Labour Day Clam Haul

We decided to take a little family trip to Cape Cod on Labour day to catch a few clams. This is not the easiest activity with two small children but we were determined to get ourselves at least a few of the delicious little morsels. With one stop on our way down for a clam rake (basically a metal basket with claws on a stick) we were on the beach in time for low tide and began our little hunt. We were digging for quahaugs (pronounced cohog), which you have to wade in water up to about 2 feet to get. Surprisingly the water is quite warm and not an unpleasant experience. So here we are, a little family, John with his clam rake, Tamsen carrying Abby, and Aiden waist deep in water carrying his bucket. The way the clam rake works is by dragging it along the sand and when you pull it up the sand falls through the basket and all that remains is clams (or rocks). The other way you can find them is by just walking along the sand slowly and feel with your bare feet until you come across a hard spot, at which point you just reach into the sand and pull out the clam. Tamsen became a pro at this, even with a baby on her hip. Every few seconds Aiden was heard declaring "Mom I found another clam." By the end of our excursion his bucket was full of empty clam shells, and he wanted to take them all home. Soon the kids tired of this activity and we were forced to quit, but we did have some success, including a few oysters and these two very large clams: