Yesterday we needed to burn some serious energy, and Crescent Beach was hot and sparkling, calling to me. The tide was in, there wasn’t a breath of wind, and we planned to revel in the water despite the frigid temperature. We packed the car with rafts, boogie boards, towels, and snacks. Summertime, here we come, a little early.
Crescent Beach goes out for a long, long way before getting deep, so it’s a wonderful water playground. The light green water looks deceivingly warm and tropical. Your mind tries to tell you it’s toasty. But there’s only so much you can take until your legs are numb, so the boys came in to warm up on the towel and start beachcombing instead.
We started wading in the shallow water, the tide quickly ebbing, drawing us far out to where the thousands of sand dollars Crescent Beach is known for were less than a foot underwater.
If you’ve only seen a sand dollar in a store, you know that they are hard and white when they’re dead. When they’re alive, they are black from tiny, harmless spines that help them move and catch food as they prop themselves vertically in the sand. I’ve never seen a sand-dollar beach in my life except Crescent Beach at a very low tide. It’s amazing. You have to be so careful not to step on any, as they can be hidden just beneath the surface by a fine layer of sand.
My younger son happened upon another marine treasure – a lion’s mane nudibranch. It was beyond beautiful, clear, delicate, and so otherworldly. When it swam, it looked like a little movie character.
Our toes numb from the cold water, we eventually made our way back to the dry sand after some hours of marine exploration. I could’ve stayed on the beach for another long stint, the sun still strong on our skin. If there’s anything I’ve learned on Orcas, you have to take advantage of whatever life gives you each moment or each day because it might be completely different the next.
Goodbye for now, sun. It’s a murky, different kind of day today.
Beautiful pictures of your most awesome adventure!! Thank you for sharing !!