In a message dated 2/2/02 3:23:15 AM, [log in to unmask] writes:

<< 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 >>

There's shelling and there's shelling. On Sanibel you don't snorkel or dive,
you beachcomb. And if you find a splendid shell with the live mollusk in it,
you heave a sigh and toss it into the waves. Live shelling is illegal. But
they haven't gotten so silly as to ban dead shelling. I refuse to even visit
any place that bans even dead shelling.

But if you want a change from chilly Maine, wait a few months and go to the
Bahamas. Check out the Astronaut Trail Shell Club for shell trips, other
folks do trips too. IMHO shelling is much more fun when you can get in the
water as well as beachcomb.