Archive for Shellabaloo
Shell ‘N Tell At Shellabaloo 2
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After you enjoy feeling the excitement of finding shells on the beach, you get to enjoy the excitement all over again when you show them to someone else that “gets” what you found and knows how you feel. That’s why our Shellabaloo 2 “Shell ‘N Tell” was one of my favorite days of the whole week during Shellabaloo. Do you see what Michele (Ohio) is holding in her hand in the first photo with her husband Bill? She found a JUNONIA! But that’s not it… she found what she calls “The Trifecta!”… A large HORSE CONCH and a large WHELK along with her JUNONIA. Do you think she was a happy girl or what! So happy for you Michele!
Here are some of her other finds (minus the JUNONIA since she was showing it to the others when I took this) …
For the week of Shellabaloo 2, I made up another Shellinger Hunt. The hunt is really meant to just have fun learning about different shells and not to overlook some of the common shells like JINGLES and KITTENS PAWS because…. well… because I think they are beautiful too! So you will see some of the displays with a dozen JINGLES in a COCKLE SHELL because that was point for the Shellinger Hunt. It wasn’t about who could find and take the most shells off the beach- it was all about enjoying the shells that were found… and some bigger points for finding things like The Sanibel Six or finding the rarer shells. It was so much fun to see these shellers find shells they’ve never found before and to rediscover the ones that can easily be overlooked.
On our last day, I asked everybody to bring their fave finds and/or their entries for the Shellinger Hunt at our home base at Island Inn so we could all see what everybody else was collecting. We set up tables for each person to display their shells and it turned out to be a mini Sanibel Shell Show!
Terri (NY) made a beee-uuuteeeful display of her favorite finds.
Lee and Susan (Cuba) narrowed down their favorite finds on a cooler tray for the Shellinger Hunt…
Of course I added a BEACH BLING category on the hunt ( i Love the BLING!) so it’s so funny they added a dried up fish tail that looks just like a MERMAID and a washed up fishing bobber as the faves in that category. LOL
Rick (Texas) brought a plate of his fave shells… the miniature shells. I just love how everybody organized their shells so creatively!
Rick’s wife Murfy showed her faves along with her favorite vintage shell book…
There is one shell in the middle of the others that is a little different. It looks like some sort of a TURITELLA… which I dont think is native to this area. I think it is either a FOSSIL shell that found it’s way to the gulf on a high tide from sidewalk fill or it was left over from a party or wedding after someone bought shells to decorate with. Hmmmm.
If there was a prize for being creative… Sharene and Tom (Ontario) would have won for creativity!
Rusty and Donna (Apopka, FL) narrowed down the favorites and of course it included an ALPHABET CONE and the SEA WHIP that had the ONE-TOOTH SIMNIAS I showed you in the first Shellabaloo 2 post.
Roger (MO) told me that his favorite shells were the minis he found at Lighthouse Beach. It was his first time finding WENTLETRAPS, RICE OLIVES and TUSKS so it was really fun to find something new.
Margie (AL) is so adorable! Her favorite shell was the PONDEROUS ARK because she loved the black PERIOSTICUM (the shell’s “skin”) on the white shell so that’s all she collected. She is going to make a black and white frame for a mirror when she gets home so I hope we get to see it!
Cutie Pie Becka needed her own table to make room for all of her newly found treasures.
Kendra (IN) had a sweet organized display of her favorites but also for the Shellinger Hunt.
She was so afraid she was going to lose her first TUSK SHELL so she wrapped half of a bandaid around it so she would know where it was (on the blue plate). LOL
Pat (Boca Raton, FL) had an amazing display of shells and BLING for the Shellinger Hunt.
While I was oooohing and aaaahing at all of her finds, she pointed out a piece of BEACH BLING that she wanted to know what it was. Whoa! Pat! You found the OPERCULUM to the SHARKS EYE! Clark just found our first ones just last month so I was absolutely thrilled for her that… A) she saw it and picked it up… and B) that she knew it was something special to show at the Shell And Tell. See why I love these shellers? Who else would think this thing on the beach was cool…
Speaking of awesome shellers, unfortunately, Gina couldn’t come to the Shell ‘N Tell but I still have to show you one of her exshellent finds… Gina found a yellow SEA WHIP. We find the purple ones a little more often but not the perfect yellow ones like hers. And no, I couldnt get her photo either because she was a little camera shy but Ha! I took a “long-arm shot” with me in it so we could get her picture and the SEA WHIP. LOL And yep, you guessed it! There were two ONE-TOOTH SIMNIAS on it!
I have found yellow SEA WHIPS before but never one with the yellow ONE-TOOTH SIMINAS on it. Yahoo! Gina did! Such a treasure!
Okay back to the Shell ‘N Tell with the rest of the awesomeness…. Here’s Cindy with her huge HORSE CONCH I showed you in my last post! Now you can see all of the other fabulous shells she found as well.
She also found a big ALPHABET CONE …which is part of 2 sets of The Sanibel Six for her Shellinger Hunt finds. She found a FLORIDA CONE to make her other set. And look at all of the SHARKS TEETH!
Okay… It’s time to announce the winner of the Shell And Tell and you won’t believe this prize! The winning sheller went home with a silver JINGLE SHELL necklace made by Sealife By Congress. It is beautiful! This new Sanibel jewelry store in Periwinkle Place Shopping Center is filled with seashells, SEAHORSES, DOLPHINS, STARFISH, SAND DOLLARS and every other sea life in gold, silver and with tasteful gemstones as well. I was thrilled they wanted to give our winner this perfect shell necklace.
After much laughter and ado, we narrowed the winners down to Michele (with her JUNONIA and HORSE CONCH) and Cindy with her HORSE CONCH based on their points score…
Before we announce the winner, Cindy and Michele clicked their CONCHS as if it was a toast. Cute and so much fun!
Drum Roll Please! …. wait for it…… The winner is Michele! Her JINGLE necklace is perfect for her! Congratshellations, my friend!
I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun both Shellabaloo 1 (in January) and this Shellabaloo 2 have been since it really brings amazing people together with not just shelling in common but we all seem to be like-minded in so many other ways. It’s quite a bonding experience, I must say. Thank you Island Inn for hosting such a great Shellapalooza. I’m sorry to say that I don’t know when the next one will be- no dates of been set yet for this 4 day Shellathon but as soon as we’ve come up with a plan, you will be the first to know.
But wait! I’m gathering a group of shellers for an afternoon of shelling at Cayo Costa next Sunday May 19 from 1-4pm on a Captiva Cruise. Join us! CLICK HERE for more info or call 239-472-5300 and ask to come along for the next iLoveShelling cruise!
Total Coup at Shellabaloo 2!
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Total coup at the Shellabaloo 2! Woo Woo!
We are all so happy for Cindy from Missouri after she found this shellacious empty HORSE CONCH on the beach at the Island Inn yesterday during Shellabaloo 2. She is still two clouds above nine since she found it in the water in the midst of a pile of PEN SHELLS. How awesome! Congratshellations!
But wait… let me back up for those of you who aren’t quite sure what SHELLABALOO 2 is exactly. Island Inn Sanibel put together a 4 day, 3 night shelling package including 7 meals, a beautiful goodie bag, a trip to the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum and asked me to gather and guide this group of shellers to the best possible places to find seashells and treasures from the sea. What? Hang out with a bunch of folks that love shelling as much as I do? Shell Yaya! So I had to give it a fun “shell” name (of course- it’s the iLoveShelling thang!) … so “SHELLABALOO” was born.We had the first Shellabaloo in January… and it was a Baaa-laaaast! So we had to do it again with this unbelievably fun gang…
Before I show you more a-mazing shells that were found by these shell hunter extraordinaires, let me introduce a few more of my new friends to you that I didn’t get to show you on the last post. We started off at a cocktail party at the Island Inn where I met Becca (Ft Myers), Margie (Alabama) and Paula (Alabama)…
Helen and Cathy both came from Arkansas to join the shellastravaganza…
Although this is a little blurry because of a ”long arm” self portrait …Clark was there to meet everybody to share a few of his “Super Sheller” secrets as well.
It was a fab party thanks to cuties Blanaid and Jessica! They worked out all the details on behalf of the Island Inn…
I promise to get to everybody else too but let me get you to the beach pictures. I showed you our day at Gulfside City Park and the gigantshellous mound we hit at Blind Pass Captiva on Tuesday on my last post…
Yesterday we did a full shelling day on the secluded island of Cayo Costa by way of a boat cruise by Captiva Cruises. How fun!
Terri (NY) and her mom Darlene (CA) got to enjoy a perfect day on the water…
On the way, we saw DOLPHINS as we passed the private island of Useppa and several other pods in different areas but you know how that goes with wildlife… out of prob 20 shots, this is the only semi-good one. LOL
Once we got to the boat dock at the Cayo Costa State Park Ranger Station, we took an island style “shuttle” to get to the beach side.
We hit the beach to find clear aqua blue water and a wide stretch of beautiful beach all to ourselves…
I was so surprised to find an area with oodles of SHARK’S TEETH and other FOSSILS like this STING RAY BARB on the far right of my hand!
I showed Terri what I found and within minutes she found a handful of her own…
Donna and Rusty (Apopka, FL) found some too!
They were filling up a smaller tub inside their buckets to catch all of their SHARKS TEETH…
Susan (Guantanamo Bay, Cuba) was thrilled to find SHARK’S TEETH too!
She showed me her SHARKS TEETH, then asked me about another piece she found… Oh Yaya! It’s a FOSSIL PUFFER FISH MOUTHPLATE!
Cindy and her husband Roger (MO) said they spent a whole day in Venice, Florida last year but didn’t find one SHARKS TOOTH. They were both thrilled to find their first ones!
Lee (Guantanamo Bay, Cuba) had the eye for bigger shells..
He found a bag full of double SUNRAY VENUS CLAMS and some LIGHTNING WHELKS…
Kendra (Indiana) was coming back with a full shell bag too…
After a picnic lunch and a full gorgeous day on Cayo Costa, we boarded the boat to head back to Captiva…
But do you think we stopped shelling once we got back??? No!!! These are my kind of shellers. Half of the group headed to Lighthouse Beach to find out how to find WENTLETRAPS…
Yep. We found them and lots of other minis…
The evening’s perfect low tide left a wrack line of tiny treasures…
Lee, Tom and Sharene (Ontario, Canada), Lisa (NJ) and Kendra (and me!) all had quite a spectsheller day…
I have more to show you but… ACK! I’ve run out of time! I have a few more introductions and some VERY amazing finds (just as amazing as Cindy’s HORSE CONCH!) that I will show you at our “Shell And Tell”. We had our own Sanibel Shellabaloo Shell Show- so stay tuned! Here’s a sneak preview…
Yahoo! Shellabaloo 2 Is Here!
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An amazing group of 24 shellers have gotten together from all over the country (and even Canada and Cuba!) to share the Shellabaloo 2 shelling experience on Sanibel and Captiva! It all started last night with cocktails and fabulous dinner at Island Inn Sanibel to share in our excitement for the next few days of our shelling adventure. Our dreams came true after seeing the shellacious shell pile waiting for us at Blind Pass Captiva this morning.
There were oodles of shells waiting to be uncovered. Terri found a gold mine of goodies all in one spot. She found the Sanibel Six in less than an hour!
Then I heard that familiar little yelp… you know, that one when someone finds something really good. Susan (from GTMO Cuba!) found an ALPHABET CONE!
Shelling Sistah Lisa (NJ) found her own seashell honey hole right near the jetty rocks…
She found a WENTLETRAP! We find them often on Sanibel but rarely on Captiva so this was a really good find there. She also found a FLAT, WORMIES, a KEYHOLE LIMPET, and WHELKS…
Tom plucked a beautiful BANDED TULIP out of a scoop of shells he was sifting and Sharene matched him with an awesome NUTMEG…
Nice, huh?
After a picnic lunch, we moved on to shell at Gulfside City Park to find huge wrack lines of shells and BEACH BLING. I think Rusty and Donna love Beach Bling as much as I do!
They found a purple SEA WHIP with two ONE-TOOTH SIMNIAS on it!
Along with finding lots of other goodies, Pat’s (Boca Raton) fave was this delicate PAPER FIG…
These photos are only the tip of the iceberg of the shells found today and only a few of the spectasheller folks I’ve had the privilege of hanging out with the last 2 days.
The Shellabaloo 2 will continue for two more days of shell filled fun so I will have lots more photos and introductions to make of my new found shelling buddies. If the weather and shell piles continue like today, we are in for another exshellent day in store for us tomorrow. I’m psyched!
Sanibel Shellabaloo 2 For You!
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That’s right! Shellabaloo 2 will be May 6, 7, 8 and 9 this year 2013!
If you missed the first Shellabaloo in January, you missed a spectacsheller time …but now it’s YOUR chance to have all the fun! Shell to your hearts content and at the same time, get to know other shell crazy people with the same shelling passion as you. I can’t wait either because I’ll get to hang out and bond with shellacious people just like me for 3 days! It’s a blast!
Here is what the Shellabaloo 2 will be all about!
It’s a shellabaloo at Island Inn Beachfront Resort May 6-9, 2013! Island Inn has put together a spectacsheller shelling package so we can shell together and get to know each other. It will be soooo exciting to meet y’all! There’s no telling what we will find by sharing all of our shelling secrets.
If you are familiar with the Island Inn, you know that it is a beachfront hotel that has kept the unique feel of “old Florida charm” with a rich history of seashells. This was where the Sanibel Shell Fair and Show was first started.
You will feel right at home. Throughout the lobby, there are shell displays. I think they love shells as much as we do!
So let me tell you more about our shellers’ retreat. On may 6th after your private tour of the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, I will join you back at Island Inn with a meet and greet (in other words… paarrrtaaay!) and dinner at one of Sanibel’s best restaurants called Traditions On The Beach. And guess what, Super Sheller Clark will be there too!
Then the next morning, you wake up to the sound of those seashells calling your name… so we’ll hit the beaches for an amazing shellathon!
Not only will we have a great treasure hunt, but Island Inn will deliver a scrumptious picnic lunch to us on the beach. This turns into the perfect time for “show and tell” to share a few of your favorite seashell treasures of the morning’s hunt and re-energize for the afternoon shelling adventure.
On Wednesday the 8th, Island Inn has provided another exshellent adventure for us as well… A Captiva Cruises full day boat trip to Cayo Costa! Wahoo! There’s a good chance we’ll get to see dolphins and manatees on the way there too. Another reason why we love shelling.
Yall know how much Clark and I love to shell around the tree roots at Cayo Costa so now I’ll be able to shell this area with YOU.
), there are plenty of options just steps away from your room. Like relaxing by the pool with a view of the gulf.
Or playing shuffleboard with a view of the gulf…
Play horseshoes … and yes, also with a view of the gulf.
They also have stand up paddle boards and kayaks you can rent out.
Or you could rent a bike to check out the rest of the island…
But the most important thing is… I do hope that we get to shell together to make our shelling connections even stronger. So Join us! Here are some details that Island Inn has graciously put together for us…
Call 800-851-5088 today and reserve your spot for this awesome exshellaganza by booking a room for 2 or 3…
… or a cottage that sleeps 6 to 8!
For more detailed information and itinerary CLICK HERE.
Thank you Island Inn for organizing this event. This is going to be a shell of a good time for all of us! So join in on the fun by calling Island Inn for accommodations pricing and any details and they can answer any of your questions at 800-851-5088. Don’t miss out on the shelladventure of a lifetime!
FYI- Remember, This sold out in 36 hours after I posted the January event so don’t wait since there are only 25 spots available. Hope to see you soon!
Spectacsheller Times!
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On the third day of our Shellabaloo, the Island Inn organized a fabulous shelling excursion for us to explore the quiet and undeveloped beaches on the island of Cayo Costa. So we gathered aboard Captiva Cruises‘ catamaran called “Playtime”, and headed for our secluded paradise.
After walking through a charming tree canopy trail with a sanded pathway,
we arrived on a shelly beach with picturesque trees and roots that act as a perfect trap for seashells.
Then everybody scattered! Some searched the roots…
Some searched the wrack lines…
Mike immediately started hunting the clear waters and found this gorgeous live LIGHTNING WHELK. After admiring the spectacular beauty of this live creature, he gently placed it back in the water. We hope it lives a much longer life and to breed more beauties!
Patty was completely mesmerized by the minis! She found lots of tiny seashells she never dreamed of paying attention to before like oodles of LUNATE CRASSINELLAS!
Here she is holding her minis and decked out with her awesome mermaid and seahorse tattoo along with Captiva Cruises’ Captain Brian…
It was so much fun to show everybody exactly where and how to spot the shells they were hunting for!
Right after I showed Jo Ann the different shells to look for in this wrack line, she showed me a COFFEE TRIVIA. Wow! I don’t find those very often!
We all had an amazing day being together and sharing our finds (CLICK HERE to see some of the other shells we found) and telling our stories while being on the island then comparing notes on the boat ride back. After arriving back at the dock, we all got together for a group shot to remember our exshellent time together.
So now that I’ve told you all the shellsational things we did over the 4 days like staying at Island Inn, cocktails and dinner at Traditions On The Beach, shelling at the different beaches and the excursion with Captiva Cruises (I didnt even get to show you the visit to Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum and dinner at Doc Fords! so sorry!) … I also made up a little game of a “Shellinger Hunt” for everybody! Nope, not a scavenger hunt…. a shellinger hunt! For each of our destinations, I had questions for everybody to play along to find certain shells and learn a little something more about the island. It was fun even to put it together since I had lots of help from my adorable, sweet kitty Dustie…
I even tied WORM SHELLS to each of the Shellinger Hunt scrolls so it would start everybody out with a fun shell…
Congratshellations to winners Kathy, Karen, Jackie, Helen, Mike and Carolyn of the first ever iLoveShelling Shellinger Hunt! They won gift cards to the new awesome frozen yogurt shop on Sanibel called Zebra Frozen Yogurt. YUM!
Thank you Island Inn for organizing this 4 day spectacsheller event!!! Everything was perfect. Even the last sunset of our time together right on the beach in front of the inn was perfect…
As promised, we are working on more dates to organize more shellsational events just like this one at the Island Inn so more of us can share such a special time together. I hope to announce that very soon!!!
Ahem…. but meanwhile, while the next Shellabaloo date is still in the works… I have some exciting news!
LET’S DO A CAPTIVA CRUISE TO CAYO COSTA TOGETHER!!!
Yes! I have secured some dates so we can meet each other, enjoy a boat ride together and shell, shell, shell together on the beautiful secluded island of Cayo Costa!!
Get ready to meet the best people on the planet… other shellers just like us!
These are the dates for the iLoveShelling ShellingAdventure!
- February 17- morning cruise from 9am-12 (Sunday)
- March 16- morning cruise from 9am-12 (Saturday)
- April 13 – Morning cruise from 9am-12 (Saturday)
- May 19- afternoon cruise from 1pm-4 (Sunday)
Call Captiva Cruises for reservations at 239-472-5300 and tell them you want to join the iLoveShelling group on one of these dates!
For more information about reservations CLICK HERE
Yippee! Can you believe it? Tickets are only $50 for this shellacious get together so book soon to save your spot on one of the iLoveShelling ShellingAdventures to Cayo Costa! Come join me!
Seashell Show And Tell
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Now that you’ve met the members of the “Maiden Voyage” (cute name, Patty!) for the Shellebaloo on my last post, it’s time for a little seashell show and tell. I have 2 personal favorite shells found during our 3 days together (other than the LONG-SPINED STAR SHELL of course). The first shell is Carolyn’s absolutely perfect ALPHABET CONE…
And the other one is Sara’s COLORFUL MOON shell. There was questions about it being called a GAUDY NATICA so I explained that I used to call it that too but since the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum calls it the COLORFUL MOON, I figured I should start trying to call it that. Any way, here’s Sara and her beautiful shell…
Isn’t it beautiful? She told me this was her favorite find of the week. Good one!
I asked everybody else to get out their favorite shells to see which shells made them happiest so we gathered at the gazebo at our home base of the beautiful Island Inn to have a show and tell. Carolyn and Mike added a few to their faves along with her ALPHIE…
Amy showed me her teeny tiny juvie TURKEY WING…
Karen, Helen and Jackie chose an ALPHABET CONE, TOP SHELL, LACE MUREX (notice that sweet little pink nose) and a KING’S CROWN…
Sally and Jim collected a beautiful assortment of different shells to name a few like the green cap filled with TUSK SHELLS, a BRUISED NASA, TINTED CANTHARUS, WHITE MELAMPUS, COFFEE MELAMPUS, a SEA PEARL, a CLOUDY PERIWINKLE (inside the BUTTERCUP LUCINE), and a WENTLETRAP. Nice, huh?
Traci and Rob found the SANIBEL SIX…
But when I asked Traci what her one favorite shell was, she told me it was definitely the double OYSTER…
JoAnn and Sid’s favorites were the RIBBED CANTHARUS, COFFEE COFFEE BEAN TRIVIA and ANGEL WING…
Isn’t this fun seeing which shells make people happy? Well, this next one made me very happy and made me laugh out loud! Maureen laughed then told us that her favorite shells were speaking to her… maybe by aliens or through hieroglyphics on CROSS BARRED VENUS shells. LOL Now that’s a gal that has a great sense of humor!
This is quite a seashell collection by Kathy and Bill for their favorites. Love, Love that WORMIE (WORM SHELL) and ALPHIE for sure! And I saw that piece of CORAL in her shell bag and “may” have influenced her to put that in her faves too. (oops! but I was so drawn to it! So pretty!). Of course I love the others too… NUTMEG, LACE MUREX, BANDED TULIP, BUBBLE, FIG, SEA PEARL and angel wing.
Arabelle chose a BABY’S EAR, WHITE MELAMPUS and a SEA PEARL as her favorites. I am so tickled she found that BABY’S EAR!
Last but not least was the awesome LONG-SPINED STAR SHELL Joe and Patty found along with some of their other faves… a PURPLISH TAGELUS, TUSK and a KING’S CROWN to name a few.
I love how easy it was for everybody to pick through all of their shells to narrow it down to the ones that meant the most to them. Each person sees something different in each shell whether it is color, pattern, markings, size, shape or just the location of where they found it. They were all so happy with what they found!
PS- Stay tuned because I have a surprise for you on my next post! We might have another get together soon!
