Rain

Day 14, August 2, 2009

This morning brought more bad news. I don't think Washington, DC like's us very much. The weatherman said there was an 80% chance of rain with lots of thunder and lightening. Knowing the roads would be backed up, the museums would be even more packed with everyone having to stay inside, and the chances of getting soaked, the family made the sad decision to go ahead and pack up the camper and leave. There was a Marine Corps museum they wanted to look at which was on the way out of town, so we packed up the camper (I tried to help, of course, by holding the cord, while the man with the fuzzy face, released the awning, but I flew up into the roll and ended up squashed in the canvas. The man with the fuzzy face was not happy he had to pull it all out again to get me out. How does he think I felt, being all flat?) It started raining right as they got everything put away. The campers next to us had a garden gnome they took everywhere, just like I go everywhere. Daddy insisted the old lady take my picture with it. But it was raining! I had to sit on a wet table, getting pelted with rain drops, just to have my picture taken with a clay statue! It was very unpleasant!

The Marine Corps museum was very cool. It was shaped kind of like a famous statue. It had a big point at the top and was all glass. There were planes suspended inside like at the Air and Space Museum.

Daddy got to simulate shooting an M16 at a target. He got the bullseye once and was close to the center on almost all the other shots. Did I mention my daddy is awesome?! He also picked up a heavy backpack like the soldiers have to carry. It weighed like 120 pounds or something. I wanted to try but Daddy said I'd be squished flat.

There were lots of life-size displays of combat soldiers during various wars in history. One room was supposed to be Korea in the winter so they had the A/C turned way down so you could even feel the cold. I was freezing! The man with the fuzzy face pointed out lots of dates and pictures when Grandpa Porter was in the service. There was a computer screen in the gift shop where you could look up names on bricks out front or on the honor roll. Auntie looked up Grandpa Porter and there he was! We left his name on the screen when we left the gift shop.

Just outside the gift shop, we looked outside and it was pouring!!! I wasn't going anywhere near that! Luckily, the man with the fuzzy face had brought an umbrella with us into the museum and it let up a little as we headed outside, so I didn't get wet. That made me very happy, so I rode next the man with the fuzzy face and helped him drive.

Our next stop was supposed to be a place called Waldo's Beach. It was supposed to have a small water park and a "beach" for the kids to play in. Since we left DC with an extra travel day, the old lady was considering staying an extra night there and letting the kids play. We pulled in to the town around 5:30, low on gas and even lower on patience. We got to the campground and even though there were lots of people swimming in the pool and playing on the water slide, there was no one to be found who could check us in. Finally, a very nice life guard directed us to a Korean gentleman who could barely speak english. He got on the phone to someone and then announced there was no room, we couldn't spend the night! We could see there was plenty of room, so obviously, since it was late on a Sunday night, the owner didn't want to be bothered.

So now what would we do? The life guard and his friend tried to help by telling us how to get to Ft. Bragg where they said we could camp. But we were so low on fuel, we had to find a gas station with diesel and fast. To make a long story short, we ended up driving back and forth through Hope Mills 4 or 5 times, got lost, never found Ft. Bragg, got on the phone and finally got to really nice place called Lazy Acres at around 6:30. That should have been our first choice! I liked it much better. I wasn't too thrilled with the water park idea anyway. I would have been hiding somewhere the whole time.

The man with the fuzzy face wants to tell the whole world what a horrible place that Waldo's Beach was and how nice they were at Lazy Acres. I told him I'd type it in here, but that I wasn't sure if the whole world would see it....

We set up in record time and the man with the fuzzy face set to work snapping green beans and marinating chicken thighs. Daddy and Auntie went off exploring, but I was content just to watch the man with the fuzzy face with my friend Wilbur and offer advice now and then.

The evening turned out to be very pleasant. The food was good, Auntie and Daddy watched Merlin on TV and they even lit a campfire. I was afraid of the flames, especially when Daddy threw me to Auntie right next to it and she dropped me! A monkey's life can be very hard. Time for bed. Ta for now.