Camping Adventure: Day One Girls can do anything boys can do...except for peeing standing up
Mood:  happy
I had such a fantastic weekend. I love camping and should really do more of it. I have come back refreshed and ready to take on the world. Well at least for today...tomorrow may be a different story. I am going to try to break up my camping trip into three segments so you all don't have to read one huge, rambling entry. So on to the first day...

I left Raleigh at 9:15 AM on Friday. The plan was to meet Marie at Jockey's Ridge State Park in Nags Head at 1PM. We would park her car there and take my car to Ocracoke. The trip normally takes about 3.5 hours but I some how managed to shave off 15 minutes. I called Marie to let her know I was in town and she informed me she was still about 30 minutes away. No big deal. This weekend was all about relaxing and going with the flow. Plus it was a perfect day so I looked around the museum and then decided to sit our in the warm sun for a bit. Marie finally arrived and we loaded her stuff in my car and we were on our way. (Anne...we stopped at Grits Grill for lunch. Still no milkshakes)

The ride from Nags Head to the Hatteras Ferry is about an hour if you don't stop to look at all the lighthouses. We arrived at the ferry port and noticed there was a huge line of cars waiting to board. The ferry isn't large and I think they can only hold about 30 cars, so there was no way we would make the first one. We got out of the car to stretch our legs and decided to do some people watching, which is one of my favorite activities. There were some eclectic people to watch from the men who ran the ferry that looked like they could be over 100 years old to the people walking their dogs. But the one group of people that had us entertained were the "Nantuckets". I don't really like to stereotype people but when I think of Massachusetts I picture these people. The mother was wearing white pants with a light blue shirt with the sleeves of her sweater tied around her neck. She had a silver bob haircut and a huge rock on her finger that sparkled in the sun light. Her husband had on khaki pants with a white shirt, tan loafers and a yachting cap. The son (who looked to be in his early 40's) had on khaki pants with a light blue and white striped shirt with the sleeves neatly rolled up and tan loafers. All very neutral colors. Then all the sudden it was like I was back in grade school playing that game, "one of these things is not like the other" Around the other side of the vehicle came this woman. She was really tan and was wearing a hot pink shirt and jean, peddle pushers. It was a stark contrasts compared to the others. We think she was either the black sheep of the family or the tour guide for this little group. We watched them try to figure out how to eat grapes that still had the seeds in them...very entertaining. Heaven forbid these people spit the seeds out in public like the rest of us. At one point I glanced over and saw "Nantucket Mom" pulling weeds out of the cracks in the parking lot.

The second ferry arrived and we started to board. Once in place and emergency brake engaged we got out of the car and walked over to the edge of the boat. to enjoy the scenery and to cool breeze. Forty five minutes later we docked in Orcacoke and headed to the camp ground.

We arrived and I quickly informed the gate attendant that we had reservations. I thought he would say, "Yes ma'am! You are in site such and such." Instead I got, "Drive around and pick out your site, then come back and let me know." We drove around hoping to find a spot close to the dunes. We were in luck...spot C1 was open. We headed back to the ranger station where he informed us that the site had been taken. We looked at the map and decided on site B8. It was across from the dunes, away from RV's and was close to the bathrooms (proximity to a toilet is very important when picking out a campsite). We headed over to our site and immediately started to set up camp. The sun was starting to set and I wanted to try to get everything in place before it got too dark. During the process we had to fight off the mosquitoes that were relentless in their pursuit of blood. No amount of bug spray or smoke could deter them.

None of the sites had fire ring. I think they were afraid of fire destroying the endangered beach grass. So all sites were equipped with a standing grill. Determined to have smore's we tried with all our might to build a fire that would sustain itself long enough to roast the marshmallows. Marie was kind enough to bring firewood but it was still a little bit wet from the night before and was in large pieces. Her boss had her bring an axe so that we could chop the wood into smaller pieces. Marie took the axe and started chopping away at the wood. Her stance was a little unproductive and watching her I all the sudden heard the voice of my old woodsman team coach, saying, "Use the axe...don't let the axe use you." Marie gave up and handed the axe to me. Feeling the axe handle in my hand, I automatically took my old competition stance. Body slightly turned, one hand on the butt of the axe...the other up near the bit. I raised the axe over my right shoulder and swung down onto the wood, sliding my hand down till it met the other. The wood split like butter. I had forgotten how good that feeling was. There is no better way to work out all of your frustrations. You put all of your anger and worries in the axe handle and it gets released when it contacts the wood. I know it sounds corny, but it is true. Marie stated that she couldn't do anything like that. I was shocked to hear her say this. She is after all enlightened. I informed her that any woman can do it...it is all about leverage. I have seen women who were 5'4" and 109 lbs cut down a telephone pole with an axe. Marie could definitely do this. I gave her back the axe and showed her how to swing. Within a few tries she had it down. With most of the wood split I started to build the fire while Marie took out her camp stove and started dinner which would be chicken noodle soup. We ate dinner and quickly roasted marshmallows before the poor little fire finally died. Studying the grill I came up with an idea that might work for the next night. I would just have to make a stop at the local grocery store.

Marie and I sat by the dying fire, talking and drinking our wine. Once the bottle was empty it signaled that it was time to go to bed. We crawled into our tents and I fell asleep as soon as I shut my eyes.

Coming soon: Day two...Journey back in time to Ocracoke Village.

PS: You can all also read Marie's accounting of the weekend events on her blog. She does a really good job of describing the our neighbors at the camp ground.