The Jeeping first because the sleeping is a sad tale!
So, for years I have watched people driving on the beach and thought, wow, that looks like fun, I should do that. But I did not. And now that I have finally taken the leap, I can't believe it has taken so long to do something that is so AWESOME!
The parts that kept me from doing it were fear of the unknown (I guess!) and the tire thing. Meaning, that you have to let air out of your tires before driving on the sand and to me, that just seems wrong! Letting air OUT of your tires? That's sorta like pouring a glass of primo wine, then spilling half of it out so that you can walk on the beach.
Okay, bad analogy. But anyway, to drive on the beach you have to obtain a permit, which is really no big deal. You can probably get one actually on the beach, as there is a little house with rangers in it (rangers? Am I making that up?) but I drove to the Duke's County office and bought one there. Then drove to the spot where you let out the air in your tires, we all did that, then threw the Jeep into four wheel drive and off we went.
And oh, it felt so wrong. The vehicle was bouncing so much I thought for sure we were going to pop all four tires. POP POP POP POP, just like that, I waited for the end of it all, as we would sink into the sand, it would turn into quicksand, and all of us would be swallowed up whole and forever.
I do have an active imagination. Always have.
And since I have never actually driven the Jeep in four wheel drive, I wasn't really sure of its capabilities, and I even found myself wishing that I had the Toyota, which is amazing in all conditions. But soon, once the bouncing became less relentless and we could see all the cars set up on the beach, it became really cool to be out there! But I was still being a bit of a baby and wanted to find a parking place sooner rather than later.
Which we did. And like all things, you have to get a feel for the lay of the land. First we pulled up between two vehicles and the woman stood up on one side and said they were saving that space for friends. Oh really? You can do that? Obviously rather than fight her or be near people such as that, we proceeded further down the beach and found a space between two cars and backed in. (I should also note that as the day progressed, the spaces between the two cars I was between was filled up by two other cars.) So really, the key is to have a lot of friends and take up a lot of space!
It is such joy and wonder to not have to schleppe your stuff from car to beach. To just pull it out and set it up is amazing, it really is. It is AWESOME!
The second day we became quite brave (well okay, I did, Cheryl claims she never had any fear whatsoever!) and drove all the way to the end of the 1/2 mile trail and set up there. It was so cool, as there has been a breach in the beach last year and now there are all these funky tidal patterns, one creating a natural water park, so to speak. You walk up, jump in the water, and it pulls you around the point, really fast! It is so much fun! We must have done it like 20 times (and it is exhausting for you have to kind of dig in to stop and then haul yourself out).
So the Jeeping -- priceless.
The sleeping? I think I can sum that up with one word. Futon.
Yes, the "queen sized beds" are actually futons placed on a piece of plywood. I am currently laying upon one piece of hellish sleepery and trying to assess which parts of my body hurt the least. My back is a goner, my hips are groaning, my shoulders murmuring in my ear.
Seriously, futons? Now I have a new question to ask when looking for houses to rent:
Are there actually mattresses in the bedrooms, or are they hard lumps of hell?
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