I live in a community that prides itself on being the fog capital of Southern California.
I should be a pro in the fog. I feel like I can drive our winding mountain highways with my eyes closed on foggy nights. When I do get slightly lost in the fog my tires rumble over the metal reflectors that line the center divider, waking me up on those drives home in fog so thick I can see only two feet from my windshield. I’m used to this kind of foggy commute. This is life in the mountains. And I love the great outdoors. Today, it pains me to admit this, but I was lost in the fog. We were camping at San Clemente State Beach and although it was March in Southern California I was holding out for the sunshine and a tan. Instead I got fog. We showed up at our camp sight late at six p.m. The campsite was crowded and we settled on one of the first spots we saw, in a hurry to make camp before it got dark. Tent set up, fire assembled but not lit yet, dinner set out ready to go we walked to the front of the park to pay for our spot. We discovered we had parked on a RV spot. This spot was double the price of a regular campsite and we knew we should move spots. By this time it was almost dark. My boyfriend was pretty sure the easiest way to move the camp a quarter mile to the south would be if we loaded everything back in the car and he would just carry the whole tent over. Well first he thought we should strap the tent to the top of the Subaru but I told him, there was no way I could hold onto my side of the tent, even if my arms were long enough, and shift gears. So it was settled, I would drive all the camping supplies over, he would carry the tent. Sounds easy enough but it was completely dark at this point and really foggy. As I pulled out of our pull-through camping spot I saw my baby carrying the tent through the thick fog above his head and I laughed hysterically. Than I lost him in the fog and suddenly this was not funny anymore. Than I drove in circles all over the parking lot and campground trying to find campsite 73 that we had carefully picked out. It was so foggy I couldn’t see any of the campsite numbers. Not even our new binoculars that we found at outdoorcommand.com could have helped us to see through this thick fog! Which is a shame because I was so looking forward to using some of my new camping and hiking equipment. I was nearing panic mode as I continued driving in circles it seemed all over San Clemente State Park. After many circles around foggy parking lots that all looked the same, emerging out of the fog I saw him with his familiar headlamp shining through the thick fog. ” You drove by me twice!” He told me as I pulled over, thankful to be at our campsite at last. |
Please Join us over at YeahWrite.Me
where we blog and share and just have a great time with our words every week.
Comments
I kind of like the fog, because it’s so mysterious and rare where I live! This makes it sound a little scarier, though.
That sounds like some thick fog!
I am terrified of fog. It makes me feel out of control and scared. I am a total wuss. You sound like you had it all under control.
That’s funny, you passed right by him and didn’t see him. Fog is so spooky to me.
Great story.
I love fog! But I’m sorry you were lost and panicked.
Fog totally scares me. I’m glad you found each other!
So scary! I don’t remember ever experiencing the kind of intense fog you described. Happy you found each other!
I love the idea of him carrying a tent on his head!!
I’ve never experienced fog like that, but how scary and disorienting!
When fog is that thick it is freaky. Parking lots are already disorientating, I’d hate to get separated in a moment like this!
Driving in fog is so scary! I don’t like driving in snow either, which I have to do now that I live on the East Coast instead of in CA
Fog is so mysterious. I once re-enacted the cornfield battle of the battle of Antietam at dawn in a pea soup fog. One of the most glorious memories I’ve had.
I’m sure glad you found your boyfriend. Scary that you lost him, funny that you drove past him twice! 🙂
Wow! That’s scary. Being lost in the fog always reminds me of the part in horror movies right before the horror starts.
i like fog as long as I don’t have to drive in it…feels like I will be swallowed up and disappear forever.
We don’t get a lot of fog in the prairies where I live now, but I remember how it feels from my childhood on the coast.
Tricky stuff, it is!
Setting up camp in the dark is *the worst*. Speaking from experience, I am really glad you decided not to drive the tent over to the new site 😉
Scary stuff! That’s right up there with blinding, swirling snow. Yuck.
I grew up in the Bay Area and was just trying to describe to someone today how it feels to be “a pro in the fog.” Even still, it can get tricky! 😉