We made it out to the beach the other day, during a recent hot spell. It always strikes me as amusing and endearing to see our fellow Northwesterners trying to frolic about on the edge of the Sound as if it were some warm California shore, earnestly denying the reality of our nearest large body of water being a seriously cold, seriously smelly confabulation of seaweed and barnacles, suited more to octopus than to surfboards. But people were doing it: laying on towels on the sand, listening to ipods, feeding their kids Pringles. I like Carkeek, it seems to be the park where noone obeys the rules: there were lots of dogs on the beach despite it being prohibited, and we parked by the side of the road (despite signs saying it wasn't allowed) along with dozens of other cars.