places with you. But aren't you worried I'll find the treasure that should rightfully be yours?"
She laughed, "If only it were that easy. The beach we are going to detect is about three miles long and a hundred yards wide. No way two people can cover it completely.
"So no, I'm not worried about you
"An emerald?" I asked. "With a metal detector? How is that possible?"
"Well," she replied, "while the Spanish were mining for gold and silver in South America, they found emeralds. Knowing they were valuable, they put them on the ships to send back to Spain.
"When the ships went down, the emeralds went down with them. They'd get encrusted onto metal objects in the ship's debris field. They'd wash up on the beach, and every once in a while, people would find them. Even with a metal detector."
I nodded, "Cool. So tell me, how long have you been detecting on the Treasure Coast?"
Anna paused, then said, "I've been coming to these beaches for years. Usually on weekends or whenever I could get a few days off from work."
"And I've been pretty lucky. I've found a few old Spanish coins, some jewelry and lots of small iron artifacts.
"But no gold. That's what I really want to find. And I'm thinking this storm might be the lucky break I've been looking for."
I nodded, "So you've found some Spanish coins? What was that like?"
"Pretty exciting. At first I thought they were just iron chips because they were heavily encrusted and so small. But when I got home and looked at them closer, I realized they were Spanish Reales, pieces of eight.
"The small ones I've found really aren't worth a lot, but it's always exciting to find a three hundred year old coin."
Anna took a sip of her wine, then asked, "So what have you been finding with your detector?"
I laughed, "Today was my first day using a metal detector. And after five hours on the beach, all I have to show for it is a few lead fishing weights."
Anna smiled, "At least you found something. Proves your detector is working the way it should.
"If you hang around until after the storm, you'll do better. Especially if you search the beach I'm going to."
I waited for her to tell me more about her special beach, but when she didn't, I changed the subject, "You mentioned getting days off from work to search the beach. So what kind of work do you do?"
She shook her head, "Until recently I worked for the power company as a meter reader. But now that they've put in smart meters, they don't need people like me to go house to house to read the meters any more. So I'm out of a job.
"But I'm not worried about it. I've got a little money saved up, and a couple of job offers I'm considering.
"What about you Walker? What do you do for a living?"
I smiled, "I guess you could say I took an early retirement.
"See, the company I worked for closed their plant and moved it to Mexico. They laid me off, and I ended up with this motorhome and a little money in the bank. So I decided to come to Florida and just camp out for a while."
Anna nodded, "Sounds like fun."
I agreed. "It has been so far."
I changed the subject again, "So back to metal detecting and finding treasures. You mentioned you might share some tips with me. How about it?"
For the next hour, Anna shared her secrets for finding treasures, along with a list of beaches she planned to hit right after the storm.
Her strategy was to avoid the beaches that everyone else would be detecting, because she felt those beaches would soon be hunted out.
So instead, she was going to a secret beach access point that most people weren't aware of. She'd had luck at this beach before, and felt it was the best place to start after the storm.
After telling me of her plans, she said, "If you want to, you can come with me."
I smiled. "That'd be great. I'd love to detect your secret places with you. But aren't you worried I'll find the treasure that should rightfully be yours?"
She laughed, "If only it were that easy. The beach we are going to detect is about three miles long and a hundred yards wide. No way two people can cover it completely.
"So no, I'm not worried about you
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