July 14
We had to go across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel with the trailer yesterday, and I was a nervous wreck! The bridge is something like twenty miles long, and there is nothing to keep the wind away, and we were swaying like mad. And I just kept repeating "I don't like this! I don't like this!" and clutching at the window... as if that would help to keep the trailer from blowing over the rail and into the bay! And, of course, the protective parent part of me kicked in really strong, and I kept on going over and over again in my head just what I would do to get the kids out of the car if that did happen – because at a few points, I was certain it would.
Then there were the two tunnel parts of the bridge, and somehow, those were even worse! They were closed-in, and there were only two lanes, and the vehicles had to pass by so close to one another that you could have high-fived the people driving in the opposite direction, and everyone was going (to my way of thinking) way too fast! I can only imagine what would have happened if anyone had strayed just a little out of their lanes. Heavens! I've never been claustrophobic before, but I think I am now!
Oh, and Fíli had it almost as bad as me. He'd forgotten to take his Dramamine, so he spent most of the trip with his head in his hands, mumbling about needing to "keep it together". We had some ginger-ale in the cooler in the car, but that can only do so much – especially with the lights in the tunnels basically strobing as we went by them. He made it through without "losing it", thank goodness, though he looked awful!
Fortunately, once we were across the bridge the going was much smoother! It was just a little ways south from there, over the border into North Carolina, and we were at the campground! This one is near the water, as well, but the beach here is sandy, rather than muddy; and there is quite a bit of nicely-tended grass and even a few shade trees.
And this campground has full hookups, so we needn't worry about driving over to the pumping station when the tanks get too full or being overly-conservative with our water usage. We can even take showers and do the dishes in the trailer, and I can't explain how happy that makes me! We haven't checked out the laundry-room yet, so we don't know how much it will cost; but at least here we are a bit closer to places where we will be able to get change.
So, when we got here, we were all able to relax a bit! Well, all, except for the cat and dog! But it was strange, really. The door between the bathroom and the back bedroom somehow got jostled open during the trip, and you'd think that Rolly and Hershey would have gotten into a fight when they were able to get to one another – but as far as I can tell, they didn't! All they did was switch places!
After we were parked, I opened the door to the bathroom and the cat was sitting on the sink in there; and when he saw me, he meowed, jumped on my chest, scratched my shoulder as he leaped over it, then he ran into the kitchen and hid under the table (well, the table-bed). For hours he hissed at us and clawed at our feet every time we walked near (and us with the family rule of no shoes indoors!); and when he finally came out, he just glared at me until bedtime.
The dog, meanwhile, we found sitting in the kitty-litter box in the boys' room; and she was just staring at us and wagging her tail like it was nothing unusual. I don't know how she managed to get in there–or out of the tub, for that matter–since she is so chubby that we had to lift her up to put her in the shower stall/tub in the first place! She got a bath last night, of course, as the litter and who knows what else was all in her fur!