November 14, 2016
There are two parts of this park which is pretty cool. One side of the bridge people go and fish in the inlet, the jetties’ and the beach. The shore stretched as far as I could see. On the other side of the bridge there were jetties as well, hiking trails, a museum and my campsite. This park seems like a fisherman’s paradise!
The rain was coming back so I knew I better work on setting up my camp. It took me 45 minutes with the crazy wind working against me. The people in the boat on the inlet across from me had an interesting show and if the RV windows were opened on the sites next to me the words they would hear would make them think a sailor was nearby! Still, I was very proud of myself, not too shabby for my first time setting up camp, alone. Once I was set up I made a drink and I took a walk around. I put my cooler close to my tent so I could just reach in while it was raining for a drink. Side note: my cooler contents were beer, wine, vodka, juice & ice.
I walked around and picked my spot to sit and soak up the beauty of mother nature. I even bonded with some birds, from a distance. I tired to build a fire but the wind and rain were just not having it! I sat by the water and watched the sky change colors before it went dark. The super moon was out but I did not get to see it to it’s full beauty because the clouds blocked my view. It was only 6:30 pm and it became very clear that the rain was not going to stop. I made one more drink and I climbed into my kid sized tent. I decided I would just try and got to sleep and start again the next day on my new adventure.
I usually sleep in a little ball at home with Casey snuggled in with me but I guess my body wanted to stretch out instead! I bought a kid size tent because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to put an adult one together by myself. With that said, as my legs were extended in my slumber, my toes stretched out the tent and apparently looked like a sausage or something because I woke to something grabbing my toe!
I shot up and I looked out my tent window, RACCOON! One went straight for my cooler, opening it and closing it like we do in front of the fridge! Then I started hearing these sounds from behind my tent; it sounded like wild boar! Was this going to be the end of me? I just envisioned them ramming the tent until I was done! It turns out it was not boar at all, more RACCOONS! They were all after my cooler and they just hissed at each other like crazy cats and then they wrestled with each other like untamed dogs; I had enough! I yelled various words at them loudly and they shattered. I ran out of my tent, threw the cooler in the car and sprinted back to the tent. I have no idea when or how but shortly thereafter I fell asleep!
A few hours later I woke up, got ready for the day and took a walk to watch the sun come up. Many people were already out fishing. I just sat on a rock, at peace. Such an amazing start to a brand new day. I packed up my car and headed out. I survived my first day of camping (barley)! The rain, wind, and wildlife were all against me and I prevailed!