About 4 or so years ago a family told us about a "secret" beach near Ecola and so we checked it out. Then it became a thing for us. It has sand, rocky cliffs, beautiful views, and was mostly private. There were times when we would be there with only two or three other families while other beaches were crowded with people. This year I was surprised with the amount of people on the beach. We have never done this hike from Ecole State Park but instead wandered through the forest on a path just inside the park along the south boundary. The hike is easy, beautiful and soft. Once down on the beach we quickly shed our shoes and find the perfect place to set up "camp" for the day.  Dumping out our towels, grass mat, soccer ball, frisbee we are ready for the day. Note to self: bring food, especially for Isaac who tends to have more lows here because of activity level.  While the guys were playing frisbee and Lona laying out tanning, I grabbed my camera and headed to the south end of the beach where the rocky cliffs rise straight out of the water at high tide.  I walked along and getting close was able to see the feathery little fans or appendages reach out of the shell. When I read up on it, they were actually feeding and syphoning the plankton from the water.  It really was amazing.  I don't think I've ever really paid attention to it before. Once the guys were done, Lona and I headed to the north end of the beach and had an impromptu photoshoot.  She wanted some hipster type photos. So funny, but when my kid asks to be photographed why would I say no? In seven days, we had two days of just family activities, the zoo and Crescent Beach. I think this is one of the reasons that Cannon Beach has been a great family vacation for us. The social ones get their fix of being with people, the ones that need to be around family and not around people get their fix; we can spend time all together and also have seperate time.  Each year we ask "Do you want to come back next year?" Each year is the same, "Yes, of course."