San Juan Islands trip

We got to go on a really fun trip to the San Juan Islands (off the coast of Washington) with my Dad and my sister Tammy in May. We stayed in a cabin overlooking the ocean - and Olivia was so excited to be able to walk down to the beach and collect every seashell in sight. Jackson let her take them all because he just wanted rocks. One morning we tried digging for clams. We were surprised at how many we found (well, Grandpa found lots, the rest of us found some). We had a whole bucket full and took them back to the cabin, read about how to clean, prepare, and cook them, and then went and threw them all back in the ocean instead. Clam chowder didn't sound worth all the work. But we had fun digging for them anyway.
While everyone else was digging, the tide had gone out so Olivia and I walked out to an island (or I guess it was a peninsula with the tide out!). We found some rocks with tons of starfish on them, but while we looked the tide starting coming back in! I said, "uh oh Olivia, I think we're going to have to get our feet wet." And she said, "Well I can't carry you." So I carried her instead and did some wading back so we weren't stranded on our "starfish island." We all went back the next morning and explored the island and saw hundreds and hundreds of big purple and orange starfish, some tiny crabs, and some sea urchins (or maybe anenomes?).
We also got to try sea kayaking and now I want to do it again! My dad didn't have quite as much fun though, and my kids still like to tell everyone about how Grandpa fell into the deep blue sea.