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Post by mags243 on May 20, 2022 17:37:46 GMT
Can anyone recommend beach/area with great shell collecting? That's what my 8 year-old really wants to do this summer, so we're going to give it a shot. We're in Ohio, so no Pacific Ocean (maybe someday!). Thanks!
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Post by Jen in NCal on May 20, 2022 17:41:25 GMT
I've always wanted to go to Sanibel Island. I found this article for Florida. |
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Post by mnmloveli on May 20, 2022 17:56:00 GMT
My dream is Sanibel Island to shell search !
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Post by malibou on May 20, 2022 18:32:42 GMT
I know you said no to the Pacific Ocean, but we have an incredible glass beach in Ft Bragg CA! Just sayin'.😉
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Post by bbkeef on May 20, 2022 18:40:09 GMT
Sanibel for sure! Wilmington Beach in North Carolina is good too.
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Post by beepdave on May 20, 2022 18:41:36 GMT
Wilmington Beach in North Carolina is good too. Yes - and we had great luck at a beach just north of Myrtle Beach on the same trip last month. P.S. I loooooved Wilmington. |
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Just T
Drama Llama
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Post by Just T on May 20, 2022 18:50:47 GMT
We went to Ft. Myers Beach a few years ago, and came home with so many shells. Buckets full. We took a day trip to Captiva Island, and the shells were everywhere.
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keithurbanlovinpea
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Flowing with the go...
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Post by keithurbanlovinpea on May 20, 2022 19:00:59 GMT
We had a great shelling in Panama City Beach this past week and Shell Island is a must see/do for shells
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maryannscraps
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Aug 28, 2017 12:51:28 GMT
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Post by maryannscraps on May 20, 2022 19:07:45 GMT
My parents used to have a house on Sanibel Island. It's such a great place to visit. There's a national wildlife refuge there, too.
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Post by peatlejuice on May 20, 2022 19:16:39 GMT
Another vote for Sanibel. My mom is a shell fanatic and Sanibel is her happy place for shelling.
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snappydog
Full Member
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Sept 11, 2014 22:53:41 GMT
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Post by snappydog on May 20, 2022 19:18:28 GMT
Captiva. The shelling is amazing. We go every year. My kids spend hours searching for shells.
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Post by monklady123 on May 20, 2022 19:46:10 GMT
Sanibel Island for sure! My kids still talk about it and they were in elementary and middle school when we went. They're adults now.  . We still have shells all over the house from that visit. lol. Before that we'd only ever been to Bethany Beach and there are almost no shells there at all. We stayed at a place called the Blue Dolphin Hotel, more like "cottages", which is right on the beach. SO lovely. We went in the middle of summer which everyone warned us against, but it worked out just fine. We went to the beach in the morning, came back to the room for lunch and a nap, then went back to the beach or another one nearby for the afternoon. |
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teddyw
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Post by teddyw on May 20, 2022 20:13:44 GMT
I vote for Sanibel too.
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Post by kenziekeeper on May 20, 2022 20:38:44 GMT
Sanibel, Captiva, Marco island
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Post by olbrwneyedgirl on May 20, 2022 21:37:35 GMT
I was going to say Sanibel, but it seems everyone else has already done it for me!
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Post by Zee on May 20, 2022 21:41:01 GMT
I went to Sanibel last June and we went on a shelling excursion to another island as well. I went snorkeling for the first time in my life and had so much fun! Lots of shells too, nothing really special but I made a project for a friend out of them.
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Post by cmpeter on May 20, 2022 22:01:38 GMT
Glass Beach in Fort Bragg is incredible, but you aren’t supposed to remove any of the glass. I’ve not really found any beaches on the west coast that I think are great for shell collecting.
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Post by Sanibel on May 21, 2022 0:36:55 GMT
Sanibel is my favorite place on earth. The best time to shell is December through March because storm front push the shells up toward and onto the beach. The lack of overbearing heat makes it easier to shell without getting too hot.
Going any time of the year is amazing, however! The restaurants are fabulous!
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Post by malibou on May 21, 2022 0:47:39 GMT
Glass Beach in Fort Bragg is incredible, but you aren’t supposed to remove any of the glass. I’ve not really found any beaches on the west coast that I thing are great for shell collecting. We've been hearing that for years up there that you couldn't take any glass. When we were just there for spring break, someone asked if we knew how to get to Glass Beach, as we were giving directions, a park ranger butted in and told them that they were allowed to take glass, but that they didn't want people taking loads of it, and they will stop people trying to haul out 5 gallon buckets, but a sandwich baggie full is a-okay. We also saw signs indicating that they are trying to get permission to dump partially tumbled clean broken glass into the ocean to replenish the beaches. |
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Post by sunny1016 on May 21, 2022 0:49:26 GMT
Oak Island(NC) gets tons of shells because it is kinda tucked into the coast line.
Caswell Beach had the most. We found so many cool ones.
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Post by beachbum on May 21, 2022 1:01:49 GMT
I live in SW FL and have to agree with those before me - Sanibel. I've been all over FL and the Caribbean and have not seen another place with the amount of shells. If you have tender feet bring water shoes!
Take a day and head a bit north of Sanibel to Venice and search for petrified sharks teeth. Enjoy
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Post by CardBoxer on May 21, 2022 1:10:01 GMT
Sanibel all the way, including a visit when there to the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Birds galore.
I enjoyed the Doc Ford novels that mostly take place on Sanibel Island, written by Randy Wayne White. Sanibel Flats was the first one. Not normally my genre, but the writing was solid, and they were fun diving into after spending time on Sanibel. Doc Ford is an ex CIA agent, supposedly trying to live a quieter life.
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seaexplore
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Post by seaexplore on May 21, 2022 3:43:04 GMT
Glass Beach in Fort Bragg is incredible, but you aren’t supposed to remove any of the glass. I’ve not really found any beaches on the west coast that I thing are great for shell collecting. I was there 3 years ago… so very disappointed. The glass is almost all gone and what is there is so tiny. They opened a new section just before we went and it was so picked over! |
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ModChick
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Post by ModChick on May 21, 2022 5:51:33 GMT
Sanibel is my favorite place on earth. The best time to shell is December through March because storm front push the shells up toward and onto the beach. The lack of overbearing heat makes it easier to shell without getting too hot. Going any time of the year is amazing, however! The restaurants are fabulous! What hotel would you recommend? |
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maryannscraps
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Post by maryannscraps on May 21, 2022 12:26:15 GMT
Sanibel all the way, including a visit when there to the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Birds galore. I enjoyed the Doc Ford novels that mostly take place on Sanibel Island, written by Randy Wayne White. Sanibel Flats was the first one. Not normally my genre, but the writing was solid, and they were fun diving into after spending time on Sanibel. Doc Ford is an ex CIA agent, supposedly trying to live a quieter life. There are Doc Ford restaurants on Sanibel and St. Pete that my sister really likes. Owned by Randy Wayne White. |
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Post by zztop11 on May 21, 2022 12:44:57 GMT
There is no bad place on Sanibel. The restaurants are all great. The Island Cow is a great casual restaurant and lots of fun. Gramma Dot's (on the end near the lighthouse) is at a yacht club. So beautiful and relaxing. The Lighthouse Cafe is a wonderful place too. Delicious breakfasts! And we love Jerry's Foods for our grocery needs. So much to see and do. Summer is the quiet time but it's Florida. Hot!
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Post by CardBoxer on May 21, 2022 12:48:44 GMT
Sanibel all the way, including a visit when there to the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Birds galore. I enjoyed the Doc Ford novels that mostly take place on Sanibel Island, written by Randy Wayne White. Sanibel Flats was the first one. Not normally my genre, but the writing was solid, and they were fun diving into after spending time on Sanibel. Doc Ford is an ex CIA agent, supposedly trying to live a quieter life. There are Doc Ford restaurants on Sanibel and St. Pete that my sister really likes. Owned by Randy Wayne White. That’s too cool. He still lives on Sanibel. Googled his name and found this neat article. And he’s writing a young adult series too. stpetecatalyst.com/i-hate-thinking-a-conversation-with-author-randy-wayne-white/www.docfords.com/sanibel-island/Driving up to Sarasota and to different beaches can be fun too if there’s time. The beaches vary hugely depending on what land mass/rock they originally came from from. Like quartz crystal from the Appalachian Mountains (?) makes Siesta beach sand like talcum powder. A guidebook recommended not taking watches or cameras to Siesta since the sand is so fine it can get into the works. www.bestwesternsiestakey.com/the-secret-of-siesta-key-sand/I want to be down there right now. |
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Post by Sanibel on May 22, 2022 5:17:34 GMT
Sanibel is my favorite place on earth. The best time to shell is December through March because storm front push the shells up toward and onto the beach. The lack of overbearing heat makes it easier to shell without getting too hot. Going any time of the year is amazing, however! The restaurants are fabulous! What hotel would you recommend? Anywhere is good, literally! I would suggest looking at the Sanibel/Captiva Chamber of Commerce website. They will have a listing of the Inns, condo complexes and hotels. We like a condo for the convenience of having a full size kitchen and a washer and dryer. |
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ModChick
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Post by ModChick on May 22, 2022 17:05:43 GMT
What hotel would you recommend? Anywhere is good, literally! I would suggest looking at the Sanibel/Captiva Chamber of Commerce website. They will have a listing of the Inns, condo complexes and hotels. We like a condo for the convenience of having a full size kitchen and a washer and dryer. Thank you!! Honestly never thought of vacationing in Florida but omg after I googled Sanibel I really want to go. It looks amazing. |
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Sarah*H
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Post by Sarah*H on May 22, 2022 18:02:53 GMT
Sanibel Island, Marco Island or Siesta Key on the Gulf Coast of Florida. You can take shelling cruises in the Ten Thousand Islands area in that part of southern Florida.
Farther north, Sunset Island which is just north of Myrtle Beach. During low tide, you can walk between Sunset and the next island and it is a shelling wonderland.
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. We still have shells all over the house from that visit. lol. Before that we'd only ever been to Bethany Beach and there are almost no shells there at all. 
