We wake up to an eerie scene around us. We are completely enveloped by a shroud of fog. The fog slowly lifts as we pack up the campsite. A short time after we head off today, we stop at a strange sculpture that has been erected by the side of the road in the middle of no where - it is a huge hand. No one knows who put it there, but it is quite cool. The detail is well done. We just have to stop to take a group picture.
After that we spend most of the day driving south towards the national park that we will spend the night in. We have a quick hot dog stop for lunch and reach the park shortly after 4 PM. When we want to go pay the entrance and camping fee, we find out that the park employees are on strike - so we get in for free! We drive around a bit and then pick what we think is one of the best spots.
We set up our tents (it is a great spot on the beach) and then, as it is our turn to cook, we begin the task of getting the food ready. We had decided to have penne arriabata, but we have to be careful tat it does not end up too spicy. We cut up extra chili that people can add on their own. We make it from scratch - all fresh tomatoes and other ingredients. It is too bad the pasta is packaged. We also make garlic bread - not sure how much garlic we chopped up, but it would have kept many vampires at bay. It is quite good - just not quite spicy enough (even though a select few said it was too spicy). We save the leftovers for lunch!!!
After cleaning up and putting away all the pots, we join the rest of the group around the fire. We find some marshmallows to roast, but the problem is that our hands burn as we hold the forks to the fire. We solve the problem by duct taping the fork to a long stick - then we start some serious roasting. Once again we enjoy the night sky out in these wide open spaces with no lights around us. We hear the waves crashing against the nearby beach.