Hi Nancy,
Have a great move and we'll see you back here soon.  I'm glad you found some
good stuff this weekend - the erosion was bad for the beach, but good for
shellers.  Many moons ago, a beach re-nourishment project deposited tons and
tons of sand and shells there. When the beach erodes badly, like it did this
past week, perfectly intact gem specimens drop out of the "cliffs", preserved
and untouched by wind and wave for years.  A couple of weeks ago, I was
searching for my friend by the picnic tables, looked down and spotted a
perfect, small half of a Lion's Paw embedded in the sand.  A word of warning,
though, the rangers frown on any digging in the cliffs and have been known to
ban folks for doing so!
Joni