This is what a path to beach combing paradise looks like.
After arriving to the secluded island of Big Hickory on our iLoveShelling cruise with Sight Sea-R Cruises yesterday, we were welcomed by a shell filled beach and calm Gulf Of Mexico waters.
WORM SHELLS and beautiful pieces of CORAL were every where…
In less than 5 minutes, Andrea found an incredishell LACE MUREX. She is such a lucky sheller! I met her in March on Sanibel after she found masses of great shells but the one I remembered the most was a CABRITS MUREX so it was so good to see her again. (CLICK HERE to see that post)
The first shell Gita found was a beautiful ROSE PETAL TELLIN.
It was so much fun to pick through the many shell piles to find so many treasures.
David and Willow were enjoying every minute especially the second Willow found her ANGEL WING. It’s the one shell she wanted to find on her whole trip from Colorado.
One more thing checked off her “bucket” list…
Don, Chuck and Marti from Libertyville, IL found such a wide range of gorgeous shells and beach bling.
Oooohhh- Look at that huge TULIP along wit a PAPER FIG, FLORIDA CONE, ROSE PETAL TELLIN, SAND DOLLAR and TOP SHELL Marti found. And not to mention the fragment of JUNONIA – she got some spots! 
It was so much fun to hang out with Sue and Andrea from CT since they were thrilled to check off a few things on their bucket list like a CRUCIFIX SHELL for Sue and ANGEL WING for Andrea. They are birders as well as shellers so they checked off a few birds like the ROSEATE SPOONBILL and ROYAL TERN on their birding list on the boat ride over.
It was a great day meeting shellers like Steve and Becki from Ohio.
I caught up with Sanibel local Karen on the way back to the boat. Oh my goodness- She found 2 ALPHABET CONES!
As we got back on the boat to cruise back to Salty Sams Marina, it was the perfect time to peak at what other goodies this boat load of awesome folks like Anthony, Sonya (VA) and Sue (Alaska) found.
Shellzam! Sonya found 3 ALPHABET CONES! Oh… And look at all three of those FIGHTING CONCHS on the left. All three of them have bright purple lips. I think its always special to find just one with a purple aperture but to find 3 in one day is very cool.
Janet from Pennsylvania had great success too! She was doing most of her beach combing on the shore and her husband Paul said he pretty much hung out in the water the whole time. That’s about how Clark and I shell too!
Janet was a happy girl to find a KINGS CROWN, double SUNRAY VENUS and OLIVES without the tips to make bracelets. The FIGHTING CONCHS she found had jet black openings- so pretty too.
Birthday girl Shelly (love her name!) and her husband Mitch (AKA her boyfriend for 32 years) found some amazing treasures.
Happy birthday to you Shelly! 2 ALPHABET CONES along with so many other great finds- wow!
Happy birthday to Linda from St Louis too! The birthday girls both found ALPHIES! Congratshellations!
As I was hanging out with another Linda, her daughter Katie and granddaughter Emma (Missouri) looking at shells… Linda told me when she saw Linda from St Louis, she realized they went to nursing school together. Small world!
These were Emma’s fave treasures. Sweet!
Loved these to from Andrea and her family too…
Every minute of the 4 hour trip was such a pleasure to meet other like minded people and find hidden gems.
To experience the beauty of the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve and to see lots of DOLPHINS, bird and other wildlife on our way to and from the island on the boat is priceless.
I normally don’t collect anything while on the iLoveShelling cruises because I now enjoy the experience of sharing information and teaching others what to look for. I like that better than collecting more MUREXES, WHELKS or other shells that we have plenty of. But…. that being said… I found a treasure too yesterday! In the highest dry wrack line, I found a lovely pink ROSEATE SPOONBILL FEATHER. Ooooooo- such a treat!
Join us one of our next shelling adventures or Shellabaloo! CLICK HERE for dates and events.
Wow, great finds for everyone. I want to make a reservation for December.
My granddaughter will be coming to stay with me for one week and it is the shelling trip week.
We are looking forward to making some memories.
Save some alphies for me
My sister and I are booked for November trip with you. Can’t wait. Hope we find some great treasures like you all did today.
It sounds like the November and December trips are gonna be so much fun! Looking forward to seeing yall!!!!
Looks like it was a perfect trip! Can’t wait for our turn.
My sister and I are coming to FL In early January. I am looking for some ideas on affordable boat transportation to and from Big Hickory.. And we will be doing some cool weather shelling at Cape Henlopen in Delaware….
A lot of lightening whelks, common whelks, Jingles, False angel wings, scallops, clams, quahogs, mussels and the shark eyes. In the winter there is a lot of interesting stuff like Lion mane jellyfish, puffer fish, periwinkles, sea glass, it’s a lot of fun!
Nancy, Sight Sea-R cruises! This is the best transportation and why we took it yesterday. :) Click on the link in this post (I highlighted and bolded “sight sea-R” to let u know here was a link). I also have a tab on the left side of this blog that will also link you there… Or click on my shelling adventures tab. It’s so much fun- yall should do it!
some smooth shell notes for you….in the “angel wing in mesh/net” photo and the “Janet’s Shells” photo it would appear the kings crowns are actually of the “smooth” variety…note there appear to be no spines on the “shoulder” or the rest of the shell, so far as I can tell. Even though the shells are rather beachworn, a typical beachworn kings crown would still show the spines
Furthermore, in the “Janets shells” photo note that the fighting conch to the right of and resting on that kings crown also appears to be of the “smooth” variety, ie there are no big spines or knobs along the shoulder as well, just what appear to be some low knobs.
These are the interesting kinds of variants I like to be on the lookout for even when there are nothing but the common/ordinary shells on the beach. You can almost always turn up something different.
Steve, it’s funny you brought that up. Now that I’ve been shelling this island on a regular basis, each time I go I’ve noticed there are more knobless varieties here than I normally see on Sanibel. It’s mostly fighting conchs- and I saw even more than I showed in these photos. Now that you’ve noticed as well, I will be more on the lookout for more kings crowns and even the horse conchs. You would have been amazed if you saw all of the different variants of fighting conchs folks found in just a couple of hours. These pics are just a smidge of what was found. Good day!
What a fun day we had! Beautiful weather, great shelling and an unexpected reunion with a college classmate I haven’t seen in over 30 years! What a small world. I highly recommend the I Love Shelling shelling cruise. We all learned a lot from Pam and brought home beautiful treasures. I hope to take another cruise on my next trip back to Sanibel and Ft. Myers.
Linda (one of the birthday girls)
St. Louis, MO
I love the Roseate Spoonbill feather, and what a great picture you took of it! That is really lovely!
Pam……………..What is your favorite restaurant for dinner? And, how about your favorite restaurant for lunch? And, don’t forget your favorite breakfast restaurant !!!!!
Oh my… Hmmmm well there are lots of excellent restaurants but we go to Doc Fords or Traders more than any where else for dinner. Love Gramma Dots for lunch. And for breakfast? We don’t go out too much for breakfast but we split it between Lighthouse, Sanibel Cafe and Over Easy. Hope this helps!
Pam, your favs for restaurants have been mine also every time I am blessed enough to get to Sanibel for a vacation. Usually stay on Manasota Key but cannot beat Sanibel for shelling except foe the no see umms that have tortured me the last few years. They never used to. Gues I am getting to”sweet”!
Cynthia, it’s so weird that I never used to get attacked by no seeums and now I do too. Maybe I’m getting sweet too? Haha but tell me if you used to take any allergy pills and now you stopped? I’m thinking that’s what the difference is with me. How bout you?
looked like a good day for all,keep them rolling and i’ll be there before you know it as the days keep going by. another enjoyable post just cant beat pam and clark at knowing where to shell sincerely r.g.stein
Wow, perfect findings. I wish I could have been there. But the feather of the Roseate Spoonbill is the very best!!!!!! I love these birds so much.
Looks like you all had a wonderful day! I just signed up for the Feb. 9 shelling trip (yay, best birthday present ever)!!! Can’t wait to see Sanibel and meet Pam.
Amy
We went last year on the cruise and booked for the Feb cruise also. We had a great time. Hope to see you there. Pat
It was so nice running into you at Gulfside City Park today! It was a surprise ending to our trip. I didn’t properly introduce myself or my mom, Tessa (or my dad, Leo, in the car…hehe). We were in Sanibel during tropical storm Andrea, and I came up to show you the Junonia I found! You even took a picture of me and my shelling bag and posted it on your site, which made the day even more unforgettable. Now that we know your shelling cruise route is over calm waters, we will be sure to make reservations for the next time we are in Sanibel! Thank you for what you do – I appreciate every post you make, especially since there is no shelling up here in Kentucky!
Jessica, i remember! U had on a leopard print on ur strap to ur backpack or whatever it was. It was a special day. It was good to see u too.
Pam, the cruise we took with you far exceeded our expectations! Not only did Big Hickory have an amazing variety of collectible shells, but your expert knowledge and contagious enthusiasm made this trip an adventure that we will always remember! We really appreciated your genuine and gracious manner and look forward to our next shelling trip with you!!! Thanks so much :)))