The day started out terribly. My dad was pissed off and screaming curses for the whole neighborhood to hear. The camper was broken and all of the food that we had gotten ready for the trip had gone bad. We were getting ready for a camping trip to Salisbury Beach State Park. Although the day started really atrocious, I still had a great time.

The drive alone was 2 and a half hours, plus the time it takes to pack and unpack all of our supplies. The tow hitch on the front of the camper took an hour to set up and attach it to the car. When we finally got on the road each car was so full we couldn’t see out the back windows. There was of course the danger of towing a 2 ton piece of metal going 60 mph down a highway surrounded by other steel metal death traps roaring down the road like maniacs.
When we arrived I went for a bike ride with my brother and we found a connection of trails in the woods next to the campground. With the stimulating need for adventure, my brother and I raced through the trails at speeds that felt in the 60s. I was just about to lap him when my mom called us for dinner. We rode back at a steady pace and had a sustaining meal of hamburgers and hotdogs. After that our whole family met up with some of our regular friends and had a fire. There were topics of politics, and the government. We roasted marshmallows and sang campfire songs until midnight.

The next morning my dad woke up my brother and I for an early fishing trip. We caught nothing. There was a lot of disappointment, but it was fun seeing the beach at its lowest tide. The next day the family went to the beach again, this time a lot later so that the tide would be higher. The prime idea of a fun high tide is to make a diving board out of a log on the jetty. This is not always a simple task. To gather the wood for the board, you need to scavenge the beach for drift wood or discarded logs from campfires that are too big to burn. The process of transporting them usually takes many people, generally because the logs are soaked and saturated with seawater. When the log is in place jammed into the jetty, then you have yourself a diving board.

Once this got boring my brother and I walked down the beach to a small cement platform with a tall red pyramid on top. The tower used to be a lighthouse, but was decommissioned and is now a fun place to jump off into the water. The tricky part was getting up onto the tower, Jumping off was the easy part. The drop was at least 30 feet, so if it was not high tide, you would probably break your legs when hitting the sand under the water. My friend Eddy joined us later in that day to go fishing for crabs. We were very successful and filled up 3 buckets. During high tide the water to the left of the jetty gets extremely high, and the current picks up. We gathered some rafts and sailed into the mysterious dangers that were foreseen by our worried parents.

The river brought us all the way down to the main beach and from there we went home to eat. After a 26 second dinner, we were gone, riding our bikes once again, first to the playground, then the mini mart. Around dusk we gave up on riding around and decided to go home and sleep for the beach again the next day.

Outside of our camper that morning my dad was making breakfast and orange juice. The aroma of the citrus spray in the air lifted me from the mattress and carried me all the way outside. The pan was sizzling as the grease from the bacon mixed with the eggs in an amazing display of the senses. The next thing I knew, more good news showed up. The neighbors across the road have been friends with us for years; we had always met them here at the same time. This year the had a boat and they offered to take us out into the ocean with them. We were very excited about the trip and brought some lunch.

The ride was spectacular! There was alway the hum of the motor on the boat, and the spray of salt water on you face. We passed buoys and seagulls galore, I don’t think the fun ever ended. I found out that week that the beach was a great place, despite the annoying bugs, or sand in your shoes. We closed up the trip with a visit to Joe's Playland Arcade and ice cream afterward. With the passing time left our whole family walked on the beach for one last moment of being together.