Cruising to Cayo Costa with a boatload of shellers makes me happy as a CLAM….or maybe even happier than a CLAM after seeing how calm and aqua blue the water was yesterday! We took the afternoon cruise to catch the nice low tide so we would have more areas to look for shells. It worked! Katie from Ohio was lucky enough to find this perfect CONCH the minute she stepped off the boat…
I soon realized that “luck” had nothing to do with it. She’s just a darn good sheller! Here she is with her sweet mom Jonna and all of the day’s treasures…
Leah, Clara and Jasper from Georgia loved being able to find shells wading through the gorgeous water…
Clara couldn’t wait to organize and look at all of her seashells. She found lots of OLIVES and COCKLES!
Jess hit a FALSE ANGEL WING honey hole! She was wading in the water scooping, scooping, scooping until she scooped up a perfectly paired set. She figured if there was one, there might be more.
She was not giving up on finding just one. Her persistence paid off… She found a handful!
Jake knows how happy shelling makes his mom Genine (Naples, FL) so he told me he wanted to come with her on the iLoveShelling cruise because he always wants his mom to be happy. What a wonderful son you have, Genine!
So while Genine was collecting these shells…
Although Jake’s not much of a sheller, he found some enjoyment too…
I was thrilled to meet “Loree from Ohio”! She made the trip to Sanibel last year after recovering from a long health battle… only to run into Tropical Storm Debbie the only days they were here. Well, she was able to make it back this week in good health with her husband Roy to enjoy this unbelievably beautiful weather on our cruise to Cayo Costa.
And she found lots of shells too!
Did you spot that shellacious WORM SHELL in the last photo? It’s so long but the cool thing is the tip is perfect. Here’s a better photo of it with us in our Shelling Sistah shirts…
Taylor and her family have been shelling all over the world. They told me they went to Thailand too last year and told me about some of the shells and sea life they have found in the British Virgin Islands as well. As I always say… Â a shelling family is a happy family.
On this cruise they found an assortment of shells, SAND DOLLARS and a few pieces of CORAL as well.
Emily, Chris, Izzy, Robert, and Christa found a great spot on the boat for the view.
Thanks Captains Keith and Kelly for such a great day for seeing DOLPHINS and spotting SEA TURTLES too.
We got back to McCarthy’s Marina to see four MANATEES hanging out.
 We had a few people stay for a “Shell ‘N Tell” so we could all share our shell finds and stories after the cruise. Loree realized she had a hitchhiker on one of her COCKLE shells. A baby live STARFISH! After realizing it was still alive, Roy took it back to the water by the dock.
Then Jasper showed us another hitchhiker… A tiny baby CRAB was inside one of their COCKLES too! The CRAB and STARFISH were both so small there’s no way anybody could have seen them if they were inside on of their other shells. So Jasper walked it down to the water as well to set it free. It’s good thing we got our shells back out while being so close to the water.
It was such a fun day in the warm sun collecting shells, sharing stories and catching glimpses of magical sealife. Thank you to all on the boat for making it such special day!
Join us on the next cruise to Cayo Costa July 17 in the afternoon 1-4pm. Call 239-472-5300 and ask to join the iLoveShelling cruise in July! For more details… CLICK HERE
Oh my, that water is so beautifully colored!! WOW! Looks like everyone had a good time!!
I just made that first pic my iPad wallpaper, I love it so much. i pretend that person in the photo is ME, because that’s where I want to be!!!
Looks like I could have used my snorkel gear on that trip!
Love all the olives, comb bittersweets, wormies and the pink & white scallop.
The water looks so beautiful! Looks like everyone had fun.
Pat
Great post Pam. So much wonderful information and great photos. The water is such a beautiful color too.
Who won the contest ?! I tried emailing Fort Myers Sanibel and no reply!!!???
Oh, no… July 17? That’s the day we have to leave! :-(
Was thinking the same thing…we are leaving the 15th!! But I must see Cayo Costa, will have to book a trip while we’re there!
Looks like you had a perfect day for shelling. I’m still oooo-ing and ahhh-ing over my cruise finds from last month!
What beautiful colors in your images!
I love the picture of the little girl, happy with her shells. Jake’s the smartest of the bunch though…
LOL! I’ll let him know you said so. ;-)
Genine,
Hi! I’m the Sandy from KS that you so generously gave your beautiful white whelk (?) to. Thank you so much for sharing! Had a super fun time on the trip & it was great to meet you! Your son is a wonderful young man!
Hi, Sandy! It’s nice to hear from you. It was an absolute pleasure to meet you and your husband and I’m really glad you had a fun time on your trip! Thanks so much for your kind words about my son. It means a lot to me when others think as highly of him as I do. ;-)
PS, I looked up Cayo Costa on the map. Looks GREAT!!!
Jake and I really did have a wonderful time on the cruise. Thank you, Pam, for all you do to encourage and educate those of us who are new to the shelling community. You and your blog totally ROCK!!! ;-)
We had a great time Pam!! Thanks so much for doing this, and for keeping us all entertained and educated….even when we can’t be there to enjoy it in person!! :)
Cheers !! Pam’s beautiful blog IS my fave thing about the WWW :)
We will be cruising to Cayo Costa on Tuesday morning and I cannot wait to see what we find! My mom loves to shell and always finds treasures. Thanks for posting at just the right time :)
Looks like you had a perfect day. Can’t believe the colour of the water. Lots of great shells found by everyone. Awesome blog as usual.
The water looks so beautiful, I want to be there!!! I did find a perfect 6″ lightning whelk this morning– at a garage sale here in Nebraska! I’m afraid that’s as close as I can get to the beach for awhile. Your photography is beautiful as ever, Pam!
What fun. I had such a good time when I went on the trip with you. Enjoy!
That water looks absolutely gorgeous…and the shells aren’t bad either!
Looks like a calm beautiful day you guys had. We generally hit Cayo Costa every year on our week long vacation, but were debating on going this year since the kids are now 15, 15, and 10 shelling isn’t as fun as a teen. lol. But looking at the pictures makes me really want to continue tradition. Dad and I LOVE Cayo Costa. :-)
What an awesome shelling day! Hope to join you on one next March. Missed your cruise on May19th. Had to take family to RSW!
One day I’ll make it on one of these cruises! I wanted to go to Cayo Costa the first time we came to Sanibel, but my 15 month old was not up for the challenge:)
The water looks beautiful! As well as the shells:)
I want to thank Pam for giving so much of her time to blog and to put together such a nice opportunity for the ‘shell at hearts’ to get together and enjoy the wonders of the beach. My husband Roy and I totally enjoyed out shelling cruise to Cayo Costa. I was thrilled to see that Pam is just as fun, knowledgeable and positive as she is seen through her blogs and videos. What a wonderful person,!!!! She knows how to make everyone feel the love of God’s gifts. And what gifts there are have here at Sanibel, I am now following Pam’s advice, that she gave us as we began our shelling day. “do not only look down but look up and around as you walk the beach and search the surf”. Yes, there is so much to see and enjoy, I have never enjoyed shelling more than I have now. Pam has educated me to look for the “beach bling” the birds, the little weird things that are in the handful of shells scooped up from the surf and of course all the shells and their individual markings. Thank you so much. I also want to say hi to Genine, we were able to share our shells at the shell and tell and found out we had blogged with one another a few weeks back. How neat to talk with you and Jake. I found a perfect little drilll the other morning and thought of you with your cute little minis that you found Wed. Keep on shelling.
Oh Loree, what a beautiful sweet note! I feel the same way- I love the opportunity to get the “shell at hearts” together so I can meet you too and learn about y’all. Now I can put face with the name. I am so visual so when you introduced yourself as “Loree from Ohio” .. it didnt even register until you spelled it. Oh! L-O-R-E-E! Aha! I know you! Thanks so much for coming on the cruise to share such a beautiful day.
Loree, thanks so much for your kind words about meeting Jake and me. I had a wonderful time on the cruise and am SOOO grateful that we were able to actually connect as we had hoped when we blogged a few weeks back. It was great meeting you and Roy and I hope to stay in touch with you through this wonderful blog and also to see you again one day on the beach or on another cruise with Pam. Take care!! ;-)