Sea Shells & Souvenirs

Oh yea, get your beach on… This place has everything AND you can afford it!
Sea Shells and Souvenirs is in what used to house the old Beach Arcade. The Arcade was in the spot from at least 1944 to the early ’90’s. I know because the owner and I stood around and talked to the gentlemen that ran it from ’44 to the mid ’50’s. That was very interesting. How just like the beach to find a gem of a person with an impromptu history lesson!
Back to shopping! Sea Shells has a lot of everything. Need to go to the beach for under $ 40 a person. They have you covered with enough left over to get a magnet or necklace, anklet or beach volley ball. Everything we saw was of moderate to good quality and some of the collectibles (like the fairies) were beautiful. The girls were hooked when they saw the jewelry isle. Aunt Abby and I kept holding up sundresses for each other and then hollering «hey, come look at this» ! How very southern except there was no beer involved. LOL
What can I say, if you see me out in a cute dress or sandals, you won’t have to ask where I got it, We all know…

I wish I took picture of this place ’cause it’s so friggin’ awesome. No words describe how kitsch this place truly is. Imagine that really cool friend you had as a kid who had the crazy mom who was never without her cigarette’s embers hanging ever so delicately over her mumu, hair in curlers and always collecting odd lawn ornaments and cats. Imagine all the really old cool weird stuff you’d see in their home: crying clown on velvet, the Elvis lamp, the Felix the cat clock, the giant conch shell that doubled as a back scratcher/​ashtray. This is the place she got all that cool stuff.
I got drawn in by the cool signs and promises of seashells and souvenirs after remembering I had yet to acquire one single souvenir during my trip. I pulled up in my yellow VW bug (a rental, I swear) and lost myself in the puppets, the rows and rows of pirate gear and magnets! Magnets! Walls and walls of magnets!
This is the end all be all of mugs, shells, t-​shirts, and keychains. I found the best magnets with moving flamingos, large ceramic molds of pirate ships (pirate ships!!!) and an excellent selection of hot sauce. I never considered myself a souvenir junkie but I could definitely get silly over the really cool knick knacks from this gigantic seashell hut indeed. The owner is splendidly candid and always has a good story for you depending on where you’re from. He’s like a bartender, minus the full bar behind him.