Michelle,

Welcome to Conch-L.  No I am not the official greater but I was sitting
here with our single dog (plus my daughter's two dogs), our cat,
assorted parrots, some snakes and lizards, a couple of tarantulas, and
lots of fish.  Obviously none of these EXCEPT the cat worry me much with
messing with the shells.  The cat loves to grab a small shell in a
plastic bag and charge off as if he had a mouse.  So this means I
display shells behind glass in a hutch.  All of the rest are in boxes or
drawers except for a few large ones the cat couldn't drag around if he
wanted.  Since a shell will really fade if exposed to excess light (like
any from the sun), keeping them in boxes/closets will preserve their
color.  I have selected favorites I display in the hutch -- not
necessarily favorite shells but favorite display shells.  This leaves
most of them protected and I can always rotate the ones on display.

Anyway, I agree with Harry; display, display, display.  I you can only
display a couple in a secure area, it makes the place better (trust
me).
Good luck on the shelling.  Can't help you with the best beaches.  They
all look pretty good from here.

Tom Eichhorst in New Mexico, USA