So you know what makes seascapes cool? It's a wide angle shot that's super close to a rock with a nice tide splashing around it. You know what that means though - you're going to get wet.
No big deal then right? Well salt water is death to cameras, tripods, and anything electronic. My Nikon, thank god is weather sealed and can stand just about anything. Gitzos (tripod) too are almost indestructible. My phone though, is apparently very fragile.
One big wave hit me and that was it. My phone I thought, safety being in my pocket, would be fine but a small bit of water got into my pocket which was enough to brick the screen.
What I wasn't prepared for was how much I freaked out. Not having a phone on a trip meant no navigation, no PhotoPills, no music, no Instagram.
Limekiln State Park, Big Sur
Slackers Hill, taken with a Note 8 - at least the camera is pretty good.
I freaked out so much I marched over to T-Mobile to drop $1000 on a Samsung Note 8. Well they didn't have any in stock so I had to deal with a $150 piece of crap. Deal with it I did, for one day, when I went back to get one that got freshly shipped in.
There are two morals of this story: carry a dry case when going near the ocean and keep my old phone on a trip as backup. Maybe a third, try and learn to drive without Google Maps for once!