This was an interesting day. We got up early to go shell collecting on Sanabel island. It is just a few mile North of us. The first challenge appeared when our chief shell colllector wouldn't get out of bed. It was cold this morning and she wanted to sleep. We quickly got organized and formed the Trefethen Barbershop quartet. Jean, Ben, Stevie and I sang a hastly written but soon to be famous rendition of "The Sanabel Stoop". Once we were up and fed we found our car had a flat tire. Changing it I discovered the spare was questionable so off we went to find the Tire king! Ron at the Tire King was a big help and if you ever have a flat in Ft Myers we recommend them.
Now 3 hours into our day we finally made it to Sanabel. This is truly a beautiful island. We knew our luck had changed when we met Lee at the visitors center and he took 30 minutes to give us the complete rundown on the place. Saved us loads of time and we now knew where the best shell collecting was. Armed with maps and snacks we set off to the North end of the island. Driving down a distant dirt lane we found the beach access parking and walked out to try our luck.
This beach is world renouned for it's shells. Well over a million people come from all over the world each year to practice what has come to be know as the "Sanabel Stoop".
What is the Stoop you say?
It takes great tenacity of purpose to do. One must scan the beach for shells while walking bent over briskly. I say briskly because this is a competative sport of sorts. Everyone wants to be the one to find that perfect shell. The LOL's are thick as barnacles on a whales hide and twice as abrasive. We had to keep the kids moving lest they be mowed over by the Nike clad beach bandits.
Once we got the hang of it we were right in there with the best of them. After an hours worth of competition we emerged victorious with well over 10 lbs of bivalvacious booty.
We all had the best time!