As I write this I am wearing an LED battery operated headlamp. It got dark about an hour ago, but it was a very grey day here to begin with. This is the second time I've stayed in a dune shack. My first experience was a much longer stay in August of 2007 at the Cohen shack, which is now called C-Scape.
I think this experience will be different though, mostly because of the season change. In August, I didn't have to worry about keeping warm. I lived in a bathing suit during that stay and could cool off in the Atlantic ocean behind the shack whenever I needed. I took long hikes through the dunes and the sun didn't set until after 8.
I was also twenty four years old that summer, and single. Not that it did me much good - even as a young gay guy in a vacation hotspot I was very serious about painting and making a significant amount of art, the reason I had been awarded the residency in the first place...
There is a wood burning stove here (pictured), and when I arrived this afternoon the shack's previous guests were gracious enough to have a toasty fire burning for me. I've never started a fire before or even tended one, but there is plenty of firewood, newspaper, and kindling so it can't be that hard, right? And, I brought instructions printed from eHow.com on how to use a wood burning stove which I fully intend to use as kindling once I get the hang of things.
Still some remaining questions...like will the fire burn out over night when I'm sleeping? Should I extinguish it before I sleep? Aren't you never supposed to leave a a burning fire unattended?
Take note of the bedroom photo in my previous post. Yes, that's a Louisville Slugger on the nightstand. My father suggested I take this with me to fend off any dune lurkers. Thanks for the creepy advice, Dad.
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