Location (where were you camping?)
Ocean Shores, Washington
Date (when did this happen?)
2-20-73
Set the stage
Me and my best friend and our girl friends decided to go to the ocean for the weekend. We left Seattle and the weather was supposed to be calm and in the mid 50's.
Tell the tale
Everything was great, we played in the sand and surf and had dinner in the only Chinese resturant in town. We put up the tent my father had loaned me in the dunes. We had a fire and smores, singing and story telling till 11pm, when we went to bed.
About 2am the wind started to howl. By 3am it was a full blown storm with winds about 40 knots with rain and sleet. The tent was moving so bad the tent steaks pulled out and the poles broke, the rain came in and soaked everything. We packed up our gear and got into the car, everything including us was soaking wet. We arrived home about 5:30am still wet and very tired. Later that day we cleaned our gear and draped the tent in the rafters of the carport to dry out.
Tips and Tricks
- My girlfriend was so upset, she didn't speak to me for a week. We learned to never rely on Washington weather reports at the ocean. Plus make sure your gear is completely clean and dry before putting it away. Several months later my Dad went camping and he found the tent was rotted with mildew. He had to buy a new tent for the camping trip. Boy, was I in big trouble. On the plus side, my girlfriend and I got married a year later.
