Hey Diary,

  We spent all day on the beach today. I didn't meet any whales, but I met a whole bunch of other types of creatures!

  Ocean creatures can get tiny! Sure, mice are small, and baby mice are very small, but there are some fully-adult and fully-alive things in the water that are even smaller than baby mice. They don't have full thoughts, it’s more yes/no good/bad things, but I was still able to have a conversation with a creature smaller than my canine.

  That was pretty amazing.

  Echo made surfboards for everyone out of ice, and taught us all the basics. Maki was really good. Maeve and I were pretty good. Luke… I think he kept trying to move the water under him, and it messed everything up. He was just trying too hard.

  For lunch we paddled out a ways and caught a bunch of fish in our nets. Maeve made a bonfire for us to cook them on. Fresh ocean fish really don't need any kind of seasoning; they’re better than river fish.

  After that, Maki, Echo and I went snorkeling around a bunch of rocks at one end of the beach. There was an octopus completely camouflaged by a clump of coral. I could feel where it was, I talked to it for a little bit, but it took me about ten minutes to actually see it.

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  Then we played on surfboards some more, we made a couple sandcastles, Luke collected a thousand rocks and shells for some Runesmith thing, and then we watched the sunset.

  I mean, the sun set behind us, but it was still very pretty.

  Maki and Maeve made sure the bonfire will keep going all night, so we’re spending the night on the beach. The breeze from the ocean is a little cold, but the fire is nice and warm.

  Oh, we had fish for dinner, too, since I’m writing everything we did today down. Then we roasted marshmallows for dessert.

  Maeve and Luke went for a swim again, and Maki challenged Echo to a game, so I went to check that Trusty and True were ok. It is my job to look after the horses. They’re a little bored, but not enough to do anything silly.

  As fun and exciting as the idea of spending the night on the beach is, I kinda really want a shower. I feel like there’s at least three pounds of sand stuck in my fur and hair and tail. Plus it’s all salty, so I’m gonna be very crusty in the morning.

  I wonder if Maeve has a special brush to get sand out of everything. Or maybe Echo knows the trick. But she doesn't have fur…

  At dusk sea snakes came out of the sand and started swimming around near shore, looking for little fish to eat. There’s seven of them. One of them is pretty close to where Luke and Maeve are. I'm not sure if I should warn them or not.

  Nah, it’s the ocean, they should know that there are lots of living creatures in the ocean. Besides, I doubt these snakes are venomous or anything.

  Anyways, I’m gonna stare at the stars for a while before going to sleep.

  Signing off,