Beach camping on the Washington coast in August is very different from what I was used to in Virginia. Cloudy and cold instead of hot and humid. Crabs and sand dollars instead of wild ponies. Sunsets instead of sunrises.

But Amy was still with me. We had had a yearly tradition of camping on the beach during our years living in DC. And now that we’re both living in the Seattle area, we can resume the practice—and it’s one of my favourite things.

This year we were in yurts at the accurately named Pacific Beach, and Amy’s mother Carol joined us. We did get some rain and chilly, foggy mornings, but also some exquisite sunsets and a short hike in the Olympic rainforest. I felt grateful, yet again, to be living in a place of such natural beauty with such good friends nearby.