Not much distracts a 4-year-old from chasing hermit crabs and building sand castles on a warm-water, soft sand beach, but Charlotte kept looking into the mooring field last August asking, "When are Tim and Carrots coming?"

These were her affectionate names for our friends Tim and Karen Fallon, who had sent us a text that morning saying they may stop by on their way from Osterville, on Vineyard Sound, to Wild Harbor on Buzz...