Starting point -- the Outer
Banks of North Carolina
Home in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina when the
wanderlust struck.
Where can we go?
CAMPING
What
can we do? FISH
1st week -- County Line Park, Kerr Lake, North
Carolina
Not far from the beach, but far enough to be able
to relax -- and relax we did until. . . the STORM.
This
was not just any storm. It was right over the tent.
It was dark outside. The wind started to blow.
(Sound Effects Who-o-o-o, Who-o-o-o) The rain
started, the hail came (Sound Effects again plunk,
plunk, big plunk!) the lightning, the thunder
(Ditto
boom, BOOM, BOOM, Boom). The wind shook the
tent. The thunder wiggled the tent. The rain and
hail
pelted the tent. The lightning was in the tent, and
so
were Mike and I. Mike made the discovery that you
can see lightning with your eyes closed, even
squeezed tight closed.
It was nightime -- time to
be
asleep but if you know how much one of us loves
storms (okay you guessed, Me) you realize that
no one
slept that night -- If God is going to put on a show
then it is only right to stay up and watch the
performance.
New day, same week -- Mike is fishing, Mary (that's
me) is reading and watching Mike fish. Normal stuff,
until I hear a strange noise coming from the dining
canopy. It's sort of like somebody trying to lift
the glass lid on the frying pan. Curiousity makes me
get up to find out what's going on. 
Upon
investigation, I see a squirrel inside our screened
dining canopy, on the table, trying to get into the
pan to eat the hot dog buns I have placed in there
for safe-keeping. Obviously the skwerel thought he
could just have them for lunch. Since he was not
invited, I asked him to please leave. He did not
respond. So I raced to save my buns and thinking he
had not heard my request I raised my voice -- okay, I
yelled. Immediately, he panicked and literally
bounced off the walls of the dining canopy. I
continued to yell, thinking since he had found his
own way in, he could also find his own way out.
WRONG!! -- he just ran in circles over the table and
around the walls. I had to show him who the boss
was -- ME!! I opened the door on one side, went to the
other side and coaxed, shoved, pushed, chased him
through the opening. He then
ran off. I managed to save my buns but discovered he
ate my potholder. I thought I was through with
skwerels but. . . (you will just have to read on to
find out more of the skwerel adventures.)
2nd week -- Julian
Price
Campground,
Blue Ridge
Parkway, North Carolina
Moving on farther away from the flatlands, up, up
into the mountains and we are up there -- it was 40
degrees F. (don't nobody know that June is supposed
to be summer). We did a graveyard walk at Cone Manor
with the
Ranger and about ten other people and one dog -- get
the picture yet? You will soon. It's dark (no, not
everything I will write about will happen in the dark
but lots did!) and foggy. We are walking through a
field and into the woods to the cemetery. The Ranger
is telling ghost stories and she has also asked us
not to bring flashlights. (we are to start to use our
night sight -- I have no night vision and
my other senses are not terrific in the dark either -- except maybe my sense of imagination) As we walk
along the fog thickens -- I am by now holding Mike with
my "pay-attention" grip around his arm and the dog
with his flag tail keeps touching me with just the
tips of the hair -- it is enough to raise the dead or
at least the hairs on the back of my neck!!
The
walk
is now over. We are back all cozy in the tent when
the coyotes begin to howl -- not only is it dark but
eerie, how close are they? How close will they come?
The fog must have gotten a little scared, too,
because
it came inside the tent with us. Mike's beard and
hair are as wet as if he just stepped from the shower
and
the comforter is soaked. Are we having fun yet?
Comforter, who goes camping
with a comforter?
Just a
few words about roughing it. We have a 10 foot by 13
foot
tent, a futon with wooden frame and mattress,
waterbed sheets, eggcrate mattress cover and 2
comforters. I cannot, make that will NOT, sleep
on the
ground anymore. So instead of always blowing up an
air mattress and having the air all disappear by
morning, I decided that since we are car (actually
truck) camping I can be comfortable. Oh, the
waterbed
sheets are so you don't have to tuck the sheets under
the bed, convenient and warmer.
Want to see more of
our adventures then 
go to page 2.
contact me at mpetruso@geocities.com
Thanks go to DRAAC for all his gifs. What would
we at Web-TV do without him?
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