Seattle Series: We like our beaches windswept and cold in this family

Our unit deploys to the trail head. That bit of pink fleece sticking out of dad's coat is Audrey.

Patient strangers stop to take our photograph.

When informed how far it actually is to the lighthouse at the end of the spit, I decide perhaps I will turn back. My health is delicate.

Other families may like to splash around in warm, tropical waters where the sand is smooth and the drinks are served right from the deck of the hotel. But in our family, we like a really grinding hike down the beach, climbing over giant washed-up trees and medusa heads of seaweed. And wind-- don't forget the bone-chilling wind. Actually, I have very fond memories of walking the Dungeoness Spit and playing on this beach, even though the weather can be a bit raw. We made the walk together through the short rain-forest path down to the water and walked a short ways down the spit (some of us turned around quicker than others). It is hard to find more than just a fragment of seashell on the spit; the waves and rocks grind most of it to bits before it hits the shore. But it's wide open and beautiful, and they are protecting the delicate environment out here much more carefully than when I was a child and could pretty much take anything I found on the beach home in my pail (oh, how dad used to love the smell of warming crab shells and seaweed on the ride home in the car!). This is a place I hope to bring Audrey one day when she's old enough to dig holes in the sand and watch the seals playing off shore.