James Cheshire wrote, "I would probably go to the Bahamas, too, but of course I can't afford it. But in case the Bahamas ban shell collecting, I have ten barges loaded with rocks, and I will just find a shallow area and dump the rocks. 'Poof!' My own private island!!" Well, James, when I was about your age, I read about a man planning to do just that, only the shoal was off the coast of southern California and he was going to call the new island Abalonia. The shoal was supposedly just outside the territorial limit of the United States, which was then defined as only 3 miles offshore. I never learned whether this news item was an urban legend or a real event, but in any case it can't be done anymore, as the limit is now, what, 200 miles offshore? The only unclaimed areas are in very deep water. I suppose you could still plan an underwater community, or live on a boat. To get to more practical matters, the Bahamas, unlike most of the other places that are discussed on Conch-L, are not very far from the United States, and some of the best parts are inexpensive. When you are a bit older, you'll be able to sign up for courses at the San Salvador Field Station, which has its own dormitories. Some colleges subsidize trips to the Bahamas for their students. As a college student, if you're still interested then, you will be able to apply for grants to travel and work on shells. So you have a lot to look forward to. Also, the saying goes that the best place to find shells is sometimes a museum drawer. You know that some of the world's top experts on freshwater mollusks, and some of the largest collections, are in Columbus, Ohio. Why not give them a call and see if you can get a tour of the facilities (maybe together with the local shell club)? Of course, you don't want to waste their time, since they have their work to do, and if you call during the busy time of the year you may have to wait, but many curators are pleased to run occasional tours for groups, especially if their salary is paid from public taxes. It doesn't hurt to ask, and you can learn a lot about shell collecting in an hour by seeing a professional lab. Andrew K. Rindsberg Geological Survey of Alabama