Back in the 1930s my father, Jim Whitney, then a teenager, would walk from the village of Inverness the two and a half miles to Shell Beach climbing the hill just north of Chicken Ranch he would crest a hill above the bay and cross the most beautiful meadow. He told his young bride Deborah that if the land was ever sold he'd love to build a home and raise their family there. Fortunately, what had been McConnell's Dairy's pasture was soon subdivided and Jim and Deborah were able to fulfill their dreams. They raised three children there, Kathleen, Peter, and Nick. Deborah is now 97 and still spends time every summer at this wonderful retreat, as do Kathleen, Pete and Deborah's 10 grandchildren. Nick, his wife Elan, and their daughter Dakota manage the property.