June 29
Well, last night was terribly uncomfortable!
We got lost! And just as the fault was on the GPS for leading us near New York, it was also the reason we got lost in Dover! We wanted directions from the highway to the Air Force Base, but for some strange reason it led us instead to a tiny little privately-owned airport on some skinny rural road miles away from where we needed to be. And it turned out to be Gimli that eventually got us going the right way. He simply checked the map on his iPhone, found a large airfield, figured out the way to go, and set us on the right course!
Still, it was well after dark by the time we got to the base. The gate guards tried to direct us to the campground; but, unbelievably, we lost our way there, as well! Though it was not so hard to do, really, since we were on an endless road that went all the way around the base. And when the guards told us "take a left, then at the light make a right, then go on around until you come to the next left turn"... well, the next left turn we took wasn't supposed to be a left turn, after all - it was the end of a runway! And if one of the base police officers hadn't found us there, we might have never gotten to the campground!
Not that it did much good when we did get to the campground. It (like a lot of military camping places) is first-come-first-serve, and because it was so late, there there were no open sites. We had no idea what else to do, so we just wound up "dry camping" at the side of the road (the base police said it was okay). And, heavens! It was awful!
For one thing, we learned that Gimli is terrified of bugs. I guess he hadn't noticed the insects at our campsite in Connecticut (or else they were a kind that didn't bother him), but as soon as we stepped out of the car in Dover a big beetle flew at him. He screamed and jumped around, then he ran into the trailer as fast as his feet could carry him! All night long he was flailing his arms at anything that flew near - and, oh, there were a lot of moths and beetles and mosquitoes, so that was a lot of flailing!
And it turns out that we should have fixed the fresh water tank, after all. We had nothing to drink except sodas (we'd run out of bottled water sitting in traffic), and there was nothing to clean up or cool off with. Except for diaper wipes, of course! Thank goodness we thought to bring some along, as awkward as it was to buy them with Frodo being out of diapers for years now. Honestly, though, I think that must be one of the most important things to bring along on any road trip with kids.
Also, though we have a auto-type battery in the trailer to run the small inside lights, it is not strong enough to power the air conditioner or any of the fans (though we did have the small battery-powered ones we put out for the cat when he's riding in the back of the trailer), so it was stifling all night long. And humid! And on top of it all, Thorin and I had to climb over the freezer to get to our room - and I hope to goodness that the food inside is still frozen, since it has been unplugged for so long!
So, of course, none of us slept too well last night, and we are all thirsty and grumpy and sweaty and tired and bug-bitten today! There was, at least, a bright spot this morning when we all stumbled (and grumbled) out of the trailer. We saw that beside where we had "camped" there was a large grassy field, and it was covered with fog. And Gimli was fascinated by it, and since there were no bugs around at that time, he wandered into the mist. Then he called out that it must have rained overnight! Well, we hadn't heard any rain; but then I realized that he was mistaking the dew on the grass for rainwater! He has lived in the city his whole life, and so he has never experienced such a thing!
Anyway, we at least started the day off with a smile! And now we're on our way through Maryland, heading to our campground reservation spot in Virginia. We should be there before dark, thank goodness!