24 Jan 2014 - Christening the new beach shelter

The new (and awesome) beach shelter.

Wayne collecting shells on a sand bar at low tide.

The very rare and illusive Shell Bush.

It was a chilly morning in Florida but damn it, I want to go to the beach and see if that new beach umbrella/shelter we bought actually works! Given the wind that blowing outside, I think it was a perfect opportunity to see if it prevents us from getting hypothermia. It did.
This beach apparatus is an upgrade to the one I bought a few years ago in Giant Tiger and really loved. We had previously seen this bigger/better version on the beach in South Padre Island and vowed that the next time we came South for the winter, we would get one. We came, we found it, we bought it. The GT Boutique version is 'somewhere' in the garage at home and from previous experience in Florida, we knew that it was an absolute must as there isn't much shade on the beaches and it's either try to keep a big umbrella up or having one of these shades.
We packed a small lunch and went to Lover's Key. We didn't have a lot of stuff to carry but the fact that there is a trolley that goes from the entrance of the park right down to the beach is a major PLUS for us. The wind was cold, even though the sun was out, and the upside to this was that very few people were on the beach. Those that did decide to brave the cool wind were bundled up in scarves, hats, big coats, and gloves (those were the Floridians...Canadians put a sweater over their t-shirt but still wore shorts & sandals). We set the structure up lickity split and declared ourselves too smart by half! It allowed us to sit inside out of the elements in our chairs but still let the sun in to warm us a bit.
It was low tide so the lure of finding new, more, better, rarer, etc shells took us out of the shelter and down the beach. It was a resounding success...we found some beautiful shells and now that I've bought a book on the mollusks in Florida, I'm almost an authority on the subject. We have Florida Cerith, Dove Shells, Worm Shells, False Drills, Florida Cones, Pear Welks, Alphabet Cones, Spiny Jewel Box, Banded Tulips, and many more. Given that we are only been here 2 weeks, we may have to do some prioritizing when it comes time to take them home. Wait....who wants shells for their next birthday, Christmas, etc.?
While we were eating lunch we noticed a couple of people down the beach from us pointing into the water. When we got a good look, there were a couple of dolphins cavorting in the water about 15 feet from shore. They played for a little while and then swam down the beach in front of us. For all those people who pay $25 - $45 to go on a boat to see dolphins....just come and enjoy the beach for a while. The Ospreys were busy today..I think there must be babies in all three of the nests as one adult always seemed to be in the nest and I'm sure I saw a little head pop up once.
The clouds started to come in shortly after 1 pm so we decided to head home. We did a quick drive through the Bonita Beach area to see if there were any condo complexes but didn't see much. We are already thinking about finding a place in this area for next year and I'd like to lock into something before we leave this year.
Tomorrow is the Swamp Buggy races which should be lots of fun. The weather is supposed to heat up considerably for a week before another 'cold' front comes through and drops the temperature back down into the 60's. Tough!
Hope all is well at home and everyone isn't giving in to SAD. Until next time, love and hugs to all. xx