 Mary drove south 2 hours to Sanibel for some good R & R combined with a little beach combing to sweeten the pot for her vacation. I don’t think she was disappointed with anything after talking to her then looking at the shells she found in her blue bucket.
Did you spot that big SHARK’S EYE in her bucket? Take a look at this beauty!
We were shelling in between sand bars just west of Fulgur St. at sunset when the tide was going out. I wasn’t disappointed with my finds either… especially since I “found” my buddy Karen (aka Kaybe from TheEssentialBeachcomber) and her friend Lil Shawty (aka Janet) with her blue bucket filling up too…
 Here are a few of our other finds (see that ALPHY I found? It cleaned up so pretty!)…
 As I was taking this photo, the skies were growing black, the temperature dropped, everything was starting to get a yellowish tint and I looked up to see a storm heading right for us. We picked up the pace and headed for the car. Run, Forrest, run!
 PS- We didn’t get one drop of rain from that big black cloud on our end of the island.
PSS- Have you signed up for our GiveAway yet? CLICK HERE
That water looks crazy! I always love that funky yellowy green hue the everything (sky/water) gets that time of day when a storm is approaching. I am bad weather dork tho’ haha.
Looks like a FAB day for beach treasures of all kinds :)
sure do wish I only had to drive two hours to get to paradise! I’d be there every weekend!!
That sharks eye is huge.
Moving to Florida in a year, what a wonderful house warming gift this would be for my new career, shelling!!!!
What a beauty that sharks eyes is! I’m with Roxanne – sure wish I was only 2 hours away! I wore my “I love shelling” tee shirt to the baseball game last night – got lots of “I do too” comments!
I am new to shelling but I love to find all the different shells while on vacation. This is such a good idea I would love to have it !!! Enjoy living in paradise !!
Pam, I thought I would share this story with you! Husband took me to Sanibel, FL for my Big 5 OHHHH in June. This place is great for finding shells and seeing live critter in the water. I collected tons of beautiful shells! We saw live Florida conchs, King’s crown conchs, tons of hermit crabs in borrowed shells, sand dollars, sea urchins, manatees, dolphins, sting rays, and one thing I had never seen before – a sea hare! There are signs everywhere telling you that it is illegal to take live shells or critters. If it’s empty, it’s okay. There were very few people on the beach one day when a couple came down to the beach from our hotel and set up under an umbrella near us. I was people watching and saw them hanging out in the water. They came back up to their chairs and had two large live conchs and a sand dollar which they hid under their chair and put sand over the top of them. That is how I knew that they knew what they were doing wasn’t right! Shortly, they both went back to the hotel for something. I had been sitting there just beside myself that they would do this and trying to get the courage to say something. Well, when they left, I knew I had one chance! As I said there were very few people on the beach. I casually, but quickly walked over, found the critters and took them back into the water. At this point I am giggling to myself at my bravado!! The critters seemed to revive thank goodness. A while later, the couple came back to the beach. The man looked and looked….and looked, and looked for those critters!! I was loving it! I don’t think he ever did put it together that someone would actually rescue them! This same guy got a $500 citation the next day when a school of manatees got caught too close to the shore at low tide and were in rather shallow water between a sandbar and the beach. He would reach out and push them with both hands as they went by! Several people told him before the cop saw him that it is illegal to touch manatees, but he didn’t listen. Made my day when the cop gave him a lecture and a fine! Angela Moore – critter saver! I just couldn’t sit back and let him kill those critters!
OMG LOL Good for YOU, you sneaky little angel, you!!!!!! I am so happy that guy got what he deserved and I hope he never comes back! Oh please sign your name whenever you post again “Angela Moore, Critter Saver”- We all will have to smile and have a little giggle every time we see that. Thank you for sharing that story!
Done!
Terrific! Good for you Angela M, Critter Saver! Mother Ocean is happy that you rescued some of her babies!
Love your heroic rescue story, Ms Critter Saver. Paradise awaits anytime you want to return!
Good for you!!! It is so disturbing to know that people do it on purpose when they know it is wrong. I’m so glad you set them free and he was fined to boot.
Angela Moore, Critter Saver: Good for you!!! We need more people like us and less like them. Soooo glad he got a lecture and a fine. Maybe he will think that Sanibel Island isn’t the place to be (for him, anyway!!) and leave it for those of us who care! We love you!!!
Too bad that fine didn’t include a lifetime ban from the island!!! Thank you, Angela Moore – critter saver!!!
WOW, I’ve never seen such a big shark’s eye… great find!!! Pam, nice to find out that you’re shelling with Karen… Have you seen the shell she picked up for me this morning ;-))
Have a very nice & sunny weekend!! Jutta
What a great stash for the day. Great Shark eye, do they come any bigger than that?
Counting the days till we leave for Sanibel, 14 days & counting. We can’t wait. have never been there but I’ve been to Clearwater & Tampa. Would love to have a seashell sifter to make shelling easier. I just got thru making nets will a pull string to put on our wrists to carry along. Getting excited.
Hey Shell Sistah!
On our way off the island Janet & I stopped at the visitor center to get the Sanibel guide they hand out for free. Both of the ladies working there told us if we like shells we had to check out this awesome website a lady named Pam has called ILoveShelling.com. Your renown is spreading!
Wow I have so missed your website, it was like something was missing. I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time for much. Just looking at your beautiful photos and post truly help me to relax a natural way, being at the beach would be pretty nice too..soon…very very soon. Again thank you and wow at the Wentletraps and Baby Ears :-)
What fabulous treasures! I really can’t wait to return to the island – 49 days and counting!!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that the dude got cited and lectured about his misguided behaviors. Some kids just never learn, and they grow up to be dudes like him!! I do hope he decides never to return to paradise!! Because he obviously just doesn’t get it………….
I LOVE SHELLING!!!! I’ve been hooked every since that first trip to Galveston. I eventually worked my way doen the coast to Padra. Each year we go to Rockport and I spend my days hunched over the beach picking up “beauties”. I make jewelry so I love to incorporate my finds in my peices. I’m working on my hubby to go to Sanibel…he can fish and I’ll shell. I’ve descovered I either need to shrink to a 2 year old height or just sit down and scoot along the coast, my back alwalys pays for my additction.
Love that Alphy, Pam!! (Of Course!)… do U recommend bleach and if so how much 1 part bleach, 8 parts H2O?
I noticed the shelling basket that Karen is using. I had one that I purchased while on vacation on Sanibel several years ago. It was my favorite shelling basket, but I literally wore it out shelling and had to shell Sanibel without it last week while I was there. The place I bought it did not have them any more and I would dearly love to purchase another like it. Any chance that Karen or anyone else would know where I could get another? It’s made different than the aluminum ones that can be purchased in the sporting goods stores and always my favorite one to use! any help locating one would be greatly appreciated!
I just stumbled upon your website by accident and now can’t get enough of your photos and stories! My family and I are avid (although newbie) shell collectors. We live in NC (relocated 5 yrs ago from Northeast) and vacation in the Crystal Coast area. Our favorite shell collecting spot is Shackleford Banks. We’ve found 2 whole Queen’s Helmets as well as a BIG FL Horse Conch there…and many Knobbed Whelks. (The Horse Conch was unfortunately stolen from my parents’ backyard gated (!!) garden.) In the past year we’ve also found a whole scotch bonnet (My then 5 year old daughter was so excited she started shaking!), FL Fighting Conchs, one Channeled Whelk, a very old Murex (4 in) and lots of Olives (they are my favorite, even if they are common). Each trip we decide on an ‘elusive’ shell to find…which makes the hunting even more fun than it already is!!…we want to find another Horse Conch, a Murex and hopefully someday a Junonia. We have heard of someone finding a Junonia in that area, so, we know it’s possible! Thank you for sharing all of this wonderful information and all of your experiences.
I want to be included in the shelling scoop giveaway contest. Maybe someday soon I can get down there to use it, the shells in Orange Beach AL just aren’t the same.
Just got back from Captiva island.
The shelling was very disapointing. We went to many beaches on both Sanibel and Captiva and did not have a lot of luck. I did find some shells using a mask but not many if any good shells on the beach. We were here in 2007 at the same time of year and the shelling was great and we couldn’t wait to get back. Was this an unusually bad time of year or was 2007 unusually good? Many people we talked to agreed that the shelling was not good.
Please enter me in the drawing for the scoop. For the past 3 years, I have been coming to Sanibel in Oct.with my husband, daughter and her family. We love looking for shells. My 6 year old granddaughter can identify over 20 different shells. We have gone shelling in front of our rented condo at Loggerhead Cay, Sundial and Casa Ybel and always had good luck. I want to read your posts to know of other good shelling areas. Thanks for this info.
Those shells are great finds… I wish our mesh bag had so many goodies in it when we left Sanibel last Friday. Mom, sis and I made the trip down from St Pete and were sad to not come away with any candy corn or moon snails or paper figs. I was just hoping and hoping for some good gastropods but mainly all we found were bivalves. Maybe our next day trip down will be more fruitful.