We started our day at the Flying J. We decided to go into Denny’s, which was attached to the Flying J. We figured we should spend a few dollars being we spent the night in their parking lot. I have never liked Denny’s. This visit did nothing to change my view. I had sausage and biscuits. It should have been called biscuits and flour gravy. Any sausage particles in the gravy were smaller than a good sized booger. They could have been boogers for all I know. Darlie had an omelet that she said was not too bad except for all the tomatoes in it.
We thought our trip down I 95 would be hectic. It was until we got below Richmond. Tobacco and cotton grew in fields along the highway. As much as we loved the west, it felt good to be back in the south. We started to think of home.
We entered Cherry Point at about 2:30 PM. We parked in the visitor parking lot to wait for Tony to come check us in. We got our pass then drove to the registration building for the campground. The campground costs $15.00 per day for full hookups. It is a neat little camp with large lots.
We are parked next to the camp host. He came out and helped us get positioned and hooked up. He advised us of the ant problem and copperheads that frequent the area. I have to admit, I thought it was exaggerated.
He told us to get some Ajax to sprinkle around our wheels to keep the ants out. I noticed he was the only one in the campground with Ajax sprinkled around his wheels. I quickly discounted the need for such action.
Later, Tony and I were sitting outside at the picnic table. I was grilling some steaks for dinner. Tony began to slap and brush his legs. Little ants were swarming all over his feet. We ran to the store on base for some Ajax. We felt a bit foolish sprinkling it around but figured it better to be safe than sorry.
After dinner, we sat outside talking. Just after dark, the camp host’s wife came sleuthing around behind her camper with a flashlight. She shined it over towards us and said she was looking for copperheads. She had seen one near her door.
Tony and I looked at one another with that ,“oh right”, look. These people are just plain wacky. Maybe she could hear us talking outside and wanted us to go inside so they could go to sleep. The snake hunt might scare us into retreating inside.
She said she was calling the game officer to come out. After she walked away, I pulled out five bucks and bet Tony that the game officer never showed up. She was just putting us on.
A few minutes later the game officer showed up with net and snake catching devise in hand. He walked back to a bush behind the camper. Looking around with his flashlight, he spotted a snake in just a minute. As he caught that one, he spotted another.
By now a small crowd had gathered to watch the action. One of the onlookers spotted one coming out of the other side of the bush and another little one back in the bush. The officer captured two more snakes. He said there is obviously a nest of them here. He would bring his boss out this week and see what action was needed to rid the area of snakes. We will listen to any advise our camp host has to share for the rest of our stay.
Darlie went in to bed as the snake hunt began. She missed all the action. By the time Tony and I came in, she was sleeping. We sat up talking until 10:30 or so. Darlie had made up the sofa for Tony to sleep on. He wanted to go back to the barracks tonight. He said he would try the sofa another night.
Tony showed up in the morning with his boat. He took us to a boat launch on the base. From there we traveled down various waterways leading back into marshlands and hardwood forests that border the base.
Beautiful pink flowers grew on bushes along the reed filled banks. Cypress trees sprouted up along the water’s edge. This is one area where Tony fishes for redfish.
We passed several boat loads of fishermen along the way.
The air was hot and humid. Traveling along at speed made it more comfortable. We slowed as the channel narrowed winding around bend after bend. We flushed out some ducks at one point and startled redfish at another. It was difficult to believe that just a short distance away there was the hustle and bustle of the air station and the village of Havelock beyond.
Our trip took us along by a landing zone for Harrier aircraft. Several planes circled above then slowed, gear down, they glided over our heads. They dropped below the trees then powered up and circled around again to do the same exercise. Darlie was snapping photos at record pace.
After touring the channels, we took one that led out to the Neuse River. At this point the river is very wide. I would guess it to be six or seven miles. Looking northeast you could see Pamlico sound stretching to infinity. Tony fishes out here also. Sometimes he even heads out onto the ocean. His boat is only sixteen feet. That is a concern for us.
We idled back to the boat launch, pulled the boat and headed back to the campground. Tony had some things he wanted to fix on his boat. We worked the rest of the afternoon on these projects in the searing heat. Darlie took a nap in the frosty motorhome.
Later we drove down to see Tony’s Harley. It is a custom bike with all kinds of fancy chrome and tailpipes. He took a required course on the base which teaches proper operation and safety. Still, as parents we worry about his safety. Traffic around the area is very heavy. Sometimes you just have to trust the Lord with things like this. We did the same things when we were young.
We had dinner in the MH and sat round and talked long into the evening. Tony decided to try out our sofa for the night. He also got me to try out TV set which hasn’t been used on this trip. We found several local channels to watch. We left Tony watching Jay Leno and went to bed.
In the morning Tony left to go to the barracks to change. When he returned we left on a trip to Beaufort, NC. The waterfront area of the village is a scenic delight. Sailboats are moored in the channel, wind generators whirling. Tourist walk along the boardwalk popping in and out of gift shops and restaurants which overlook the water.
We ate lunch at Clawson’s restaurant. It has been in operation since 1905. It is a rustic brick building with weathered and worn hardwood floors. It looks much the same as it did years ago. Most of the buildings along the waterfront are very old original structures dating back to the 18th century.
Tony knew where a shrimper sold his catch along the highway. He said we could get jumbo shrimp there for $5.00 per pound, headless. We found the man set up along the causeway. Tony bought two pounds for dinner tonight.
We stopped along the they way back to the campground to look around in some stores. When we got back, Darlie went in for her afternoon nap in the frosty cold MH while I sat outside in the searing heat with Tony. Tony doesn’t mind the heat at all. He hates being cold. He told me about his short time in Korea last winter. Snow, sleet, wind, wet clothes, numb hands and feet was all a new experience for this Florida boy.
Darlie peeled and deep fried the shrimp in a tasty batter. Tony picked up some clams to steam to go along with the shrimp. It was dark when we finished dinner. As I washed dishes, Tony gathered up all the shrimp remains and clam shells. He started out the door for the dumpster in the lot behind us. I insisted he take the flashlight. The dumpster is in the same general area as the copperhead nest.
Soon Tony was back to report copperheads crawling all over the place next door. Darlie went out with her camera. I finished the dishes and joined them. The neighborhood had gathered to watch the action. There was a large snake under the picnic table. Two more slithered along the hedge. Everyone kept their flashlights trained on them. The game warden had been called.
Tony and another man were in agreement to just kill them. There is a trailer the other side of us with nine kids staying in it. They felt it too risky to let them escape back into the hedge as they had done the other night. Catch and release is fine but there is a real danger to the campground residents here.
The snake Tony was watching started back into the bushes after eating a large bug. Tony grabbed a hoe and chopped its head off. Some of the people gasped as if he had committed murder. Others muttered about someone being arrested or fined.
10 snakes were caught while we were there.
The other snake near the hedge retreated back into the bushes and was lost. The game warden showed up. He caught the snake under the picnic table. He picked up the dead snake with a look of approval towards Tony. It was obvious he was tired of having to come out here every night to catch snakes.
He told the crowd he was going through channels to see what can be done. He explained the process involved in ridding the area of snakes. It is a typical bureaucratic nightmare.
I am not a highly educated man as some of you already know from reading this blog. I have only a couple of years in Bible college. I didn’t get to the course that teaches you how to make problems more difficult than they are to preserve your job and the jobs of other administrators and bureaucrats. The simple solution is never an option.
First you must do a study of one kind or another. Results of the study have to be analyzed by various experts in the field. Experts in every field from the environment to space science must also be consulted in a quest for some minuscule violation of some regulation another bureaucracy has in place. Once every possible avenue of delay has been exhausted the process of taking bids from contractors begins. The process goes on and on until the original problem has resolved itself or been forgotten completely.
In the case of the snakes, the game warden said he called the maintenance facilities coordinator about the problem but he has not returned his call. He went on to say that it would probably take six months to get the hedge removed where the snakes found sanctuary. By that time it would be winter and the snakes will have retreated to wherever it is that snakes to for the winter...... Florida, Bahamas, Mexico?........
He didn’t say it but between the lines he was saying, “why don’t you just kill the snakes instead of calling me every night?”. That is the simple solution and therein is the rub. I suppose they will diddle around like this all summer. Hopefully, no one gets bitten in the meantime. If I sound a little bit too sarcastic, forgive me. We watched the small children playing near this nest of snakes on more than one occasion.
Tony decided to sleep in the spacious comfort of his barracks room. Tongue in cheek, snicker, snicker. Darlie and I went to bed with visions of copperheads and sugar ants dancing in our heads.
Thursday we did some shopping in local stores for a variety of things. We stopped at a place that makes smoker grills. I saw one that interested me. It was much too big to fit into the motorhome, however. All of them on display were gas grills. I prefer charcoal.
The owner of the company came out from the shop and asked if he could help us. I told him how much I liked the grills. Did he make them for charcoal also? He took us back in the shop for a tour. He does, indeed, make them for charcoal. He had one in the paint room. We went in for a look. The design was very good. I will consider having one shipped to me later.
In the afternoon, Darlie went in for her afternoon nap in the frosty cold MH. I sat outside with Tony in the searing humid weather. We finished up a small repair on his boat. He suggested we go fishing. He has a secret spot on base he wanted to show me.
I can’t tell how we got to the spot but let me say it was an experience. The fishing hole is little known by other fishermen on the base. The remote location makes it not easily located. Tony has caught some very large bass in the pond. He throws his cast net to catch bait. Then fishes the large minnows under a bobber. Our luck wasn’t too good on this evening. Tony thought I might have brought some bad luck along. It was a fun experience, nevertheless.
Tony spent the night with us again. It was our last night so he wanted to spend as much time as he could. He complained in the morning about being cold all night. Darlie has the air set on ice chip setting.
It was difficult saying goodbye. We had a very nice time with our youngest son. He misses home and looks forward to the end of his enlistment next March. His plans after the service are incomplete. I encouraged him that he will find his way. We all do eventually.
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