Day 88 – We did not expect to be changing campsites already, but we did. It was 55 degrees this morning, a few light clouds. I had just gotten in the shower when Rob said that he’d seen some activity outside & he was going to walk over to check if site #4 was leaving. When we’d gotten here, that campsite was the one we wanted, but they appeared to be fully ensconced there, with both a tent & a camper, several people, a couple of vehicles, and even a checkered tablecloth on the picnic table. We thought they’d be here for the long haul. Rob came back & said that, yes, they were packing up, & that it might be awhile before he was back, considering that it was early & the Ranger’s Station probably wasn’t even open yet. Site #4 was a non-reservable site which meant it was first-come, first-served. After the current occupant departed, the first campers to pay for the site got to keep it.
When I got out of the shower & got dressed, he still wasn’t back, so I walked over to site #4 to see what I could find out. There was a car & two people at the site, not the tent & camper, no checkered tablecloth. I hid in the bushes & spied on them, LOL. I wanted to determine if this was still part of the previous group occupying the campsite, or if this was a new group staking claim to the site. Seriously, this is the way it is with first-come, first-served.
Meanwhile, Rob was at the Ranger’s Station waiting for the previous occupants to turn in their registration tag which indicates they were giving up the campsite & leaving. He’d pulled a chair out of the back of the Honda & planted himself at the Ranger’s Station.
Back at site #4, I watched as they put final belongings in the car and got into the car. YAAA, I’m thinking. Then the woman gets out. She wants to take pictures of the campsite. The man is swearing loudly. He has almost broken his glasses. This has really upset him. I decided not to make myself known & ask them if they were coming or going. He was NOT in a good mood. Rob continued to wait at the Ranger’s Station. Neither of us knew what the other was doing.
Uh-oh, here comes the woman with her camera; she wants to take a picture with the post that says #4 & I am in the bushes right there. I casually strolled out of the bushes like I am just passing through on a walk and say, “Hi, nice day, huh? Are you leaving”, LOL. (Looking back on it, it really was funny!)
She said they were leaving & scurried back to the car with me running after her saying, oh no, please take your picture, you don’t have to leave. They pulled out of the campsite. I parked myself on top of the picnic table. This is MY campsite; don’t even think of pulling in here, LOL.
About 15 minutes later, the campground hosts pull up & clean the site. They evidentally make the rounds periodically, clean a vacant campsite, then report to the Ranger’s Station that a site is ready to be “rented”. At the Ranger’s Station, the Ranger’s cannot release a campsite for new occupants until the previous occupants have turned in their tags & the campsite has been cleaned. Rob is still waiting in his chair. Luckily it was a beautiful day!
Finally, Rob gets the word that the campsite is ready & he paid for 4 nights & gets a tag for it. I am still sitting on the picnic table at the site. He pulled up in the car grinning. I jump up and down. We got the campsite, and because September 10 is the end of reservations, the campsite is ours until the campground closes, mid-October, if we chose to stay that long. Phew. Mission accomplished & it only took 2 ½ hours.
We packed up & went to the dump station to dump tanks & fill with fresh water. Why not start fresh in the new site. By the time we got back to site #4 and set up, including the screened tent, it was after 12:30 p.m. We had lunch & went out to the tent. Gorgeous day & we were back in our favorite campsite at Cobscook, looking out over the Bay. Rob heard a Bald Eagle; we watched the tide come in & go out, Seagulls were marching around at low tide. A Loon was calling. We felt right at home. The high today was 68 degrees, mostly sunny.
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