Most people who want to build in the Hamptons underestimate the front half of the process. Not the framing or the finishes — the years before that. Finding land in a neighborhood you actually want to live in. Then the design. Then the approvals.

150 Pembroke Drive skips most of it.

There's a particular kind of quiet on the North Sea side of Southampton. The water at Towd Point is calm and shallow, sheltered by barrier islands and protected land, and the light in the late afternoon does something soft and golden that the ocean side never quite manages. It's the part of the Hamptons people tend to discover second — and then never leave.

41 Indian Road sits just over 500 feet from beach access to all of it.

There are Saturday nights in the Hamptons when the energy tips from fun into overwhelming. The restaurants are packed, the roads are backed up, and everyone seems to be chasing the same version of a good time.

This past weekend we started off thinking Montauk for date night. Then reality set in -- finding a decent dinner reservation on a Saturday in July felt close to impossible. The thought of fighting traffic, circling for parking, and hoping something decent was still available just wasn't it.

So we looked to Shelter Island instead.

If you're out east this week, add this to your plans. Hero Volley -- the beach volleyball tournament founded by three-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings -- is back in Montauk July 28-30, and it's one of those summer events that delivers.

I went last year. The wellness session was a highlight -- Kerri is magnetic in person, and getting to hear her talk about her Olympic career in that setting was genuinely special. We also brought the kids to the Pro-Am tournament, and what struck me most was the mix of people on the sand -- local families, serious volleyball fans, people who just wandered over and stayed for hours. That's a hard thing to manufacture and Hero Volley has it naturally.