Let's Shellabrate The Sanibel Stoop

History was made on Febuary17th, when over 700 people gathered at Bowman's Beach to "Stoop" at the same time for the Guinness Book of World Record.  I traveled by boat to the event with friends Doug and Ingrid from Canada. When I arrived in the chaos of 700 people trying to register for the "stoop" I first spotted Karen of THE ESSENTIAL BEACH COMBER.  Then Pam of I LOVE SHELLING.  The day only got better.  Karen introduced me to a friend of hers who also loves the beach and blogs on SHELL BELLE'S TIKI HUT.  We all joined the crowd on the beach and waited for the record breaking STOOP to begin. A helicopter flew over the crowded beach to take a photo of this historical moment (you may notice that I don't have any pictures of us actually doing the stoop, because I was stooped over).   The day was filled with shelling stories, fossiling stories and blogging stories.  Now we have "stooping" stories.  Friday, February 17, was a day for the record books.

Beautiful Weather

The skies have been a brilliant blue and the water extremely clear by the island. Yesterday my camera got a work out. I couldn't stop taking pictures of a place I can't get to enough. Every day is a gift from the sea.

Sunset and Stars

The seas were calm and the sunset colors inviting. I stayed out later than expected chasing the colors over Cayo with my camera.

Beautiful Skies and Water

The morning after the February full moon the skies were full of patchy fog. The fog lifted and the water looked like May and felt like April.

Capt. Brian Travels Inland

I traveled inland  from the coast to take pictures of the pinewoods upland area. I was trying to get a jump start on a class I will be taking in March about the Florida Uplands. This will be my final class for the Florida Master Naturalist Program. I took many photos but found myself enjoying the hammock area more than the uplands. I guess it is hard to take the coastal  hammock plants out of my camera lens. There were only a handful of people in the woods that day. It just so happened that one was an old classmate of mine, Brenda. We both participated in a trip to the Amazon as part of our studies. It is always great seeing Brenda. She is full of all things positive. She also happens to be the Executive Director of the non-profit land we were on. (They are lucky to have someone like Brenda and her passion for all things wild)  If you find yourself inland and want a quiet walk in the woods, I recommend CREW Land & Water Trust. 

Seashell Photography and Shelling

It was a wonderful day of beach combing, island hopping and exploring the flats. Kristen had been shelling with me last year and enjoys taking pictures of the shells. This year we did a little "Off  Roading " in the mud flats. We discovered that crocs may not be the best shoes to wear on the mud flats. Many cool treasures were observed and Kristen netted a nice Kings crown. We stopped for lunch at one of the outposts on North Captiva. She showed me the pictures she had taken a year ago on her Ipad. The photos were amazing. I enjoyed seeing the images she captured of the shells. She also introduced me to a new angle of view when taking pictures of the lightning whelk. After lunch we traveled to the next island to the north. The island was empty of people and full of shells. We discovered the largest tusk shell I have ever seen! Then another, and another. I had a total Nick Hahn moment and about hyperventilated right there on the beach. It was a great day of beach coming and exploring. I look forward to seeing Kristen's pictures and learning more photography skills from her next year.