We rented a cabin for a couple of days at Hot Water Beach.

Miles of beach with nobody but us.

Walk until you are tired.

Interesting trees on the shore.

Up behind those trees can be interesting.

Hot water from the thermal activity above percolates down on to the beach below the high tide line. Here, with the tide high, there is no activity.

Here is the same view at low tide a few hours later.

Here I am digging a hole in the sand (everybody brings a shovel).

It might be a dry hole or it might be too hot. Lots of trial and error and shifting around as people come and go.

The sand collapses in. I shoveled more wet sand in a day than I have for razor clams in my life. Soak a few minutes. Jump in the surf to cool off (and sand off). All of the holes are erased by the tide.

The tide comes in, the crowds disappear, and just a few remain. Sitting on the front porch watching surfers is my kind of spectator sport.