Sea Shells!!

I have come to realize I have always loved shelling.  When we were kids and would go to the beach in California, I loved looking for shells.  I didn't really care to much to get in the water.  I just cared about finding shells.   Here are some close ups of some more seashells we got at Captiva Island.

This is what my kitchen counter looks like after an awesome shelling trip to the beach.

These are called Lightning Welks

They are the only shell in Florida that open up on the left side. 

Now this shell is a shell we found in some rocks in Cozumel with Bryce and Amy.  We rented a little car and drove around the island.  We stopped at a random place and walked along the beach and found this awesome shell.

Look how big it is!- This is a conch shell

Conch from Cozumel- next to it is a Lightning Welk we found here, next to a little baby Lightning Welk also found in Florida.

Calico Clams

Aren't these pretty!? Each one is so beautiful!!  I love them because they are smooth and shiny, not to mention the fun pattern on each one!

Now this is a fun one too.  This is also a Conch shell.  We got this one off the coast of Belize.  Darren and I went alone when paul was about a year old.  We wanted to go snorkeling- but missed the main tourist boats.  We found a local guy take us in his awesome boat I was afraid might sink at any moment.  The guy looked like a pirate.  Really- a pirate.  He was really nice and we had a great time.  After we snorkeled with sharks and stingrays, he needed to stop to "get dinner".  So we stopped in a spot in the ocean where the water was about 3 feet deep and crystal clear.  The bottom of the ocean floor was perfectly flat and sandy.  And these shells were EVERYWHERE.  He jumped in the water and threw a bunch up on the boat.  Then he got back in and got out his knife.  He would take each shell, and hold his knife on that spot where there is the hole, then hammer his knife into the shell to make the whole.   Then he would grab the animal inside and tear it out and throw it in a bucket.  Then he would throw the shell back in the water.  Except this one- which he gave to me.  He said he would be making Conch soup for dinner that night.  

Here is another one- but without a hole.

This is a fun shell called a Cats Paw.  Can you guess why?

More Cat Paw's.

Now, this is called a Double Cat's Paw.  Because it hasn't broken apart yet.  These are harder to find.

See?

A bunch of Doubles!

Look at all these pretty Scallops!  I love all the designs.

Cerith's and Augers

I love these Scallops with the orange stripe down the middle!

Look at this fun baby shell!  I am not sure what it is but I am guessing it's a baby conch.

A little Nutmeg.

More orange stripes.

A Dove Shell. I think.

We found this cool star fish.  Actually I found 2 of them but Gabe broke all the legs off the other one.

A Pen shell. These things are everywhere!

These one are really hard to find!  I only have a few of these fun Sunray Venus Shells.

And last but not least, a Double Disk Dosinia.  Love these.  Not only is it hard to find them, but it's twice as hard to get them home without seperateing. 

Man, looking at these pictures makes me want to go shelling, and start painting, and ......