sanibel pier with seashells november 2013

It’s always so nice to go on vacation, but I’m always so thankful to come home to such an amazing place like Sanibel. People always ask us why we want to go anywhere else on vacation when we already live in paradise. We love our sweet paradise but we also like the adventure of a new place. We love to explore the beaches of the world and to compare the different shells we find in different climates. But there’s no place like Southwest Florida. She welcomed us home with strong winds from the west to push some of our beautiful shells right up on the beach near the Sanibel pier today.

whelk sunday venus babys ear jewel box

I found a sweet BABY’S EAR nestled inside a COCKLE shell filled with sand, water and some slipper shells. I’m so thankful I saw it hiding in there!

seashells at sanibel pier november 2013

I saw Wade from Memphis with lots of loot too.

wade with sanibel shells

He found lots of APPLE MUREXES, small double SUNRAY VENUS clams, LIGHTNING WHELKS and TULIPS.

seashells at sanibel pier november 2013

His mom (sweet Becky!) had some great finds of her own…

seashells at tip of lighthouse beach sanibel

I couldn’t stand not knowing what was happening at Blind Pass so after I shelled at Lighthouse Beach, I drove to Captiva. The water was reeeaaally rough from the winds so there were some nice shells that came up with the high tide but not mounds…yet. This should be some good shelling very soon, folks…. I’m hoping. Just so you know before you go though- the parking lot at Blind Pass Captiva (Turner Beach) is closed for a renourishment project I told you about a couple of weeks ago. But.. I have some good news!

seashells at turner beach captiva florida

The Sanibel side parking lot of Blind Pass is still open. If you want to see if there are shells on the Captiva side … just walk across the bridge passed the Captiva parking lot then another few yards to a walking path to the beach. I took this photo on Captiva of the beach path and street so you could see how close it is to the Blind Pass bridge. Since the water is so rough right now the project is on hold so the guys doing the work will just have to play it by ear to see what Mother Nature has in store to have a completion date. I don’t have the answer to any more info on this project except how to get around the closed lot to the beach (for now) to do some beach combing :) … so If you have any questions about beach renourishment, please visit this link for Captiva Erosion Prevention District.

road at Turner beach blind pass captiva

But hold on… I made one more shelling stop today too that was so awesome I just had to tell you about it. I went to the tip of Captiva to Redfish Pass on South Seas Island Resort and found a great shell mound forming already. Weehoo! So if you are lucky enough to be staying at South Seas Island Resort (the only way you can access this beach), you will have even more luck finding shells this weekend.

road at Turner beach blind pass captiva

I’m very thankful to be home to our treasure islands and thankful to be able to share the bounty of the Gulf Of Mexico and our beaches. Best wishes to you and your family for a happy Thanksgiving, Pam and Clark.

PS- Part 3 of our adventure in Cat Island coming up next!

shells at redfish pass from south seas resort