On our second day here, we took the ferry over to Shell Island. The island is only a short 10 minute boat ride from where we were staying. We arrived at the island at about 10:15. The water and sands there seemed even clearer than at Pass-a-grille.
We spent most of the day wading through the water looking for shells. We found so many sand dollars that we eventually stopped keeping them if they had any imperfections. In addition to sand dollars, we found olive shells, a lightning welk, a pear welk, scallops, and and Florida fighting conch shells.
When the boat captain dropped us off at the beach, he warned us that stingrays are often found in the water this time of year. He told that if you shuffled your feet while wading in the water, the rays would swim out of the way. We were skeptical, but we followed his directions not willing to risk a painful sting. We are glad we followed his instructions- we did stir up a sting ray while wading in the water. Since we were not hurt thanks to our skilled shuffling, it was fun to see the ray swim gracefully off. Kate actually stirred one up on Tuesday as well, but it actually swam over her foot. It gave her a little scare!
Once again, it felt like we had our own private beach. We walked for a long time and ended up on the opposite side of the island. We were focused on searching for shells but we were delighted when we saw 2 dolphins diving in the water less than 30 yards away.
As we were heading back to our chairs we began to hear thunder in the distance. Since we were on a island, we decided not to eat our picnic lunch but try to make our way back to boat in case it did start storming.
Because we were out in the water most of the day, we did not have our camera with us. But this is us still at Shell Island waiting for the ferry to return. We got back to our room around 2:30. We ate brief lunch, and then lotion-ed back up to go back to the beach. We truly enjoyed alternating between sitting in the beach chairs and floating in the teal water.
We had dinner just a block from our room at the Hurricane Restaurant. We ate outside so we could watch the sun set as we ate dinner.
Andy had a fresh caught grouper sandwich. The menu claimed that the recipe was the same one that they had used since 1945. We have to agree that we don't see any reason to change. It was some of the best fried fish we have ever had.
I had a crab cake melt. It was wonderful as well. We really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. 
You can't beat a view like this at dinner!
And it just seemed to get better as the sun set!
On day three, we spent day lounging beside the water. We have gone through a lot of suntan lotion in the last three days.
We took our last dip in the ocean at about 5:30. While we were swimming, 3 dolphins surfaced just in front of us. We have constantly been surprised by little unexpected moments in our three days here.
In addition to variety of shells here, we have seen a lot water fowl too. Here is a heron that walked right up to where we were sitting.
Tonight for dinner we went to Snappers. This restaurant was not on the water but the food was excellent. Andy was overwhelmed by the size of his fried "fisherman's friend" platter. It was so much food, that he was unable to clean his plate! Yep, that's a lot of food!
Kate had coconut cashew encrusted mahi with grilled bananas and a potato puff pastry! It was as good as it sounds! We had planned to have key lime pie for dessert but we were just too full!
Each day there has been a little bit cloudier than the previous. Tonight it was too cloudy for a spectacular sunset, but we went down to the beach anyway. The sand was so soft and cool, so we posed for one more photo opportunity. It was a great end to wonderful, romantic vacation.
If you ever need a quick romantic or family-fun get-away, we highly recommend Pass-a-grille Beach, Florida. And while your there, we recommend staying at the Sabal Palm Inn. We had our own little apartment complete with a kitchen. They also offer complementary beach chairs and beach bikes.
Tomorrow, we head towards Atlanta to see Andy's sister and her family, and then on to Concord from there. Andy goes back to work on Monday, and I know he is not ready for his vacation to be over. But we can't complain because we have had a great month of July!
We spent most of the day wading through the water looking for shells. We found so many sand dollars that we eventually stopped keeping them if they had any imperfections. In addition to sand dollars, we found olive shells, a lightning welk, a pear welk, scallops, and and Florida fighting conch shells.
When the boat captain dropped us off at the beach, he warned us that stingrays are often found in the water this time of year. He told that if you shuffled your feet while wading in the water, the rays would swim out of the way. We were skeptical, but we followed his directions not willing to risk a painful sting. We are glad we followed his instructions- we did stir up a sting ray while wading in the water. Since we were not hurt thanks to our skilled shuffling, it was fun to see the ray swim gracefully off. Kate actually stirred one up on Tuesday as well, but it actually swam over her foot. It gave her a little scare!
Once again, it felt like we had our own private beach. We walked for a long time and ended up on the opposite side of the island. We were focused on searching for shells but we were delighted when we saw 2 dolphins diving in the water less than 30 yards away.As we were heading back to our chairs we began to hear thunder in the distance. Since we were on a island, we decided not to eat our picnic lunch but try to make our way back to boat in case it did start storming.
Because we were out in the water most of the day, we did not have our camera with us. But this is us still at Shell Island waiting for the ferry to return. We got back to our room around 2:30. We ate brief lunch, and then lotion-ed back up to go back to the beach. We truly enjoyed alternating between sitting in the beach chairs and floating in the teal water.We had dinner just a block from our room at the Hurricane Restaurant. We ate outside so we could watch the sun set as we ate dinner.
Andy had a fresh caught grouper sandwich. The menu claimed that the recipe was the same one that they had used since 1945. We have to agree that we don't see any reason to change. It was some of the best fried fish we have ever had.
I had a crab cake melt. It was wonderful as well. We really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. 
You can't beat a view like this at dinner!
And it just seemed to get better as the sun set!
On day three, we spent day lounging beside the water. We have gone through a lot of suntan lotion in the last three days.We took our last dip in the ocean at about 5:30. While we were swimming, 3 dolphins surfaced just in front of us. We have constantly been surprised by little unexpected moments in our three days here.
In addition to variety of shells here, we have seen a lot water fowl too. Here is a heron that walked right up to where we were sitting.
Tonight for dinner we went to Snappers. This restaurant was not on the water but the food was excellent. Andy was overwhelmed by the size of his fried "fisherman's friend" platter. It was so much food, that he was unable to clean his plate! Yep, that's a lot of food!
Kate had coconut cashew encrusted mahi with grilled bananas and a potato puff pastry! It was as good as it sounds! We had planned to have key lime pie for dessert but we were just too full!
Each day there has been a little bit cloudier than the previous. Tonight it was too cloudy for a spectacular sunset, but we went down to the beach anyway. The sand was so soft and cool, so we posed for one more photo opportunity. It was a great end to wonderful, romantic vacation. If you ever need a quick romantic or family-fun get-away, we highly recommend Pass-a-grille Beach, Florida. And while your there, we recommend staying at the Sabal Palm Inn. We had our own little apartment complete with a kitchen. They also offer complementary beach chairs and beach bikes.
Tomorrow, we head towards Atlanta to see Andy's sister and her family, and then on to Concord from there. Andy goes back to work on Monday, and I know he is not ready for his vacation to be over. But we can't complain because we have had a great month of July!
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