Yes, I am here in Sanibel Island with Linda Talley.  She rented a beautiful cottage here on the beach and invited me to join her for a few days.  How lucky am I?  It is really beautiful here.  I feel guilty blogging because at this moment  I should be out at the beach as the tide is going out, hunting for the best of the best shells.  Sanibel is known for its seashells!  In fact, it is the second best place in the world for seashells (the first being in the Philippines)!  The largest shell of the Atlantic Ocean and the second largest shell in the world is found here, the Horse Conch.  Linda found one on the beach and everyone ran over to admire her find.  Here is Linda back at the cottage showing her biceps-building Horse Conch. This shell is huge!

Out on the beach, you literally walk on piles of shells:


You can scoop them up with your hands.  I have never seen anything like this.  Linda had tried to describe it to me, but still, my mind could not imagine the full extent of this shell beach until I actually saw it!

We woke up early for low tide, made coffee, took our coffee mugs with us and darted to the beach in pursuit of lovely finds.   Here are two pictures of Linda intently looking for some beautiful treasures:

Ok, am going to get my bathing suit on and grab my goggles and head to the water. I heard the best shells are behind the sand bar. Low tide at dusk brings in the biggest surprises, but it also brings in sharks that come in close to shore.  Hmm, on second thought, maybe I will skip the swim and just look on the beach and tidal pools.

More tomorrow!