Filed under: Destination Camping & RV Resorts, Entertaining Kids at Camp, Entertaining Kids at Camp, Humor, Nature & Wildlife, Outdoor Recreation & Hiking, RV Campgrounds, Taking Along the Family Pet

MYSTERY RV DOWSES FOR SALTWATER (or…. The Magnetism of the Ocean.)

Finding the “Y” shaped Willow Tree branch jammed up under the front steering gear of our RV didn’t come as a surprise.

The Willow branch confirmed what I had always suspected – somehow the RV had a diving rod attached that steered us toward saltwater.

For a number of years, our RV has predictably wandered toward an ocean beach – just like a dog tugging at a leash.  It didn’t really matter where we were or where we actually planned on going – the beach would eventually end up as one of our destinations.

So, here we are again – relaxing on the sand of a North Carolina oceanfront RV resort soaking up the still pleasantly warm September rays of sunshine.  The sky is billowing with puffy white clouds surrounded by robin-egg blue and the ocean waters beneath are striped with hues of dark green and vivid blue.

As I sit here under our little red pop-up sun shelter, I alternate between reading a Clive Cussler adventure novel, watching the young surfers catching a wave, the surf fishermen casting their rods and small children building sand castles with their watchful parents –  it hits me just how alluring and magnetic this place really is.

I don’t swim in the ocean anymore.  When I was younger, I enjoyed catching the waves on a body board or scooting along the incoming surf on a skim board.  But, as I got older, the occasional and unexpected underwater somersault that would rake me across coarse bottom sand or the falls from the skim board began to do more damage than I could endure.  At that point, I retreated to the beach to join the sea gulls floating overhead as if suspended by a kite string in a stationary formation, squawking ritualistically and begging me for a free meal.  Sand crabs scurry past my feet, frantically trying to get back into the retreating surf that just dumped them upon the sand.

Part of the magnetism of the ocean is the sound of the crashing waves and the smell of the salt air.  The sun cuts into your skin but you don’t feel it because of the constant breeze.  As you look out upon the expanse of the ocean, it just disappears on the horizon as if only the sky lay beyond.  Late in the day, you can watch the sun drop down into the bay on the western side of the island and disappear as if it were a flaming coal from a campfire being flung into a pail of water.  It is not hard to understand why humankind once believed the earth was flat and sailors that lost view of the horizon would fall off the edge of the earth.

Pure and simple – there are not many things more relaxing and enjoyable than sitting in a beach chair reading a dime store novel with sand between your toes and waves lapping at your feet.

Add to that the after-labor day-solitude, cooler temperatures, less crowding and lower campground rates that finally become an enjoyable possibility after retirement and dissolving ties to school-day schedules.  The season is evident by the lack of hard-bodied, suntanned youthful figures in Victoria’s Secret swimwear walking along the surf.  In their place are the pear shaped bodies of maturing baby boomers much like us seeking their place in the September sun.

Despite my love for the ocean and beach, I would not want to live here.  The salty air leaves a white film on everything.  Unprotected metal quickly begins to corrode and the sand gets into places you wouldn’t believe.  Storms can be quite severe and scary.  The constant wind that cools you can escalate enough to make the dry, hot sand burn into your flesh like molten glass.  No place is always perfect all the time – which is why we enjoy the mobility our RV affords.

We will be leaving next week, heading to the heart of our beautiful country to meet up with like-minded souls at the National Heavy Duty Truck (RV) Rally in Hutchinson, Kansas.  From there we will swing north for a stopover in Amish Country and a tour of the birthplace of many of our RVs. – then…… yep, back to the ocean.  This time it will be Myrtle Beach, SC, in early November.  The air will be crisp, but the allure of the ocean will not have faded.

After Christmas, it will be time to head out again for the warmer temperatures and magic of the Gulf Coast of Florida.  It is no wonder Blue Bird named their MotorHome the “WanderLodge”.

You know, I like that forked Willow branch wedged under the front of the RV.  It always leads us to beautiful places.

HAPPY CAMPING TRAILS TO ALL!

 

Last 5 posts by Professor95

• Sequester Delays National Park Openings - April 23rd, 2013
• Got an iPad? Drive a RV? Check out this new GPS app from Rand McNally! - January 10th, 2013
• OLD GAS PRESSURE LANTERNS - Restoring My Past - January 3rd, 2013
• IT WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (Revised by...... well, ME!) - December 16th, 2012
• IT'S FINALLY HERE! (The 2013 Good Sam RV Travel Guide & Camp Ground Directory) - December 12th, 2012