Drive 20 minutes or so down a narrow, winding highway, and you will find yourself at Jalama Beach. It is not your typical California beach—laden with sun bathers and umbrellas. Instead, it offers a small respite, relatively isolated and steeped in rugged solitude. The skies were grey when we arrived, but the weather was not altogether unpleasant. Clark was napping in the car, so my aunt opted to stay behind and watch him while the rest of us headed out to dip our toes in the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean. The beach itself is long and quiet—soundless almost—except for the rush of waves and the cry of gulls.…