seashell collection myers beach florida

Tropical Storm Andrea gave Southwest Florida pounding rain all day yesterday (and a little the day before) but didn’t seem to do much damage (if any … that I heard). It looks like we will have another round of heavy rain and wind today but before another storm band comes through again, I’ll try to take a peak at a couple of beaches to see if the site of shell piles rolling up on the shores look promising. If I hear thunder? We’ll have to wait it out and check the beaches when it settles again. Until then, I’ll show you what I found Tuesday evening at low tide on Fort Myers Beach just before the storm hit.

Fort myers Beach Florida before storm

Yep, I said Fort Myers Beach! I had to be there Tuesday afternoon to meet somebody so I snuck out to the south end of the beach to see if there were shells. Oh my! I’d say YES!

shell collection diane myers beach florida

As soon as I stepped on the beach, Linda from New Jersey was thrilled to show me all of her shells and SAND DOLLARS. I was amazed to see so many SAND DOLLARS!

Linda NJ with shells

shell bag seashells fort myers beach florida

Then I walked further down the beach to see Wesley from Kentucky holding up this huge LIGHTNING WHELK. Wow!

Wesley whelk fort myers beach florida

He had just met Ace (also from Kentucky) and his his wife (she’s camera shy) as they became fast friends finding out they had so much in common. Both being shellers from Kentucky was just a start!

wesley ky Ace sand dollars fort myers beach florida

Can you believe how many SAND DOLLARS Ace had in this bag? They were everywhere!

sand dollar bag Fort Myers Beach

Look how happy this next family is! They all came from West Virginia to be together for a family reunion on Fort Myers Beach. That’s my kind of family reunion- shorts and tee shirts wading around in the water at the beach finding treasures together. Let me introduce you to this awesome family. From left to right… Jackie, Matt, Nancy, Charlie, Mike, Marc, Mollie, Lydia, Savannah and Michelle.

family reunion vacation Fort myers Beach Florida

They combined all their loot then they will share it all later. What a wonderful idea.

seashells fort myers beach florida june

Although…  I didnt share the ALPHABET CONE I found. Oops! LOL

alphabet cone fort myers beach

Nobody could have pried this next gem out of my hand either. I found a GOLDEN OLIVE! Boom Shellalaka! I still cant believe it. The lip is just a little bit ragged but the color- Oh, the color is spectacsheller.

golden olive ft myers beach

I also found a MINOR JACKKNIFE on this beach. We’ve found these before but I dont think I’ve ever found one on Sanibel. Interesting, right?

jack knife clam ft myers beach shell

And of course I found a few SAND DOLLARS too.

sand dollar beach combing myers florida

I saw lots of live MILLEPEDE STARFISH scooting along in the tidal pools….

millepede starfish ft myers beach florida

And a beautiful dried BRITTLE STAR was mixed in with shell crumbles. I didn’t have a safe place to put it to get it home in one piece, so I left him on the beach.

brittle star ft myers beach florida

It was funny to me that I didn’t find lots of the same shells. Yes, there were plenty of SAND DOLLARS… but it’s like I found one cool shell after another. Just one of a kind. Like this one ANGEL WING.

angel wing sand fort myers beach

Can you identify this next half buried shell? Would you have seen it? I know who else would have seen it… Cheri B! LOL  Remember? She picked up the SPINY JEWELBOX I missed in a video finding an ALPHABET CONE. Crazy!

double jewel box fort myers beach florida

As much as I hate to admit it, this is first time I’ve ever shelled on the south end of Fort Myers Beach near the “lagoons”… but it wont be my last! I had a blast!

tidal flow for seashells

But what I really can’t wait for is…. to see what Tropical Storm Andrea left on our beaches! She came in with strong SSW winds from the Gulf Of Mexico to blow through Southwest Florida so I’m sure most every beach on the island will have some good shells by sometime this weekend. When? Where? What? It’s hard to  pinpoint because all storms are so different. But… since Andrea came in from the southwest, Lighthouse Beach would be a logical start. Although I’m excited to scout every beach, my experience with past storms tells me the waves will still be too rough for the shells to pile up on the beach just yet. But this is what’s fun… following the clues. I’m going to follow clues of areas collecting PEN SHELLS or other sea debris or BEACH BLING to narrow down the search for shells for this fabulous treasure hunt Andrea has given us.  I’ll keep you posted!

shells at low tide Ft myers beach

 

PS- I’m just gonna go ahead and keep reminding everybody until the 15th … Enter To Win a Shelling Vacation on Sanibel! CLICK HERE!

Seashell Island Shelling Vacation