Today we spent the day on Sanibel and Captiva Islands looking for shells; otherwise known as beach bling. Yesterday I watched several videos to learn how to find the best shells. I learned to shell at the surf line and tidal pools and I learned to check inside and see if anyone is in there. It’s illegal to keep shells that are living or that have living critters inside them. We packed a lunch and cooler and took the 90 minute ride to the islands to hunt for shells. We learned that there’s more to collecting shells than finding a few beach treasures. It’s the perfect way to collect memories of peaceful days and to help us focus on the beauty all around us.
The best shelling in the area is found on the beaches of Sanibel Island & Captiva. The islands rank tops in the world for shelling because of geography. Sanibel Island is shaped in a curve along the coastline among a string of other more orderly, straight-and-narrow islands. The east-west torque of Sanibel’s south end acts like a shovel scooping up all the seashells that the Gulf imports from The Caribbean and other southern seas. We walked with the Sanibel stoop which means people walk bent over as if looking for shells. We had a wonderful day at the beach looking for all of our special shells. After shelling, we went to a store and purchased more equipment to do a better job of shelling next time!!
I’ll attach some videos at the end of the pictures to show how the shells were at the shore line and how the waves come in an an angle. We could tell the undercurrent was strong from the way the waves were coming in. Hopefully I captured some of that in the videos. The wind was strong and the day was cloudy, which helped us not to get burned since we are used to 30 degree weather not weather in the high 80’s.
After completing our shelling adventure on Sanibel Island we rode down to Captiva and had some ice cream and checked out the area for our next trip back to the islands.
Camping Konneys 