A Quest for Shells

The sun was gleaming and the tide was low, so Christian and Mary and I decided to hit up some bars— shell bars, that is. Armed with plastic bags and sharp eyes, the three of us set out for a five-mile-round-trip excursion to find the biggest and the prettiest seashells. I was more along for the ride than anything else, since I’ve never been a fan of scouring the beach in search of the perfect exoskeleton. Instead I opt to stare out at the ocean, watch the tiny sandpipers chase the waves, and admire the gems that my siblings find.

Our walk took us to the southwestern tip of the narrow island, a wide beach that rippled in tiny dunes, interrupted by some of the most picturesque shells I had ever seen. The shore dipped in and out, washed with swatches of water funneled into pools as the tide crept to its low point. We poked at the giant broken conch shells, looked at the dead jellyfish with meaty tentacles, and watched the ocean and sound water meet and transform into an emerald-blue. In many ways I wished I had brought my camera, so I could take a picture to try to share the sight of the watery clouds hanging in the watery sky reflected in the watery sand. In other ways, I was glad I wasn’t trying to capture it all in a lens. How could a camera trap the sensation of warm sun and cold breeze, the ever-changing hues of the sky and sea, the salty glitter of the rippling water, the screech of gulls and the shadows of pelicans soaring overhead? 

Christian and Mary both ended up with impressive finds, from a whole sand dollar (which unfortunately broke) to a full Scotch bonnet, the state seashell of North Carolina, which we had never found unbroken before. Here’s a sampling of Christian’s collection:

We returned to the hotel room bathed in sunshine and scrubbed by the saltwater breeze. Even though I had only picked up three tiny shells, I considered the search a great success.

~Lisa Shafter

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