Sleeping on the beach

 

I met Julie, and two of her friends, and several friends of Julie's friends at a beach in Ontario, Canada last weekend. I took a half-day off from work on Friday, and drove about four hours, circling the lake and crossing an international border, to reach an isolated destination on the shores of Lake Huron. 

We spent the late afternoon and evening strolling on the shore, splashing in the waves and cooking our dinner over a propane tank (we couldn't have a campfire due to a burning ban since there hadn't been any rain). After dinner we sat on the beach and watched the sun set over Lake Huron, which is a bit strange for Michiganders who are oriented to sunsets over Lake Michigan and sunrises over Lake Huron. 

Our plan was to sleep under the stars on the secluded beach. To that end, we rolled out our sleeping bags and went to sleep listening to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore.

We only ended up spending half of the night on the beach. At two in the morning, as lightning flashed in the distance, we franticly gathered all of our belongings and lugged them up a steep path in the dark to the parking lot. We arrived at our vehicles shortly before the rain. I discovered that the backseat of my Edge is relatively comfortable in such circumstances. 

I didn't get much sleep Friday night, but it was totally worth it because I ended up with a good story (and some beautiful sunset pictures). Besides, half a night sleeping under the stars on the beach is better than no night on the beach.