There was pretty much literal thunder this time around as the rain and crackling of the sky made up most of this Thursday. So we were both pretty anxious to get on the road when the quittin’ time bell rang. Unfortunately, our quittin’ time bell rang a little bit later than usual, so we were running behind before we even got started.

No sweat. We decided to hit Lighthouse Beach this time. Lighthouse Beach was one we frequented when we originally came to Fort Myers, and it’s known for folks finding large, keeper Horse Conch shells. Queen Mother #1 had always decorated her home with lighthouses, so naturally it’d be a magnet for the Shell Queen, considering the Scallop doesn’t fall far from the Conch, if you know what I mean (wink wink). It was one we primarily visited until we discovered the seclusion of Blind Pass. Over the years though, we’ve found some great keepers at Lighthouse.

As we made our way over the causeway onto Sanibel, we noticed several manatees and dolphins. It doesn’t matter how long you live here, it’s always a pleasant sight when you see them swimming playfully in the water. It always makes the Queen squeal when she sees the dorsal fins breaking the top of the water.

We arrived at the beach with literally minutes to spare before sunset. I was quite disappointed that we didn’t have much time. But as I waded through the calm water, I had a quick change of attitude as I thought about people I knew who were living in cold weather right now – and how much they would like to have the 15 minutes I was spending in warm weather, wading in the ocean. So to our friends who are living in the cold, we’re thinking about ya.

Although I don’t think any of you would have enjoyed being devoured by the no-see-ums that were out for dinner. They may be called “no-see-ums”, but they should be renamed “yes-feel-ems”, because we’re all eaten up from head to toe.

After that, I didn’t really concern myself with looking for any keeper shells, although we did find a few nice Scallops and a pretty big Oyster Drill. But mostly, I just waded in the water and had grateful thoughts. Instead of letting the lack of daylight irritate me, I considered it a “delight” to be where I was at that given moment – enjoying De-Lighthouse Beach with my lovely Shell Queen.

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