..bliss..

7am gas-up prior to our ferry ride to Hood Canal...one Shan is bright-eyed and bushy tailed, the other is in "don't talk to me" mode.

...

It's more than a week since Labor Day weekend and I'm not just getting my feet back under me from my fantastic four day weekend. As others flock to warmer destinations and sippy sip on lots and lots of tasty alcoholic beverages, Shan and I decided to be avid NW sight-seeing-goers and shellfish harvesters! Please read on for explanation..

Labor Day - 7:30am ferry to Bremerton, about 12 cars total on the early AM trek, us being the last ones on (of course) since we had to stop at Starbucks before boarding. 1 hour in length and surrounded by beauty the entire way over (and back!).

ta-ta Seattle!

these yellow guys came in handy

hello Belfair!

Our "clamming beach" prior to low tide. We were sooo excited to get over to Hood Canal that we got there 3 hours before peak low tide. The tide went out about 30 yards exposing what looked like bottom lake mud and oyster shells everywhere. Thank goodness for these, we found out pretty quickly they work well to step on while walking in the muck attempting to prevent sinking 3-4 inches with each step.

Crazy Erics - Shan's childhood memories of 6 cheese burgers for $5 while camping with her family . No Joke.

Twanoh camp grounds, where Shan grew up camping with her family...don't blink! It's tiny, quaint and charming :)

The stream through the camp grounds where Shan used to race her hand carved boats against her brother and sister.

Women's shower in the camp grounds, shower sign reads: 1 token for 3 minutes. Better make it snappy people!

Crushed oyster shells everywhere!

Our oysters we smuggled home, apparently there is a fine for harvesting oysters from the beaches. You're supposed to shuck them at the beach and leave the shells behind to encourage oyster population growth...well we forgot our "shucker" officer. This concept lead to my question as to how the h*ll do oysters "do it?!"

Here's a little tid-bit from our good friends at Wikipedia: The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified. Some kinds of oyster are commonly consumed by humans, cooked or raw. Other kinds, such as pearl oysters, are not. Oysters usually reach maturity in one year. They are protandric; during their first year they spawn as males by releasing sperm into the water. As they grow over the next two or three years and develop greater energy reserves, they spawn as females by releasing eggs. Bay oysters usually spawn by the end of June. An increase in water temperature prompts a few oysters to spawn. This triggers spawning in the rest, clouding the water with millions of eggs and sperm. A single female oyster can produce up to 100 million eggs annually. The eggs become fertilized in the water and develop into larvae, which eventually find suitable sites, such as another oyster's shell, on which to settle. Attached oyster larvae are called spat. Spat are oysters less than 25 millimetres (0.98 in) long.

WHO KNEW!?

Happy Hollow is where Shan used to get her "free" ice cream while camping. Her pa is such a jokester.. In mid-clamming mode, super excited!

Our booty!
sooooo excited for our bucket-o-clams!

The lovely little farmers market

INSIDE Crazy Erics!...waiting for our "Famous Crazy Erics Rootbeer Floats!" (cost: $1:60!)

bye-bye-now!

THE rootbeer floats

The drive in theater where Shan and her fam would go during the 1 to 2 week camping adventures. Yes you can even hit up a swap meet there on Sunday's!