Thanks to a birthday gift from my thoughtful cousin, Shane, I finally made it out to Shell Key. Since we were heading west you would think having the wind out of the east would make paddling to the island a breeze.

Except for the minor detail that it was low tide and the wind was pushing the remaining water away. Our shallow crossing became more of a wet slog as kayaks ran aground and some folks had to get out and pull their way across the bay.

The water was chilly but not unbearable and our guide Chris had everyone laughing about the situation. At least we knew nobody was gonna drown!

After reaching the small sand bar we had about an hour to wander and explore. The beach lived up to its name as the sand was covered with shells and sand dollars. Since I already have quite a collection I happily shared my finds with a nice lady vacationing from Indiana.

On our return trip we were accompanied by a small pod of dolphins. Couldn’t have asked for a better morning!