Stay safe

I was thinking back at some of the stunts I have pulled over the years treasure hunting and only one word describes it, yikes! 
Now more than ever safety is important as no treasure is worth dying for, or being featured as that guy out on the beach by the local news crew lol
I am staying home making sure I do not make treasure hunting headlines for the wrong reasons, I also have a longer honey do list than most married guys being away filming for weeks or months at a time. 
Perhaps wisdom really does comes with age because I cannot imagine doing stuff in the name of treasure like I used to do.
From searching in rivers with gators and moving water moccasins out the way with my scoop to being bumped by sharks and being trailed by a Florida panther before dawn, I took far too many risks in the past. 
During times of rough surf I would be the guy you see on the beach cams getting slammed against the cut, I have also been out on the beach during my share of tropical storms and approaching hurricanes.
Looking back I found nothing that could not have waited a few more hours to safely find. 
Another thing I do not miss is the heated run ins with territorial beach hunters on late evening and early morning beach hunts.
Really, getting bent out of shape because another person is metal detecting at the same public beach? 
Ive been cursed at and even threatened to be shot at one heavily hunted South Florida beach, the reason I avoid other beach hunters and heavily hunted sites as much as possible. 
I am still a slippery son of a beach but I now rely on site selection and history of the site to help me avoid taking unnecessary risks. 
A state wide stay at home order and closed beaches have shut me down and I intend to comply staying as safe as possible until this is hopefully over soon.
I have searched a few dangerous areas this year, but I made sure I was covered up, made plenty of ground noise and took as few risks as possible.
In the water I now avoid metal detecting before dawn or after sunset when I know I am probably on the menu.
Sometimes it is easy to get carried away in the moment, especially when you find one or two things you are searching for in an area. 
I remember hand fanning a target by a hole in a coral reef a few years back eager to see another good find, but I mostly remember the size of the moral eel that slowly came out of the hole in front of me.
Dang the open mouth on that beautiful predator as it slowly took a u-turn around me had some teeth in it, situational awareness is unfortunately sometimes only learned on the job.
In my opinion, treasure was not worth dying for before and it certainly is not worth dying for now.
Treasure can wait until I get there, patience can be a virtue for a hardcore treasure hunter. 
Stay safe my fellow treasure hunting friends!

available at www.garydrayton.com