Once off the bike and freshened up, I threw a bunch of things in a bag and headed out for Assateague Island.  Amy and another friend of hers had reserved a campsite on the beach and I was anxious to join them for one last summery hurrah. 

Well, not so anxious that I’d pass up a chance to eat lunch at Jimmy’s Grille.  This place has been a beach-trip favorite of mine for years.  A trip to the beach just wouldn’t be the same without those piping hot dinner rolls and the waitresses whose every other word is “sweetheart” and “honey.” 

This waitress clearly did not understand that two rolls wasn’t going to cut it.

Grilled pork chops with new potatoes and cucumbers.

Pecan cheesecake pie.  Rich enough to kill a horse.

This woman took the concept of “doggy bag” to a whole new level. I think she was actually doing her weekly grocery shopping.

Between the bike ride, lunch at Jimmy’s and some unexpected traffic, I didn’t get to Assateague until dusk.  Just in time for some lovely color over the water.

I had three mosquito bites within 30 seconds of getting out of the car. After pouring approximately seven liters of pure Deet over my body, I moved through Nature as though surrounded by a force field.

Yes, the sequined blanket is mine; I don’t have a sleeping bag.  That’s what happens when you blow your shopping money in Morocco instead of at REI.

Dinner was delicious (too dark for photos) in the way that camping dinners so often are:  there’s just something about eating food freshly cooked over an open fire outdoors that makes it taste just that much better.  After dinner we carried our stack of firewood down to the water’s edge and built a bonfire on the sand.  We warmed our toes, burned roasted marshmallows for s’mores and gazed at the fantastical constellations overhead as we talked into the wee hours.  It was wonderful.