On the third day of our Shellabaloo, the Island Inn organized a fabulous shelling excursion for us to explore the quiet and undeveloped beaches on the island of Cayo Costa. So we gathered aboard Captiva Cruises‘ catamaran called “Playtime”, and headed for our secluded paradise.
 After walking through a charming tree canopy trail with a sanded pathway,
we arrived on a shelly beach with picturesque trees and roots that act as a perfect trap for seashells.
Then everybody scattered! Some searched the roots…
Some searched the wrack lines…
Mike immediately started hunting the clear waters and found this gorgeous live LIGHTNING WHELK. After admiring the spectacular beauty of this live creature, he gently placed it back in the water. We hope it lives a much longer life and to breed more beauties!
Patty was completely mesmerized by the minis! She found lots of tiny seashells she never dreamed of paying attention to before like oodles of LUNATE CRASSINELLAS!
Here she is holding her minis and decked out with her awesome mermaid and seahorse tattoo along with Captiva Cruises’ Captain Brian…
It was so much fun to show everybody exactly where and how to spot the shells they were hunting for!
Right after I showed Jo Ann the different shells to look for in this wrack line, she showed me a COFFEE Â TRIVIA. Wow! I don’t find those very often!
We all had an amazing day being together and sharing our finds (CLICK HERE to see some of the other shells we found) and telling our stories while being on the island then comparing notes on the boat ride back. After arriving back at the dock, we all got together for a group shot to remember our exshellent time together.
So now that I’ve told you all the shellsational things we did over the 4 days like staying at Island Inn, cocktails and dinner at Traditions On The Beach, shelling at the different beaches and the excursion with Captiva Cruises (I didnt even get to show you the visit to Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum and dinner at Doc Fords! so sorry!) … I also made up a little game of a “Shellinger Hunt” for everybody! Nope, not a scavenger hunt…. a shellinger hunt! For each of our destinations, I had questions for everybody to play along to find certain shells and learn a little something more about the island. It was fun even to put it together since I had lots of help from my adorable, sweet kitty Dustie…
I even tied WORM SHELLS to each of the Shellinger Hunt scrolls so it would start everybody out with a fun shell…
Congratshellations to winners Kathy, Karen, Jackie, Helen, Mike and Carolyn of the first ever iLoveShelling Shellinger Hunt! They won gift cards to the new awesome frozen yogurt shop on Sanibel called Zebra Frozen Yogurt. YUM!
Thank you Island Inn for organizing this 4 day spectacsheller event!!! Everything was perfect. Even the last sunset of our time together right on the beach in front of the inn was perfect…
As promised, we are working on more dates to organize more shellsational events just like this one at the Island Inn so more of us can share such a special time together. I hope to announce that very soon!!!
Ahem…. but meanwhile, while the next Shellabaloo date is still in the works… I have some exciting news!
LET’S DO A CAPTIVA CRUISE TO CAYO COSTA TOGETHER!!!
Yes! I have secured some dates so we can meet each other, enjoy a boat ride together and shell, shell, shell together on the beautiful secluded island of Cayo Costa!!
 Get ready to meet the best people on the planet… other shellers just like us!
These are the dates for the iLoveShelling ShellingAdventure!
- February 17- morning cruise from 9am-12 Â Â Â (Sunday)
- March 16- morning cruise from 9am-12 Â Â Â Â Â (Saturday)
- April 13 – Morning cruise from 9am-12 Â Â Â Â Â (Saturday)
- May 19- afternoon cruise from 1pm-4 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Sunday)
Call Captiva Cruises for reservations at 239-472-5300 and tell them you want to join the iLoveShelling group on one of these dates!
For more information about reservations CLICK HERE
Yippee! Can you believe it? Tickets are only $50 for this shellacious get together so book soon to save your spot on one of the iLoveShelling ShellingAdventures to Cayo Costa! Come join me!
We are heading down July 3-11th…anything in that time period? I LOVE shelling and this all sounds like sooo much fun…I’ve been to Captiva and Sanibel and can’t wait to come back
Tracey, I hope we have good turn outs for these upcoming dates first then we’ll see if we should continue through the summer. I tried to book for the best tides too so I havent looked at July yet. Thanks for your interest. Keep looking for updates because as soon as I know of more dates, i’ll announce it here!
Pam…
Like Tracey, Id LOVE to take a shelling trip with you! I will be there for the month of July , Ill keep checking to see if you add dates in July! Pam, Im the Denise that was in your NY story…haha
Im so glad you reminded me, Denise! So we can keep the Denises straight, maybe you should be “NYT Denise”? ;)
Pam,
Ha ha….ok from now on I’m NYT Denise! Counting the days to JUly 1st!
woo hoo!!!! sounds like so much fun! We won’t be there during any of those times; everyone who attends will have a shelluva good time!
What a great adventure! Did Sara find the colorful moon on Cayo Costa? I hope you will still have trips when we come this fall. This spring we’re trying to get a trip to Japan scheduled to see our son stationed there in the Air Force. I will be shelling like mad on Okinawa…hope you or your followers have some experience/advice for me!
Parker
I can’t believe it! We’re leaving on February 16th!! Oh well, maybe we’ll try to go on a cruise before we leave. It looks like it could be fun even though it wouldn’t be with the group.
Pat
The Shellabaloo was soooo much fun. I can’t even begin to tell you the great memories both hubby and I have from the Shellabaloo!
Pam hubby Rob who wasn’t a “sheller” is now a sheller!! He even knows the names of many shells and when I asked what his favorite was of the shellabaloo he said THE WHOLE THREE DAYS!! He loved all of it! Now thats impressive.
My favorite…meeting such wonderful people and spending time together talking and getting to know each other while shelling and walking the beaches together!
Thank you Pam and Island Inn for such a shellabolous fun and memorable time!!
Oh Traci! I am thrilled that Rob considers himself a sheller now!!!! I’m so surprised since he seemed to pick up the good stuff right from the start. Both of you have a great eye and I loooove that yall look for the not-so-obvious treasures that are rich with mystery. He is “Rob to Riches” now! LOL
Pam , thanks for sharing Shellabaloo with all of us poor souls who couldn’t make it ! You can tell by the picture everyone had a great time & found some awesome shells ! But the frosting on the cake was the person who put on this wonderful event . Yes Pam , you ! Your love , enthusiasm , & knowledge of shells & Sanibel are so very contiguous to everyone who has the honor to be around you ! Yep , in a seashell ( nut shell … LOL ) , you ROCK !!! So congrats on the success on the first Shellabaloo … but not the last !!!
Please keep us posted on when more iloveshelling ShellAdventure’s are . Esp.July , you know that is my month to spend a week in paridise … LOL !!!
My husband and I along with another couple are trying to plan a boat charter trip out of Fort Meyer in July. It’s going to be about boating, my husband’s obsession, shelling, my passion and bird watching, our friend’s
hobby. My husband is concerned about the heat at that time. Since we are from New Orleans I don’t feel like it would be too bad for us, especially if there is a sea breeze. Any input would be appreciated.
Shellabaloo looked like a blast!! If our July trip doesn’t work out, I’m heading down for one of the Shell Adventures! I was in Sanibel for 2 days at the end of November. It wasn’t nearly enough time!
HI Jeanne, I love all months on Sanibel! But you can always look back at my archives for any month you want to look at to see what people are wearing to judge the weather and to see what shelling was like. You can find the archives on the right hand side of any page here on my blog… just scroll down and look on the right. Good luck and I’ll get you started- this is the link to July 2012… http://www.iloveshelling.com/blog/2012/07/
Thanks, Pam. I should have thought of looking back in the archives. Since being introduced to i Love Shelling in November, I have gone through all of your archives. If you didn’t have a new entry, I would go to the archives. I was sad when I went through all of them. Now I have a reason to go back.
We were in Sanibel June..July.. and August this past summer. While it is a little warmer than the other months we have been there..we are from Texas and I think since you are from New Orleans it will be a “breeze” for you guys! Go and have fun..actually it is a great time to visit the area..no crowds..no traffic.. just all of the wonderful locals..we loved it.
John and Kathie
Dallas
Thanks for the input. I’ve shown it to my husband and forwarded it to our friends who live in Mason, TX. I think this is all I needed to convince hubby to agree to go in July!!
Love that last photo of you and that sunset is gorgeous!! I’m happy to hear the Shellabaloo was such a success.
Do you realize that this thing will probably get bigger than the Shell Show. What a great idea you had for people who love shelling. I read your site every day and love it.
Sheila, the only problem with the Shellabaloo getting that large would not be any fun. The amount of people that we had on our Maiden Voyage was perfect. You got to know a little something about each and everyone and still got plenty of private time to shell AND still got to bother Pam all the time! haha! Our group size was realistic! just something to keep in mind!
Great stuff!
As Kim said, that sunset shot is everything that’s great about Sanibel in one beautiful image.
Ah what a lovely place it is.
Love the photos! Here in Grand Cayman, we have only tiny shells on the beaches, but sometimes after a storm, you’ll find some bigger ones…
Mark, don’t discount those tiny shells. They can be just as amazing as the bigger ones when you really look at them closely. One day we might get there to Grand Cayman to check them out!
we had a great time on the beaches but meeting such cool people was the best thing of all, there where all walks of life but we shared 1 common and it worked out fabulously.I’m glad my beuatiful wife finally got to meet two of her heros- Pam of course and the wonderful Captian Brian haha, have a wonderful week on the beaches! Joe
Joe, So much fun! I hope to see that junonia tattoo next year! LOL oops I should have called you Joe “Star”!
Pam, This is great! I’m so excited! I’ve already made reservations for Saturday, March 16th. It’ll be the end of my spring break so what an ending it will be! See you there!
Sally!!!! Wahhooo!!! So happy you can make it! It’ll be a blast!
Pam, I just made reservations for the March 16th Shellabaloo!!! I’m so excited! I can’t wait to meet you and the other shellers! I’m counting down the days now!
Saweeeeet,Teresa! Count down begins!
Pam- It looks like Dustie didn’t want you to give away all those wormies. She wanted to play with them! When I come down late Jan, I’ll wear my I love shelling t-shirts. Besides the blue one, I got a garnet one. Hope the weather and shelling stay good. I would like to find a Coffee Trivia or a Long Spinded Star Shell too. Pat
Hi everyone!!!!
Where can you find those worn shells?? I was there in November and went to many beaches and never found 1.
I love these……Can you buy them anywhere? But that would take the fun out of hand picking them yourself and enjoying the beach.
Help,,,,I must find them…..
Have a great day.
Denise
Pam! Just made my reservation for February 17! I can’t believe how lucky I feel that you scheduled a cruise during our visit! Can’t wait!
Hi Pam,
I had a terrific time during the Shellabaloo. It was awesome meeting so many other shell enthusiasts and I’m so happy to have met you and Clark. I want to thank YOU and the lovely folks at both the Island Inn and Captiva Cruises for making this such a pleasant and memorable trip.
Amy
Pam:
Shellabaloo was a dream come true! The Island Inn and you are a dynamic duo and I have no doubt that another special event is in the future. In fact, the markings on my shells tell me that this adventure won’t be my last! I’ve got fortune-telling shells! You’re the best. Thanks again.
Maureen
Maureen, Those shells DO speak to you, dont they? heehee I have to thank YOU for our first day meeting. I was a little nervous and after 2 seconds talking to you, I knew everything was going to be the best ever and it was. THank you!!!!