Clammin it Up

Clamming in Oregon

Wait for Negative low tide

At least -1 or more

We left around 7 am to get there at the perfect time.

Grab a four prong rake

and a bucket.

 

Go under this bridge.

The Yaquina Bay Bridge 

And drag your rake across the sand.

When you hear a clink

You have found a clam

 FINDING CLAMS is so much FUN!!!!!

If it ended there, I would go every time the tide was really low.

Eating them is a little different.

The kids were SO excited to clean their clams.

Macey distributed.

Cody and Ben opened them.

I cleaned out the meat.

Mackayla observed.

(She actually came down with a fever sometime then but was a trooper.)

The advice of friends and the little youtube demo I watched had you clean out the meat from raw clams.

What they didn't show was the little clam waving its body back and forth trying to yell "don't kill me" while you cut it out of its shell.
I think if we do it again we would steam them first. It makes the shells easier to open, the clams are no longer kickin and it's probably less disgusting overall.

If they had faces I would have taken them back to the ocean. 

 We made clam chowder.

As far as clam chowder goes, it was dang good!

I shuddered the first time I bit down on a clam and pictured a slimy little tongue like body reaching out of the shell to try to stop me.

 Clam chowder anyone?:)

In all honesty, this was one of my top favorite things we have done as a family here (and it was free).

Cody is playing soccer this season!

Cody, Mackayla and I went to the river in town while Macey was in preschool and Cody had a day off.

Notice and appreciate the crocs with socks:)

It was such a beautiful day.

Cody found a little friend.