The Essential Beachcomber

Shelled 3 beaches on Sanibel braving thunderstorms, stinging seaweed, & caintseeum's.Blind Pass at 7am Ran into Sanibel Shell Ambassadors Pam & Clark of iLoveShelling.com

Edward Cole : I envy people who have faith, I just can't get my head around it. Carter Chambers : Maybe because your head's in the way. (from the movie - The Bucket List) I'm going on a road trip and I'm taking you with me! The heart attack my hubby had a few months back has  turned out to be a clarion call to travel and see his family. He & I are loading up the SUV & taking the cardiac recovery show on the road. The hubbs has an itinerary planned & printed out. I'm sure a map quest route is in my future as well. I'm the driver because I am prone to carsickness when I sit in the passenger seat.  There are rumours that I might have some control issues.  Whatever.  We'll be starting out on the east coast of Florida to visit family then heading north to North Carolina to see some more kinfolk in the Wilmington area. We'll come back home for 10 days then fly to the Philadelphia area for a week.Looking his mortality in the face has giv...

Testing out my mobile blogger. Taking TEB on the road in a few days. Stump Pass State Park @ low tide. Have a blessed day!

 Englewood shop owner Carrie Greus sells seashells by the seashore (or Lemon Bay to be exact). She also sells lovely jewelry, home decor, & handmade clothing inspired by her love for all things vintage and beachy. The  sign on top of her downtown shop on Historic Dearborn Street says Abundant Treasures but her shop window that is decorated with the flair of a NYC Macy's window designer further declares  Coastal Shabby Chic . Carrie loves to arrange a new display in her shop window every few weeks to showcase the treasures she sells in her store for the shoppers & lookie loo's to enjoy as they meander by. Nose prints on her front window are not a nuisance but a compliment to her. Carrie had been working as an event planner for a large county club.  She loves putting her special touch on parties, weddings, & any celebration but she had always dreamed of having her own business.  An unexpected injury brought Carrie's life to a screeching hal...

All I wanted was a nice quiet beach vacation.  When I booked this room the reviews on TripAdvisor  said August was the quiet off season. Everyone else must have had the same idea. And now I've slept in and  all the pool chairs are gone I wish I had shopped longer - everyone else has on the same bathing suit as me! Next time I'm going to avoid the Florida resident specials & book the gulf-front room. ******************************** August 9, 2011 OMGosh!  I just realized today is my Blogabirthday.  I'm 1 year old today. I  hit post #102 a few days back.  I never doubted that I had something to say - I just wasn't sure I could make the journey from my head to the keyboard. So I'm sending out a whole lot of blogger love to all my followers.  Thank you for sharing your love of the beach & all that that implies with me.  The Lord bless you & keep you today & every day. Blog post #...

The parking lot was recently  landscaped with washed shell fill Y'all know I'm just crazy about shelling.  I describe myself as being coastal but some folks might describe my behavior as being a little postal. I go shelling in the rain, at night, in the freezing cold, & during tropical storms. But I never wanted to be "that woman".....you know, the woman doing the Sanibel Stoop in the newly landscaped parking lot islands at Target.  Shell fill is an excellent choice of material for landscape beds. It's inexpensive & doesn't float away during the rain like a cypress mulch.  This washed shell fill comes from quarries & shell pits where it is dug up, washed, & sorted to DOT standards.  Shell fill is used  very commonly in Florida for driveways, walk ways, roads, & ground cover. It is also loaded with fossil shells. Due to our litigation-happy society most quarry owners have closed their properties to the public. Fear of being sued ha...

Right before the storm taken on my iPhone The plan was throw a bathing suit on, grab a bottle of water, & my camera then head to the beach for a 6pm low tide.  It's been a long month of July.  First the hubbs was looking a little peaked.  The VA emergency room decided to keep him in the hospital just because he had a little heart attack - go figure.  I put 1,800 miles on my vehicle driving back & forth to the VA hospital which is 3 counties away for 9 days. Next, was a visit from my nephews (3 & 6) so their parents could cruise to Cozumel. GeeGee had not seen her grandsons in a year so it was decided to press on and not cancel.  It was a wonderful visit full of Thomas the Train & Cars 2 videos, swimming in the pool, & trying to figure out what we could beg the kids to eat that wasn't covered in chocolate or shaped like a nugget. So, I am bolting out the door for some much needed beach time to re-calibrate myself.   It was loo...

SSSHHHHH! It's a surprise party.... a mermaid birthday surprise party!  I'm linking up with  Mermaid Loui from Mountain Mermaid  to celebrate a milestone birthday for fellow mermaid blogger of all things coastal & beachy - Rhonda  of Shellbelle's Tiki Hut.  Wishing Shellbelle warm sandy hugs on her birthday.  60 is really 40 with 20 years experience. Karen & Rhonda (aka Shellbelle) on Sanibel 2010 If I would've been born 500 years ago I would have been perfectly fine being a hermit out in the boonies somewhere or a monk if it was an order that took a vow of silence.  I am perfectly happy all by myself.  I can go hours, even days just reading, walking the beach, or whatever introspection I can get myself into.  Then I remember....Oh crap, I have a husband that requires a relationship.  My family - mother, nieces, nephews, sisters, brothers, & in-laws, out-laws all need a word or two from me from time to time. I try to...