I am staying at the nicest campground I have experienced in my entire journey. It’s nicer than the state park in Pennsylvania, which was really pretty spectacular, and it’s nicer than the lovely independent campground in Vermont where I was so content, and it’s actually prettier than the state park on the beach in Florida that was recommended to me by multiple people. It might not be prettier than the beautiful campground on the coast in Maine, though.

But! The campsite is dramatically better. Better than all of them. It’s unequivocally the best campsite I’ve had in the past three plus months. It’s got a grill (would that I had charcoal) and a firepit with benches (would that I had firewood) and a view of the water. At the moment, I can’t hear anything but chirping birds and the sound of my fan, but there are also chattering squirrels and the occasional clunk of an acorn hitting the roof of Serenity. It’s serene and mellow but also efficient and ready for fun. I really do wish I had both charcoal and firewood, so I could grill some burgers and then sit around my comfortable fire after it gets dark. This being Florida, I suspect there are probably an insane number of mosquitoes after dark, but I’d pull out the heavy-duty insect repellant, because it would be so worth it. The benches by the fire pit look out over the lake and it’s probably incredible with firelight reflecting off the water as the sun goes down.

Here is a lovely irony about this campground: I’m only here because it’s really close to my dad’s house. When I check out on Wednesday, I’m going to find out how to make reservations for longer periods of time (today I just showed up) and I’m going to do my best to wind up with two weeks here (the longest you’re allowed to stay) at some point in the nearish future. It feels like a very good place to write a book.

And I have just wasted much time trying to upload a picture of the view from my window, but my internet is not obliging. So imagine trees draped with spanish moss, water with spiky grasses and a reflection of grey sky, and two sturdy benches around a fire pit. And I’ll stop wasting my time arguing with the internet — why, oh why, must you be so slow, oh internet? — and move on to writing my real words for the day.