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Bahia Honda State Park Big Pine Key, FL 7 feet above sea level |
In our previous post we mentioned how we weighed the truck and found out it was 300 lbs. overweight, well part of that problem got solved this morning. First thing this morning we got up and went out for breakfast, did a supply run to Ace Hardware down on Big Pine Key and then planned on grocery shopping.
Breakfast at the Florida Keys Cafe was just what I needed to start the day, a little hole in the wall diner with home cooked food, in a quaint Florida Keys atmosphere. We sat in the restaurant and the conversations all revolved around the weather outside, it was getting darker and windier by the minute. By the time we were done eating it seemed to have cleared up a bit and the winds weren't as bad as they were just minutes before. So off we go to Ace Hardware, just around the corner from here, to pick up some screws for the project going on in our wardrobe closet. The plan was to then go north, past the campground, to Publix in Marathon to purchase groceries for the next two weeks.
While coming over the bridge at Bahia Honda we gazed over to where the Airstream was parked at the edge of the water. Something didn't look quite right, something was missing. When we first arrived at this campsite three days ago one of the first things we did was set up one of our two 10x10 EZup canopies next to the trailer for some much needed shade and rain protection. We staked it down on all four corners into the coral rock and felt it was definitely secure, that proved to be wrong.
When not in use or leaving the campsite we always lower it as far down as it will go. But the night before we sat outside under the canopy watching the storm clouds and lightning off in the distance, it was quite a show. To get a better view from under the canopy we raised one side about two feet to get a wider view of the sky. It started to rain heavily and eventually the fabric that makes up the roof gets saturated and begins to drip on us, so we quickly dashed into the Airstream for the night and never returned the canopy to it's fully down and level position.
The next morning we got up and saw the storm clouds building once again, so quickly we left the campsite to get breakfast and errands out of the way. The night before the winds were coming out of the east and pushing down on the tilted roof of the canopy, allowing it to remain stable. But the next morning the winds shifted and began blowing in from the southwest. By leaving that side of the canopy higher than the others it allowed the wind to get under the fabric and essentially turn it into a parachute. So while we were having breakfast and getting screws, our canopy took flight. It made such a loud noise that our neighboring campsite, also an Airstreamer, came over and tied the floundering canopy to the rear bumper and tire of our trailer. This prevented any damage to the Airstream, but it was too late for the canopy.
Like I said, losing weight is easy, 35 lbs. into the dumpster today and now we're only 265 lbs. overweight!
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