Cool. As you can see in the photo, they're fairly long and narrow-bodied. I'd say they were probably 6' long or more. And the location is northern Florida, if any of this helps.
There are a lot of different corn and rat snakes around there that I've seen over the years, but I had not seen ones this size or with that particular color scheme. They're usually a red and tan pattern or just a plain black. Then we have the pygmy rattlers and full-size ones, and the moccasins, of course. These guys were just chilling near the top of the 25-30' dunes on the beach.
There was also a large turtle about 20 feet away from them digging a hole in the sand, then he buried himself for a nap, I suppose. He was tossing sand everywhere while I was trying to focus in on the snakes. Lots of activity out there this afternoon/evening.
Anyway...congratulations on the tour guide job. Sounds like a lot of fun. And welcome back!
Hrmmm that size and shape makes me think some sort of racer then. Whatever it is, its head is really ornate!
Did you happen to get a picture of the turtle?
No, the turtle was a little farther away and I was more intrigued by the snakes. But it was a really dark color, shell and all. Maybe about two feet long. Pretty roundish body and a thick, shorter head. Digging like crazy though. He was throwing that sand pretty high and far. My wife may have gotten a shot of him. I’ll see if I can get it on here tonight.
[EDIT] - Sorry...she didn’t get a picture either.
That's okay! It probably wasn't, but I just have to ask since it kinda fits your description...it didn't look like this did it?
You think maybe a kind of Coachwhip? That would be my guess.