Hello All,
 I just returned from Marco Island where I spent a week alone with my kids. A
little bit of a foiled family vacation, hubby had to return early. We did
manage to get to Sanibel for a day and found a few nice things including a
fresh dead Chicoreus dilectus, a few Busycon spiratum, many small cute
Phyllonotus pomum and other things. A one point on Bowman's beach there were
100s of live Strombus pugilis, almost beached. These two ladies (not English
speaking) were busily tossing them back to the deeper waters. I think I have
a picture of this. A day there is just not enough time. I did get to the
museum, a wonderful take. My kids really enjoyed it, and the place is still
standing. (My 5 year old twins are pretty inquisitive.)
At Marco Island I had pretty luck collecting. Found a beautiful alphabet cone
in about a foot of water, many baby Pleuroploca gigantea and more Phyllonotus
pomum, all dead. There were many Strombus pugilis and immature Busycon
contrarium also.  This was the week before the hurricane (8th-16th). I pulled
out of there on Friday am to head north to my parents. I guess in time to
miss the rains. The wind was pretty strong when I left.  I stopped on
Englewood beach where the beach was covered with shells. My daughter wanted
to collect sharks teeth so that is where we go. After she got her handful of
teeth and my little bag of Trachycardiums and Macrocallista maculatas and the
skies got a bit dark we continued on our way north. Unfortunately my parents
live almost three hours from Sanibel so a trip back the next day would have
been a bit much.
Now I have the bug to return, this time without kids!

Kris
<><
Freehold, NJ

Ps: Now I am looking forward to the Philadelphia shell show  Nov. 7 and 8th