Mobile Blogging - Days 11 & 12 Back Home



I wonder if there is any $$$ in this storm-chasing-thing because I am getting pretty good at it....& I'm not even trying. The first stop on the Hubb's bucket tour was family in Satellite Beach, FL. Like any smart Floridian I keep an eye on any tropical depression that forms in the Caribbean but I don't really pay too much mind unless it becomes a named storm.  Even then, hurricanes are like a basketball game; it's all back & forth, back & forth until the last minute of the game.  That's why when I do watch a game (trust me, the last minute of a basketball game can last 45 minutes sometimes) I only watch the last few minutes of the final period. So when the hurricane center upgraded the tropical depression to a hurricane named Irene I was watching but I didn't pay very close attention to all the spaghetti models that the weather-people were rolling out because we were heading for Wilmington, NC and that storm was heading for the west coast of Florida - not.   


After we arrived in North Carolina I was definitely paying attention now. With friends & family scattered up & down the East Coast we were starting to get somewhat concerned. Hurricane Irene made landfall about 40 miles north of where we were staying with our Wilmington family.  We lost power for 24 hours.  Thankfully the yard clean-up was minimal. I had a good time shelling on Wrightsville Beach for the next few days. Leaving NC  & heading back to Florida took us to St Augustine Beach for a visit with another branch from the hubby's family tree. I got up this morning before dawn to have coffee with my niece before she left for work.  Sunrise on the beach was too much to resist so off I went to Anastasia State Park a few blocks from her condo. It was very overcast on the water but the sunrise still managed to glow through the storm clouds. It was an amazing start to the day highlighted by some friendly chit-chat with the park ranger that included him giving me a channeled whelk. (***Shelling tip***Always get to know your local park rangers on the beaches.  They know where all the shells are & some are in a basket on the back of the quad they are riding)


There is no more beautiful sight or sound than the beach waking up




St. Augustine Beach is about a 3 hour drive from the west coast of Florida

This surfer had the entire beach to himself



Glorious Morning


The uniform does nothing for me but a man with a shell - oh baby!


As the hubbs & I were making our way across east coast Florida to the west coast it was very overcast but I just thought it was some left-overs from Irene.  A phone call from GeeGee informed us that we were driving into a yet another storm on the west coast of Florida. She is a very reliable weather source as she has a huge crush on Jim Cantore and watches the weather channel alot. Oh goody! So as the hubbs monitored both map quest & the weather channel apps on the phone we safely made it home. After unpacking, doing some laundry, & making a pot of soup; a random thought just popped into my head - I shelled the east coast this morning...if I go out now to my beach, that means I shelled BOTH coasts of Florida in one day. I know - awesome,  right!  Ignoring the black sky I drove out to Manasota Key just to say I did it - both coasts in one day.  As I walked onto the beach under the looming storm clouds I was stunned to see the biggest shell pile ever.  It stretched up & down the beach. With one eye on the storm I started digging through the shell pile as quickly as I could then the rain started. Only 15 minutes of shelling bliss but I did it! A sunrise on the east coast & a sunset (almost) on the west coast and shelling the entire time. 
Channeled Whelk
Busycotypus canaliculatus 
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Anastasia State Park is one amazing view after the next
Shelling on the Westcoast at sunset on Manasota Key


Everyone is shelling as fast as they can to beat the storm. ( BTW - there is no such thing as fast shelling)


It's hard to look for shark's teeth with so many shells in your way


Every now and then,
when the world sits just right,
a gentle breath of heaven
fills my soul with delight...

~Hazelmarie ‘Mattie’ Elliott, A Breath of Heaven

Comments

  1. Welcome back, Karen!!! ...and thanks for sharing your wonderful story and awesome pictures!!! ...and for another toe pic :-))

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  2. Glad you are back! But your mobile blogging was fantastic :D
    I bet Jim Cantore would make you an honorary storm chaser....why not???
    Congrats on shelling both coasts in one day! I've done it, too...in 2009. It was awesome! Welcome to the club!

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  3. Pardon me, but I happen to know that the first stop on the Hubb's Bucket Tour was at MY house! lol

    I'm glad you're home safe and sound with buckets of shells and tales to tell for years to come.

    Looking at that pile of shells, I'm tempted to jump in the car on Saturday to get my shelling on, I'm ready for a day at the beach!

    Love ya girl!

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  4. That channeled whelk has my heart beating like crazy! Fabulous!

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  5. Shellebelle is back - Yah!!!!!

    Kaybe: Your pictures today are STUNNING!! Especially the first one - thats my favorite. Glad you're home safe and sound.

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  6. Awesome post, Karen...STUNNING early morning beach shots on the east coast!!! Anastasia really is a beautiful place...we were there last March...

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  7. Love!!! Such a visual delight - thanks for sharing -
    Happy Labor Day Weekend!

    Linda
    beachside cottage

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  8. AWESOME PHOTOGRAPHY today girl!!! Your images are gorgeous! And yeah.....this new hurricane is tearing up the southern part of Loosiana...20 inches of rain. Hurricanes suck.
    Specially cuz Blew Bayou is docked right down there where they are all blowing thru....
    Glad you're home!!

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  9. What an amazing trip! I think I'll sit down with my trip planner and write some of the fabulous beaches down that I would like to visit! Preferable in better weather! I'm glad you made it back home alright! What an experience! ♥

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