Ahhhhhhhh Belleair!

I love to cross Tampa Bay

but I love to cross the Belleair Causeway even more!

I have loved Belleair since our very first trip here. There is just something about this place....it's the path less trodden, and perfect for mellow people over 40, or anyone who prefers to just spend some quiet time on the beach. If you want the partying nightlife, go to Clearwater. That's where the majority of the young, and not so young party-ers hang out.

Does it get more beautiful than this?

This beach is never crowded. You won't see more than 10-15 people on this beach at a time, and usually less than that.

We don't stay in a fancy 5 star hotel, or even a 3 star, we stay in an old beach motel. We used to stay at Belleair Beach Club, but someone bought it and is turning it into condo's. Now we stay at Belleair Beach Resort. It's clean, it's quiet, and it's small. It has kitchenettes, which is perfect for us. We don't like to get dressed up to go out to dinner once we get here. We bring our food with us.......

I'm a pretty good cook!

This was certainly a trip to remember!

Hubby caught his bait with a casting net.

Bait fish!

and this fella watched him....like a hawk lol.

cause he was hungry....and free food is easy food....no work involved....just steal this man's bait!

I love to take pictures of the waves, and try to get shots of them cresting, rolling over, and crashing.

But, did I find any shells?

this is a small sample of the 90 pounds of shells we brought back!

And.....what's this????

Is this what I think it is?

and this, too?

and these?

One full baby Junonia....an almost full Junonia.....and several big and small pieces!!!!!!

Wanna know the secret? Sing My Junonia to the tune of My Sharona! I kid you not! I swear every time I did I found one, or a piece of one! I found the perfect baby one first, and was doing the happy dance! Here I was telling my hubby how rare finding a Junonia, or even a piece of one is.....and then I find all of these. I am one thankful gal!

Shelling BLISTERS!

And destroyed manicure! But it was soooooo worth it!

I did pick up some broken ones, I have plans for them. But I have never seen so many perfect fighting conchs in my life!

This bucket is full of olives, cone shells, Florida cones, little conchs, welks, a couple of scotch bonnets...

augers, nutmegs, ceriths.....all kinds of small shells.

See the black on this scotch bonnet? It's under the surface of the shell. I am really wondering if the black on the shell is oil sludge from the Gulf oil spill a few years ago. This poor bonnet must have trudged through it, picked up the oil, and then his shell encased it. There's a very thin and clear layer of shell over that blackness.
That's my opinion anyway. What do you think?

I have tons more pictures, and I'll try to post a few more between all the listings I have to do this week! I also have shells from the shell shop to show you!

What a perfect weekend.....great weather, great beach, a JUNONIA!...shells galore, and a fun time with my hubby. I don't think it gets much better than this :)