We have some of the very best beach combing territory in the entire nation...
Our beaches range from hard gravel to fine sand. Some have a rocky bluff behind them and others fade gently into deep dunes - all are beautiful, uncrowded and rich in treasures from the sea. Like all ocean beaches they change with the seasons and are greatly influenced by the rivers and streams that feed them with new material. Winter storms bring massive waves and strong winds that dramatically shift and shape the sand while fast flowing rivers and streams forge new channels through the beaches to the open sea. Huge, sumptuous deposits of driftwood are carefully placed by the storms in the crooks and crannies of the oceanside terrain and are easily approached from the littoral.
A host of plants and animals inhabit the beaches of our area. The grasses and wild flowers in the cliffs and dunes provide a colorful backdrop for miles of beautiful clean sand, clouds of aerobatic sea birds, oceans of cobalt water fringed with emerald waves breaking into ivory surf and foam at the tide line. Pelicans and sea lions can be seen competing for fish just off shore and twice a year, during the great migrations, one can sometimes catch a glimpse of a breaching gray whale. Hard shelled crabs scuttle among the rocks and brightly colored starfish lurk in the tide pools for unsuspecting mollusks, clams and mussels. Rivulets of fresh water flutter across the sand creating beautiful abstract designs that sparkle in the sun while the wind magically creates other equally abstract designs in the sand itself.
Along the high tide trace and caught in the rocks at the edge of the beach is where one usually finds the unexpected fragment of sea glass, the newly deposited skeleton of a sea star, the brightly colored shell, the precious stone, or perhaps the bottle with a note in it. If possible, one should bring a small child with you on your explorations of the beach because it will give you the excuse that one sometimes needs to build a sand castle or marvel out loud at the fantastic color of a fragment of sea weed. Should that not be possible then you will just have to unleash the small child that is inside us all and get up close and personal with this very special place where the sea meets the land. It is a place for all of the senses. Smell the salt in the air, feel the sand beneath your feet and the wind on your face, listen to the waves break on the shore and the wind howl above your head, and see all that nature provides to us.
PS: Several of our vacation homes are located right on the beach - steps away from your next beach combing adventure. And don't forget that this part of the state was first settled by people who had found gold in the sands of the beach!