We survived a night in yurt #52

We had such high hopes. Sunny beach forecast, fun friends (the McDonalds) and a 2 night stay planned for Cape Lookout on the first weekend of Spring Break. It could have been wonderful.
After we got settled into our yurts, the first thing on the agenda was a trip down to the beach. It was SO windy that it could literally blow over the kids. Sand was pelting our faces. Nate got totally freaked out and so we headed back to our campground. Somehow the weather wasn't what we were expecting. Was there a storm rolling in? The skies quickly filled up with clouds and the rain started. We figured it would pass over. But no....it rained and rained. Thank goodness we had the quick-shade for shelter! We cooked a tasty dinner and decided that we needed to head in to our cozy, heated yurt for the evening.

Wind gust at dinner! One of the plates slapped Christopher on the side of his face. We have always lucked out with the weather on our camping trips, so we were trying to adjust to this new way of living. It wasn't fun.

We are so thankful for friends that love to camp and know how to make Spanish coffees! With 4 kids and 4 adults spending the next 3 hours in a yurt together, we were extremely happy that Chris McDonald is a fine bartender. We played uno, kids climbed on the bunk beds, and then....the dance party.

All the moves from the 80's and 90's were busted out. Robot, moon-walking, running man, to name a few. You get the picture. However, flashing the yurt lights to make 'disco lights' is not such a good idea.....we had a knock on the door from the park ranger wondering if we were in distress. Being cooped up with everyone in a yurt and dancing some fine moves was distressing...however we didn't need his assistance.

At 10:00 we went back to our yurt to sleep for the night. Around 1:00 I awoke and couldn't believe the sounds that I was hearing. Massive rain pelting the yurt, very loud and angry sounding ocean waves crashing in the distance, wind blowing so hard that it sounded capable of lifting the yurt up and tossing it into the sea~this was a massive storm and I listened to it for the next 3 hours. Nate was sleeping right next to me and he awoke and was completely freaked out. It was CRAZY loud. The winds were so strong that it blew over and completely damaged the quick shade. The poles were bent and we had to throw the whole contraption away.

After talking to the Park Ranger she told us that the wind gusts last night were around 65 m.p.h. Typically yurt # 52 is one that they don't rent out if they are expecting a storm...it has had it's share of damage due to it's location in the campground. A tree has fallen on it, it's top has blown off, and the outer layer has been ripped off in the wind.

So, without the quick shade for outside shelter, a lack of sleep, everything soaking wet, and more rain in the forecast we decided to pack up and head home a day early. We kept our dinner plans with the McDonalds since they did not get to make their burgers. When we went down to their house, this sign was hung on the front door proudly announcing our extreme bravery and survival skills to the world.

We finished our last night of camping in the comfort of their home. Much cozier, and those burgers tasted maybe even a bit better than they would have over the campfire. Marshmallows were roasted in the fireplace, not the firepit. Yes, this is the stuff that memories are made of. (the good and the bad!)