Getting in Touch with Nature ... Or Not

Dustin and I planned a few weeks ago that we should go camping sometime in October. The weather would just be starting to cool and become bearable, but it would be the perfect time for some fall hikes, cooking over a campfire, and enjoying the weather.
We made our reservation at Carolina Beach State Park Campgrounds, which is about 90 minutes from J-ville. I got off work Friday a little late, and rushed home to pack our stuff for camping. We already have a huge Rubbermaid container that has our tent, tablecloth, lantern, and blankets inside. So I grabbed a couple pillows, packed a cooler and bag of our food items, a backpack full of fun outdoorsy clothes, and my brand-new fall jacket I bought this week! And THAT was about the last minute that our weekend went as planned!

Dustin got off work a little bit late, but no problem, we packed up the sleeping bags, gave Bailey his food and water for the weekend, and got ready to go - until I realized I didn't have my wallet. I had left it at school, when I went to get money for a soda from the vending machine, I must have left it in my desk. So, we....
1. Zoom over to my school and grab my wallet just as they were locking up the building for the weekend.
2. Drive as quickly as we can down to Carolina Beach, through lots and LOTS of traffic.
3. Find out we got to the park -20 MINUTES after they locked up!!
4. Decide to make the most of the drive and just check into a cheap-o hotel and walk to Wild Wings across the street for some wings and beer and $3 margaritas.

 We figure, that's okay, we will just camp out the next day after a good nice night of sleep. The next morning we stop at Dunkin Donuts for some iced coffee, check into the campground, and get out to set up the tent.

The campsite was very beautiful and well-maintained, however despite our trusty Rubbermaid container of camping goodies, we realized we were ill-prepared. Somehow we forgot to bring insect repellent. About 2-3 weeks after HUGE flooding in the area probably left lots of standing water for mosquitoes to breed. We set our tent up in record speed - 10 minutes, and left with about 20 bites apiece. YIKES!

We headed into Wilmington, did some shopping around and watched the Georgia football game. We love us some Ale House chicken nachos - reminiscent of the good ole days out in Gainesville!

We decided to check out the animals for adoption in PetSmart. Why do I decide to visit adorable animals when we are out-of-town and camping? I don't know. But we of course, fall in love with an adorable kitty that we decide would be a wonderful buddy for Bailey, because he is so lonely with us both gone at work for 10+ hours a day. Fast-forward to us braving another swarm of mosquitoes to disassemble our tent, get dozens more bites, pick up the kitty, and drive back to Jacksonville, just in time to see the tail-end of Florida playing another crappy football game. As soon as we coax the new kitty out from under the sofa and give him a name, I will be updating with details!