Doug
I would recommend Showcase Shells also as one of the better shell shops on
Sanibel.  But you have to go to Neptunes to see the HUGE horse Conch on
display. (24.25 inches)  Bailey-Matthews is also great.

As far as snorkeling goes, I usually leave my snorkel gear at home for my
trips to Sanibel.  I took it for years but only experienced a 2 hour window
on one day when it was calm enough to snorkel.  I do always go there in the
winter so that may make a difference.  I would be curious to get input from
people who have had succes snorkeling in other times of the year??

You might check the West Winds Inn wwinn@westwindinn  for lodging.  It is
towards the west side of the Island where the beach shelling is better IMO.
I have stayed there twice and would stay again.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Doug Stemke" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2007 3:05 PM
Subject: [CONCH-L] SW Florida trip December


> Hello All.
>
>    It looks like the family will do a trip to Florida this December for a
> couple of weeks.  We are going to drive down from Indiana. It's been a few
> years for me so I'd like to get some recs from the list.  It looks like we
> will be in Orlando, then Sanibel, Everglades for some nature photography,
> across to SE Florida (Miami area, no Keys this trip) and back north, maybe
> to the Port St. Joe area.
>
> So,
>
> Are there any good shops that one would recommend that sell quality
> material (non-beach souviner shops?)  Somewhere I have a 'Sheller's
> Directory', but generally everything in that book seems to be dated.
>
> Where on Sanibel would you recommend staying? (nice but not too expensive)
> Almost 10 years ago we stayed at a very nice small place that had a sink
> to wash out our goodies, unfortunately I cannot recall the name of the
> place.
>
> Are the Gulf waters around Sanibel safe for Snorkeling? I'm a pretty
> strong swimmer, but would like to avoid places with serious undertows.
>
> Yes, I know, no live stuff. But if one finds material with dead animals in
> it that just need to be cleaned is that ok?
>
> I know this is kind of specific, but on my infrequent trips to Florida
> I've been skunked on one 'common' species and that is Ficus communis.
> I've found large pieces around Port St. Joe, but that's been about it.  If
> anyone has any insight to this species in W. Florida I'd much appreciate
> their input.
>
> I will certainly be going to the Shell museum this time.  Last time I
> messed up as my only open day was when the museum was closed.
>
> I'm hopeing my 3 year old daughter gets the 'shell-bug'. Otherwise who is
> going to inherit my collection?
>
> The trip has to be balanced of course; my wife is an orchid grower and so
> we will be hitting orchid greenhouses as well.  But any shelling tid-bits
> would be appreciated.
>
> Cheers and many thanks!
>
> Doug
>
> Please feel free to respond privately as necessary.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
> To leave this list, click on the following web link:
> http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
> Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
> click leave the list.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------