Our Anniversary Getaway

Charles and I have never been much for celebrating our anniversary. Even when we dated, we didn’t really keep track of when we started (okay, we disagreed on the month) but, nevertheless, it wasn’t really something we commemorated. So this year, instead of a belated card, or a oh- it’s our anniversary, let’s go out for dinner- I thought, let’s get away for a few days, do something romantic…go surfing in Florida. We had camped in Hannah Park in Jacksonville Beach several times with friends when we were dating, and it was the first place I ever surfed, so we began to make plans.
As the time came closer, Charles got excited because it looked like there was going to be a Hurricane “way out in the ocean” that was going to send us good waves. Well, there was a hurricane, but it comes later in this story.
We decided to leave right after work, so that our trip would seem longer, but of course, we weren’t ready right after work, so we ended up hitting the road about 5 or 6 PM on a 5-6 hour drive which was supposed to end either at a hotel, or setting up a tent at a camp-site. Well, we’re broke, and stubborn, so we ended up at 2 or 3 AM tired, pulling into a truck stop and deciding the sleep in the back of our CRV. So, we hemmed and hawed for another while about it, started to drive away, parked again, started to drive away again, and then just decided to stay. So, by the time we set up- our surfboards had to go up on the rack, luggage had to go in the front seat, our air mattress inflated, we were no longer nice people. We also realized that we would have to sleep with the windows cracked open or suffocate, and we had parked right by the entrance. So, we closed our eyes for a few hours that night, disturbed by rumbling trucks every little while and I kept feeling like someone was looking at us through our non-tinted windows. It was miserable. We got up with the sun in the morning and sat in rush-hour traffic headed into Jacksonville. We set up our tent just in time for the storms to begin, and we slept most of that day.
The ocean was a churning mess, the beach so windy the sand hurt your face, and keeping your eyes open was nearly impossible. So we sat with our surfboards in our tent, and wept.
We didn’t sleep well at night because our tent leaked, and we decided to leave one day early. I’m trying to think of positives here- we had a really nice dinner one night, and one of the days I got adventurous and suggested and swim in the ocean, but when we got there it was so rough I wanted to get out right away. But we did dance in the rain a little.The final day, the rain died down long enough for us to take a walk, and pack up our stuff. I think next year, we just won’t mention our anniversary, and maybe it will be better that way.