A few months after moving to the coast, my wife’s Uncle Ray and Aunt Gloria came to visit. They’d been to the Bay Area years before when they took their four sons to Horsfall Beach to ride on the dunes.

Besides just a friendly visit to see our new home, Ray was looking for something. He wanted to go scouting campsites — ones with access to the dunes.

So we drove them back to Horsfall to take a look, and then to the new access at the Hauser Motorplex and then to the day-use, RV parks and sand camping areas in Winchester Bay.

It was later that year we learned of his grand plan — he wanted to get his clan together for a family reunion and he wanted to do it in the dunes. Ray lives in the Sacramento, Calif., suburb of Carmichael, his brothers Bob and Butch live in Idaho, so when anyone went to visit it was at least a 14-hour drive.

Ray decided it would be easier if everyone drove eight hours and met in the middle near our house.

The first year they ended up in Hauser. Then the perfect camping spot became available to them when the Half Moon Bay campground opened in Winchester Bay. Half Moon Bay has several group campsites that will hold about five RVs each along with numerous trailers, ATVs and cars — perfect.

So Ray drives up his RV, dragging a trailer with at least one ATV and a sand rail. His brothers and their kids bring their rigs from Idaho and two of Ray’s sons bring up their trailers and toys.

So between Ray’s clan and my wife’s sisters and their families coming up, we can put about 30 people around the fire pit at night. Ray has always been in charge of the food.

It’s true campground cuisine and includes anything that can be made on a small camp grill, an RV cooktop or over an open flame.

I still don’t know how he made the peach cobbler a couple years ago, but the cook has to have some secrets.

There’s always a taco salad night — usually the night everyone arrives because it’s easy to brown up some ground beef and cut up the lettuce and other veggies necessary. There also is a traditional night of hot dogs and hamburgers. Some like them off the grill, while others of us go for the tried-and-true method of burning them over the campfire.

And then there’s BLT night. Easy enough to fry up some bacon and let everyone go to town at the buffet table. Gloria makes enough macaroni and potato salad to last through the long weekend, and we like to try to bring a dessert (or a bottle or two of wine) to add to the mix.

S’mores are a staple around the campfire every night with the kids, grandkids and great-grandkids as we all catch up on the past year’s events.

This is the week for the family to be here, but the old campfire just isn’t the same this year.

Ray passed away from liver cancer in May. His family decided to come back to the campground this year and ride and play like Ray would have wanted, and to have a family memorial service. Even his sister Doris, and brother Art, who hadn’t been to our previous dune gatherings came this year. His daughter-in-law Lisa put together a video for everyone to look at and there were several framed photos of Ray and his sons in the winner’s circle with some of their hot rods.

Ray liked it here so much they’re taking some of his ashes out for a final ride in the dunes to spread them there.

We’ll all miss you Uncle Ray.