This shell fossil (above) is a typical representation of the fossils still embedded in the matrix that the surf uncovered (right click in the image for a larger view).
Preserved in rock from an earlier geological period the fossilized shells in this 'cluster of fossils' have eroded through the action of waves & the minute grinding of sand for thousands of years. .
Try as we might we could not catch this image of this fossil without a thin covering of water. It was one of those times where we would follow the ebbing waves out until this fossil was nearly exposed. Then I'd take a few shots of it through the water and then run from the next flooding surge of the waves.
In front of the cave stood these 'mushroom' rocks. Part of the same matrix the shells had fossilized in, the mushrooms are approximately three feet from the puddles to their tops. This is an important point for the next part of this notation.
Hope you still find pleasure in exploration & discovery...
Here's some reference info...
Stonerose Fossil Center: