As Good As It Gets

Hello World, I think we can all agree that the good news is that I have returned safe and sound from a week away in Vacation Land, all in one piece, and none the worse for wear, for the most part. I seemed to pick up something of a summer cold in my travels, but I sounded much worse than I felt, and it really didn't slow me down much. Interestingly, I noticed there was no "Full to capacity" sign on Saturday when we arrived at the park, and the campground appeared all booked up, but I spotted it on Sunday instead, when everyone was leaving, and when we came back from the beach later in the day, the place was a ghost town. Even better than the good news, we were happy to discover (and here I'm thinking, delirious would not be too strong a term) the new and improved concession stand at the beach, who are calling themselves Calypso on the Sound, from our friends at Innovative Concessions (and please do go check them out and LIKE them on FaceBook at https://www.facebook.com/wildwoodconcessions) where they tell me they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner including lobster and prime rib, and not to mention, ice cold beer, of all things. Their slogan is "It's Worth The Walk," but anyone who's ever trudged up that long and steep hill at Wildwood beach can tell you there's just no way that could possibly be true, and I ought to know. They have also staked claim to a separate area on the boardwalk that they use for catering, believe it or not - although how they manage to get their patrons back up that darned hill, in the dark, after dinner, and ice cold beer, is a mystery to me, I'm sure. They have a very wide-ranging snack bar at the beach with a nice gift shop, plus another snack bar in the picnic area, and also the Camp Store at the old Ranger Station to round things out. For us, the best news was finally having cheese fries again after 3 years, and while I wouldn't say it was worth the wait (or worth the walk) it was all that we could have hoped for, after we had just about given up hope. This year was the easiest yet to spot the obvious spy site, because it was right next to mine at C-34. It sported a derelict pop-up trailer that appeared to be abandoned, with all the windows left open and no signs of life, or any vehicle, for 2 days. Somehow it mysteriously disappeared on Tuesday when I was at the beach, and I have no idea how, but I'm not going to check with the CIA and find out. Also in the neighborhood, there was a lively crowd of young French people taking up 2 sites across from me, who must have figured that the road was their personal driveway, so when they got to their site, they just parked in the street, thanks not. They sent an envoy over at one point, and I'm not exactly sure what I thought they were going to ask for, but I admit I wasn't expecting the youngest one to pop up and say, "Do you have fire?" At first I thought they wanted some of my firewood (as if I would part with any of my hard-earned firewood without a fight!) but one of his cohorts was making a hand gesture like a cigarette lighter, so I gave them my box of kitchen matches. Trying to explain that these were safety matches and would only work by striking them on the box may have been a hopeless endeavor, and for all I know, they may have given up the whole thing as a lost cause. I expect the headlines to read: "Crazy American Woman Gives Trick Matches to French Tourists as a Prank - Creates International Incident." Speaking of pranks, over the winter they apparently tore down what us old-timers would refer to as "the New Roundy," and completely rebuilt it as what they describe as a "Family Restroom." I found it hugely entertaining, although that may have been inadvertent on their part. It's a beautiful building with a very decorative interior that would remind you of a day spa. There are 6 unisex shower rooms, plus another 2 that are handicap-accessible. The push-button showers have warm water that is not too hot, and some gracious amenities - such as a bench, mirror, shelf, and soap dish - that have never been seen by the camping community up until now. I can't forget to mention the super-charged Dyson "Let's Blow Your Hands Off" automatic dryers, which are not for the faint-hearted. For energy efficiency, there are motion sensor lights that turn on when someone goes in to shower, and then go off again when it doesn't detect anyone still in there. Unfortunately they are the only light, there's no windows or skylights for natural light to come in, so it's pitch dark otherwise. This becomes a problem when the motion sensor decides that you have finished what you were doing and left the premises (even if you're still standing there gamely washing, and full of soap) and it shuts the light off on you so you're stuck showering in the dark. This happened so many times during my first shower there, I figured that I could out-smart (or rather, out-dumb) it, by propping open the door to the common area, and getting some light in from there. It turned out the joke was on me because the common area also has motion detector lights that only come on when someone is in there, so after a while, they go out as well, and then you have no light coming from anywhere at all. I had no choice but to bring my own lantern from the campsite and set it on the bench, so at least I could still see what I was doing, after the sensor lights decided I had left already. Personally, I think that if you're still there pushing the shower button, it should realize that someone is still in there, but apparently it's more focused on energy efficiency than any sort of logic. I left the beach early on Tuesday due to bad weather, and got stuck inside the Family Restroom for a pelting rain storm, where it just came down in sheets, so that you couldn't even see the road outside the door. It was better to be inside anyway, nice and dry, although I knew that everything on the clothesline would be completely drenched. I had forgotten how bad it floods at the park when it pours like that - all of the intersections, gullies, and low-lying campsites are underwater, and it has no place to drain off, so you just have to wait it out until it eventually evaporates. I splashed back to the campsite through mud puddles, and found that I was dirtier when I got back to the tent than when I started. Also the rain fly had collapsed because the stakes had pulled right out of the wet ground, thanks not, which didn't surprise me because it was on thin ice to start with. I added a second set of bungee cords to the corner poles, which made it a lot more stable, but had the unwanted effect of making it impossible to get around in the site, so I had to walk in the woods to get to the other side of the tent. Also on Tuesday, I went to CVS after dinner, turned out of their parking lot, and the park pass blew right out of the car window and out onto the street. I had to chase it down Route 25A and snatch it back, or I wouldn't be able to get back into the park. Of course, the punch line to the story was that not one single solitary person checked my park pass all the rest of the week that I was there, after I took my life in my hands dodging traffic on the highway to get it back into the car. I always bring peanuts and trail mix, which were a big hit with the blue jays and grackles, and occasional squirrel, but I didn't see a chipmunk until Thursday. I also stumbled upon (literally) unmistakable signs of moles around my fire bucket, by their obvious network of tunnels through the soft sandy soil in that area. Rounding out our furry and feathered friends, I had a woodpecker and flicker show up for peanuts, as well as a cardinal, which I have never seen out there before. On the other hand, the 7:00 PM deer in E Section turned up right on time, so no surprises there. Speaking of animals, my next encounter with my new French neighbors was when a gaggle of them accosted me on the street, all aflutter, and apparently keeping a list of the wildlife they had spotted in their travels. They wanted my help translating the critters into English, which we attempted to accomplish using a combination of hand gestures, bad high school French, charades, and stick figure drawings, with mixed results. I was able to help them with rabbit, deer, squirrel and duck, but when they very earnestly described a porcupine to me (!!!) it really made me wonder what on earth they had actually seen, that they somehow mistook for a porcupine instead - and which I can assure you has never been present at Wildwood State Park, and doubtless never will be, I dare say. On Wednesday night there were bad storms somewhere, although not at the park, and the sights and sounds of thunder and lightning coming from Connecticut were amazing to behold. There were also gale force winds overnight (possibly some residual effects from Tropical Storm Claudette) with the temperature hovering just below 60 degrees, which feels even colder when you're in a tent, believe me. I already learned my lesson about that years ago, and glad to have a comforter and fleece jacket with me, for just such an eventuality. I hurried to the beach Thursday morning to see the waves - not Jones Beach-size waves maybe, but still HUGE for Wildwood, and I have the video to prove it. At high tide, the lifeguard chair was in the water, with the lifeguards standing on the boardwalk instead. At the time it didn't matter, since I was the only (insane) person braving the waves anyway, and I was having too much fun to drown. Waves are always a rarity, and an unusual treat for my vacation, because it's ordinarily flat as a table out there. There were also exceptionally high tides overnight, as evidenced by the seaweed line all the way up to the foot of the bluffs, well above normal. It must have uncovered some enticing stuff by all accounts, since I spotted a catbird, goldfinch, and chipmunk, of all things, all scavenging in the same bushy outcropping behind the boardwalk, and glad of their plunder, by the look of it. Bill came back on Saturday to help me pack up, and a more welcome sight would be hard to come by, I can tell you that. It sprinkled a bit in the morning, but cleared up enough for us to enjoy one more lovely day at the beach, and those cheese fries were all that and more. On the way home, we stopped at Denny's in Centereach for dinner, and they heard no complaints from us, believe me. After a week away, the new kittens fled from the sight of me in abject terror, and even the cats who seemed to vaguely remember me, were pretty sure that they didn't like me. It only took a week to do most of my camping laundry, and get everything packed safely away for another year. Although the way those cheese fries have been calling my name, it might be a whole lot sooner than that, I shouldn't wonder! Elle