gabriel luke collect seashells

If anybody was going to find shells on the beaches of Sanibel and Captiva today in the wake of Tropical Storm Isaac (and now a Hurricane), it was Gabriel and Luke. They worked the beach all along West Gulf Drive where they were staying while visiting from Texas. It’s like they found an OLIVE garden!

handful olive shells

Then they told me they had found even more shells so they took me over to their shell bag to have a peek inside. Wow! An ALPHABET CONE laying right on top, a FLORIDA CONE, more OLIVES, HORSE CONCHS and so many goodies.

seashell bag cones candy

I started out this morning at Gulf side City Park on Sanibel to find a beautiful beach with some scattered clam shells…

Gulf side city park seashells sanibel

Then I moved on to see what was happening at Captiva’s Blind Pass. Yikes! The beach is gone! The sand has eroded all the way back to palm trees and grasses.

Blind pass erosions isaac

The Sanibel side of Blind Pass didn’t have the erosion problems but I didn’t see many good shells piling up so I waited until low tide this evening to check out the lighthouse. The first people I saw on the beach were Joe and Joanne who I met yesterday. They each found an ALPHABET CONE!

joe joanne alphabet cones

I only got a few photos of my finds and Clark’s finds but I’m sure I’ll have more time tomorrow to post. I think we will start to see more piles building tomorrow like this last photo so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow is the day like Tropical Storm Debbie brought in June. Happy shelling!

seashells lighthouse wentle baby cone

scallop shell colors

pen shells starfish sanibel isaac