Ellen, enjoyed your message so much from the cold winter here in Maine.  How
were you shelling in Sanibel?  Is not the area closed to shelling now?
Excuse my ignorance if I miss understood you.  Valerie Layton
----- Original Message -----
From: Ellen Bulger <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2002 3:05 PM
Subject: El's Excellent Shell Adventure


> Howdy shellers,
>
> I just got back from the grand tour, the shelling grand tour and
oooooooooh,
> did I score.
>
> I owe thanks to Claire Beckman, Ron Nixon and Phyllis Sharp for hosting me
> and showing me the ropes of predawn Sanibel shelling. If you are ever on a
> shell trip with them, you will have a blast. But be warned that when
> snorkeling, Ron is a positive demon when it comes to finding tritons.
>
> Let me interrupt for a moment to offer an apology to the people at the
> Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum. It was I who left the nose and fingerprints
all
> over the Xenophora display. Sorry about the steamed glass. I couldn't help
> myself.
>
> I now have whelks aplenty and those spiffy little striped tulips and a
> virtual rainbow of fighting conchs. There were scads of them and I had
> trouble passing them by, which wouldn't be a problem except for the fact
that
> those little strombs are heavy.
>
> Shelling on Sanibel is weather dependent and the weather was apparently
way
> too good for the pickin' to be primo, but I wasn't complaining. As I was
> heading back to beautiful but chilly Flagstaff, I was just as happy to
enjoy
> leisurely strolls on balmy beaches and to soak up the sunrise.
>
> I am not usually so mellow about shelling. I have to admit I'm usually
> frantic. But I had spent part of the previous week on Eleuthera and had
come
> back with shells enough to scratch the shell itch. Folks who know me, know
> I'm a Xenophora freak, no, a Xeno PIG actually. And I found the Xeno
> graveyard. Not all were stellar, but I found enough that I think I have
the
> start of a growth series. Lace murex galore, tons of tulips, all manner of
> bivalves, jewel boxes and egg cockles of dazzling color, a lovely flame
> helmet, a tritons trumpet with terrifically clear markings, a
> banded-butterscotch hawkwing conch, smooth bonnets and I don't know what
all
> else. I shipped several boxes home to Arizona once I got to Florida and
won't
> know exactly what I have for a while.
>
> But if you are thinking of Eleuthera in January, let me warn you, the
water
> on back side of the island is COLD. Snorkeling in Tarpum bay was barely
> tolerable. After an hour I would start to shiver, and it would not stop
until
> after I had been out for quite a while. Mind you, I was wearing neoprene;
2
> ml ankle to wrist with a 2 ml vest over it, booties under my fins and a
> tropical hood. Even so; brrrrrrrrr. Plan to beachcomb or bring a 5 ml
suit.
> The deeper water on the East coast was more tolerable.
>
> But the most amazing part of my trip was my visit to the Cordy's and the
> Astronaut Trail Shell Club show. Bobby and Jim were kind enough to put me
up
> in their home. They really made me feel welcome. (I'd post the recipe for
> Bobbi's "Mexican Meatball Soup", if I could think of a way of making it
> remotely on-topic.) Their shell room is  a museum. There are shells in
this
> world that I could not have imagined in a million years. The diversity of
> Volutes was a revelation! And I never would have guessed that California's
> chilly waters would have such marvelous shells. I was especially taken
with
> the wavy-lined topshells; gloriously hefty things encrusted with
no-nonsense
> periostracums. The whorls had edges like crimped pastry and, golly, they
must
> have the bestest, grooviest operculums in all the world.
>
> Jim went to a lot of trouble to show me so much, pulling out books when
> necessary to answer my questions. I fear I was exposed to move than I was
> able to absorb during my visit. But he sure gave me material to get my
gray
> matter working.
>
> And if this all wasn't enough, I attended my first shell show. I know
there
> are other shell clubs and other shell shows, but I can't help but suspect
> I've seen the shell world at its best. I have been in clubs in my day, and
> run them, so I know the usual dynamics. The Astronaut Trail Shell Club is
> extremely unusual. These people really pull together and everybody works.
The
> motivation is a mutual passion for their hobby and everyone genuinely
likes
> each other. I've seen clubs at their gnarliest where people seemed to be
> motivated by ego or some strange idea about social advancement. None of
that
> at this club.
>
> The reason I am going on about this, my fellow shellers, is that the
result
> of this good energy and teamwork is an absolutely crackerjack shell show.
If
> you live in Florida and haven't gotten around to attending a shell show,
> especially "The Space Coast Shell Festival", you a missing something way
> cool. Do it. If you live in that general area of Florida, I can't urge you
> strongly enough to join this club. Heck, I just joined and I live in
> Flagstaff, Arizona. I'll be lucky to get in for one meeting a year, but I
> have already met people who have enriched my life. If you are reading this
> and are lucky enough to live on the East coast of Florida, what are you
> waiting for?
>
> And the show? The effort involved in planning and staging it is most
> impressive. But the end result of the work of both the hosting club and
the
> exhibitors puts many a museum to shame. I spent a good part of the show
> wandering around in a daze. There was so much to see; fabulous scientific
> exhibits, gorgeous crafts (I used to be a little snot about shellcraft.
Then
> I got whacked over the head - not literally - by the sailor's valentines.)
> The dealers' tables were a dangerous drain on my pocketbook. There
marvelous
> woodcarvings and whimsical sea beans. And for us lucky exhibitors, a
> lunchtime spread that undid the good of three months of harsh dieting. Did
i
> mention the silent auction? Fun, fun, fun! I know I was only marginally
> helpful at this last show. I keep wandering about in a shell buzz. I
resolve
> to be more disciplined next time.
>
> I learned loads. Mostly I learned how little I know and how much more I
want
> to learn. I'm determined to start keeping better data slips, to save those
> operculums, to try learn not just Latin names, but authors, to read, read,
> read.
>
> A big thank you to the Astronaut Trail Shell Club. And to everybody else,
a
> hint, even if you have to fly in, go to their show next year. It's SOOOOOO
> worth it.
>
> Ellen
>