Over the years, our family traveled quite a lot. Along the way, we collected things that were easy to put in a suitcase. I especially love orange seashells, white shells, conchs, pink shells, whelks... Some beach shelling was better than others. Upper Captiva off the coast of southwest Florida was one of the best. Spanish Wells, Bahamas was nice. Sarasota Bay in front of our home on Bay Shore Road had a long sand bar just full of giant whelks and chunks of dead coral. Other beaches had great sharks teeth, especially Caspersen Beach south of Venice, and Siesta Beach to the north. We picked for Apache Tears, round chunks of obsidian, at Picketpost Mountain near Superior, Arizona. We collected arrowheads on a friend's ranch near Bandera, Texas. We have collected quartz "eggs" on our ranch.
I bought several jars with lids and have a shelf in our living room at the ranch with my favorite collections. Sometimes I pull down a jar and just pour it out on a towel on the coffee table. I listen to the sea with my conchs and rearrange my orange clam shells. I love the ever visible reminder of those wonderful memories made. My best souvenirs were free!
