Ah yes! I was trekking all over San Miguel Island in slippery winter conditions, with a wrist that was barely healed from a bike spill and I realized I desperately needed a hiking staff, unless I really wanted to screw up my wrist again with another tumble.

Then, walking along a beautiful sandy beach, there appeared a cast up mop handle. Once I had sanded off a few globs of tar, it became the best walking staff ever, and served for subsequent treks on SMI for years after.

You can find amazing things on beaches (just to hijack the thread a bit) - edible food, unopened soft drinks, working flashlights (waterproof, of course), hard hats, marine charts, unexpended phosphorus flares (that was exciting) and messages in a bottle (several). No mermaids, though.....