40 Miles North of Shell Mountain

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Take a moment to pray for peace, comfort,
healing & restoration for the 46 families that
lost loved ones &  the millions affected
by Hurricane Sandy.

Early morning full moon over Blind Pass on 10.29.12

Jackets - check.

Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches - check.

230 lumen's LED flashlight - check.

My alarm went off (well cathedral bells went bong - bong - bong - bong from my iPhone) at 3am crazy early Monday morning.  The truck had been packed the night before so it was just a matter of brushing my teeth, grabbing a coffee for the road and pointing the truck south for the 1 1/2 hour drive to Sanibel.  Winds from the storm, a full moon  & a 6 am low tide were too much to resist.  The Weather Channel had forecast the winds to die down overnight from 25-30 mph to 10-15 mph.  That weatherman was a tad too optimistic. As Pookie & I drove across the Sanibel Causeway we were awestruck at the sight of the magnificent full moon reflecting across Pine Island Sound.  We both pretended not to hear the howl of the wind as it whipped it's way across the bridge and bounced off the side of our vehicle.  

Pulling into the dark parking lot on Turner Beach is always a surreal experience.  It is eerily quiet except for the sound of waves hitting the jetty rocks.   Every shape is weird and distorted.  Parking closest to the jetty, we took a few minutes to get our eyes accustomed to the dark beach under the brilliant glow of the full moon.  There was a smattering of shells next to the rocks of the jetty.  The winds had blown the sand perfectly flat and totally void of the huge shell piles we had come to expect at Blind Pass especially after a storm. The waves were pounding the beach with all the energy 8-12 foot waves could muster.  As the sun began it's pink ascent into the eastern Sanibel sky, I poured myself a cup of steaming hot green tea & drank that and the sunrise in.  Oh how I love to find the shell goodies but the sights of the full moon, rising pink sun, pelicans soaring, sounds of the wind and the waves all make the trip worth while too.

Looking  east across Blind Pass to the sun rising over Sanibel

The recently dredged pass would usually have a wide path of beach exposed at low tide but the storm surge foiled our shelling plans today.

I got a text tip from a Shell Sistah that Gulfside City Park had some live action.  The beach was lined with pen shells from the stormy surf but if you looked close enough there was a treasure here and there.

We ran into a Shell Brotha on Blind Pass who took us to the very north end of Captiva.  We walked down  a dirt road to a secret shelling location but alas the flats were under water from the storm surge but I did see a white pelican.  We then made it to the private beach at the very northern tip of Captiva Island.  No seashells but Pookie found this old 45 caliber ammo shell in the sand. Good times I say!

The water by the Sanibel Lighthouse fishing pier was a grungy brown. This photo has not been tweaked.  That is the color of the  usually aqua blue water.  Lake Okeechobee in the middle of the state of Florida dumped it's overflow into the Caloosahatchee River which flows into Pine Island Sound.

  

We started before sunrise and made our way from the most northern tip of Captiva to the most southern end of Sanibel. Pookie enjoying a walk on Lighthouse Beach before we head home.