Project Ocean took me and Rod, director of photography, to Maryland’s Eastern Shore for a few days during a somewhat toasty early July. Lighthouses calling out into the sea. Little islands, big islands. The banging around of working docks where a community makes a living. Rocks. Colorful and inviting downtowns yards from the frigid North Atlantic. A haze keeping the watery horizon a beckoning mystery. A July sun warming the bones but not sweltering. Hidden gem bodies of water around every inland turn.

Project Ocean took me and Rod, director of photography, to Maryland’s Eastern Shore for a few days during a somewhat toasty early July. Our filming mission was with nonprofit Assateague Coastal Trust, an organization that was launched to safeguard Assateague Island from development, ultimately leading to its protective designations as a state and national park.

It was day 11 on the road, our last day of West Coast Project Ocean production. We awoke with five hours of sleep after a 22-hour day to film with our seventh and final nonprofit of the trip. We had crossed the country to film the first six organizations with five flights, seven hotel changes and who knows how many hours in the rental car.

Filming in California for the first week of June means we’re going to come back to Virginia with jealousy-inducing tans to last the rest of the year.