I started making little notes after each shelling excursion and I decided to turn them into a blog post series, so you could come along with me for the hunt.  It’s one of the things I enjoy most about being on the beach.  I get to walk while listening to the surf, feeling the sand underfoot, and looking for treasures.  It hits a lot of things I enjoy.  If you’re interested in shelling HERE is a post with general shelling tips and HERE is a guide to specifically shelling on Isle of Palms (IOP.)  I’ll update that again this year since I’ve covered more of the beach.  By the time this week is over, I think I’ll have walked the full length of the island!

day one

Our first day of shelling was uneventful.  We picked up a few shells here and there, but nothing notable.  We’re staying on a new-to-us section of the beach, so I knew it would take a few days to get to know the shells.  The good news was there was a nice shell line along our stretch of beach, so it was likely we could find some nice shells on the right day.  And, if we’re not having much luck in front of this year’s beach house, we can always walk or drive up to our favorite shelling spots.

These were the shells I found on day one.  As you can see, most of them weren’t the kind other people get excited about.  I did find part of of large lion’s paw fossil, so that was cool.

I also found a few of the oyster shell “sculptures” that I like…

day two

Let me start by saying I do not recommend walking barefoot in the sand and surf for a couple of hours when the ocean is 52° and the wind is whipping.  I didn’t check what the air temperature was, but as my feet were bright red and throbbing, I remembered all of the survival shows I’ve watched warning one can get hypothermia in 60º.  I might lose a toe to frostbite on this expedition.  But, it was all in pursuit of shells not only for my house and garden but for the ever-elusive shell collection competition win.

Since we didn’t find amazing shells the day before, we decided to go to the sweet spot on the beach we are most familiar with. The shelling wasn’t the best, but it was decent.  Mom and I both found olive shells, which are our favorite, and I found a bunch of craggy whelks; ones with holes and missing pieces, encrusted with barnacles or bryozoan colonies.  I’ve come to really love whelks that have been battered so the interior twist of the shells is exposed.  Sometimes they look like riding, curled ribbons.  Sometimes it looks like a sculptural skeleton, graceful and beautiful in its brokenness.  I found so many large, broken whelks that my mom carried some in her bag.  We knew it would be clear which shells belonged to which collector.

My mom chased after a lump in the sand that looked like a whelk.  She stopped in front of it, bent over, picked it up, and looked at it for a minute.  She called over to me, “This is one of your shells.”  By “your shells”, she means it’s broken, crusty, holey, or looks like it’s been rolling around in the surf for a few decades.  I walked over and she handed it to me.  Yes, I can see how she would call it one of my shells.  It was a whelk that was completely hidden under layers of bryozoan colonies and encrusted with oysters and other ocean hitchhikers.  This shell had a story, I could tell!  But, I like shells that are broken and worn in ways that are beautiful to me.  This one was definitely interesting, but I didn’t find it to be beautiful.  I held onto it for a few minutes and decided to throw it back.

(One of my iPhone lenses isn’t working right, so some of these photos are blurry.  Sorry!)

day three

It was supposed to rain all day with just a few short breaks, so Mom and I eagerly watched for a lull in the rain so we could go to the beach to check out the available shells.  The skies were still gray and dreary, but the rain had let up, so we decided to take our chances.  While the rain had stopped, the wind hadn’t and it was brutal!  We were both being pummeled by sand and pieces of broken shells.  Our pants below the knees were encrusted with bits blown from the beach visibly declaring the foolishness of our choices.

My mom surrendered before I did, but she carried with her the two perfect whelks she found in the tempest, the kind of whelks that win shell collection contests. Despite my persistence,  I found two broken whelks, the kind I like, but the kind that lose shell collection contests.  I was, however, thoroughly exfoliated.  Thankfully, our beach house has a functioning washer and dryer.

More IOP shelling diaries to come, but I will say the weather improved and we benefitted from all the wind and rain…