Fall Camping
The title itself seems like a no brainer for any of you who love it when the nights get cool, the leaves become beautiful and you can smell, buy and taste pumpkin spice just about anywhere.
This year our fall camping experience took me back to where I feel most at home...Assateague Island.
What I love the most about camping in the fall is that the crowds aren't as great, the traffic isn't terrible and it feels so much like an escape. We were only able to spend a couple days at the beach but it's had me smiling all week.
When we left Pennsylvania, it was about 50 degrees. I packed jeans and only two pairs of shorts, but when I got to the beach it was 80 degrees. The jeans stayed in the closet and those two pair of shorts were worn all weekend. (Hey don't judge - I was on vacation). Our camper was parked just a few short steps from the bathhouse and just a few more from the ocean, which was perfect.
When we pulled in we met the camp host who was from a neighboring town in Pennsylvania and after a few short questions we determined we we knew a lot of the same people, including his brother. It was fun!!
Another awesome part of camping at the beach at this time of the year is that the sun doesn't come up until about 7 a.m. I was able to sleep in till 7! how cool is that? I would get up and take stroll on the beach looking for sea glass, (only found one piece of green). I usually had the entire place to myself except for the birds and one or two other brave souls who were called to the edge of the water.
Of course at night we would have fire! One of the nights were were sitting there talking and our companions caught, from the corner of their eye, something walk into the campsite. Turns out it was an island horse checking out the picnic table to see if it could find any food. That would be a negative! On Assateague, leaving food out invites the horses to come and feast! The problem with that is a couple of things. 1. They eat all of your food, 2. They destroy things in the process and 3. When we all go home, there is no longer a food source. Don't feed wild animals when camping!
Because we were only there for a few days we chose to eat our dinners in restaurants vs. cooking at the camper. One of our favorite places to eat during the season is Captain Bill Bunting's The Angler Restaurant on Talbot Street in Ocean City. At The Angler Restaurant you can get the catch of the day, or other fresh fish selections, that my companions told me were delicious! I don't eat fish, so I had a Caprese Chicken dish. AND for dessert, Smith Island Cake. 10 delicious layers, plastered with icing and wonderful!
At the end of our meal, we were able to take a 45 minute cruise on the Captain's ship. Unfortunately, we didn't see any dolphins this time but we were able to see the Ocean City Marina.
We were also able to catch the remarkable sunset from the bow of the boat. When this picture was taken, it was still about 75 degrees, the ocean breeze was blowing through my hair, my belly was full and I was in heaven.
Our fall camping experience might not be filled with pumpkins, bobbing for apples or corn mazes but it certainly was a memorable experience.
Thanks for reading. I'd love to hear about YOUR fall camping experience and some of the fun things you did. Drop us a line at www.talesfromthefunchasers@gmail.com and perhaps we can feature you in one of our next blog posts.
I'd like to extend a special thanks to Maryland State Parks for keeping Assateague Island perfect! Also to The Angler Restaurant for treating us so well!
Check out both places at the links below. And while you're clicking on links, check out our You Tube Channel. We need more subscribers and would love to add you to our traveling family.
Take care, thanks for reading and have a great time!
Helpful links:
http://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/eastern/assateague.aspx