#so now we have to walk on leash for 5 minutes whenever we drive somewhere

[sidetongue]

ignore the drool

#he gets carsick #but not like vomiting carsick just drooly and sad #and it took me a while to realise #and i started to panic because he was refusing high value treats when we would leave the yard #and i thought he must be flooded and overthreshold and not coping #even though he SEEMED ok #then the penny dropped that he was refusing food because he was nauseous #so now we have to walk on leash for 5 minutes whenever we drive somewhere #so his tummy can settle and he remembers that he's food motivated #because lets be real the only reason my dogs recall is because they get paid #sprig #dogs

[crmsfanfiction]

Second Chances-Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Bright Days Ahead

Wiping furiously at the tears streaming down her face, Willa was so tired of crying. She knew it was part of the grieving process and it was a good thing to cry. It showed she still had the ability to feel something. Even if it was only pain at the moment. Standing up she headed for the bathroom to wash her face and try to fix her make-up to look a little less Courtney Love after an all night bender. Taking a long look in the mirror Willa swore she wouldn’t cry over either man again. She wasn’t about to get involved with Sebastian Stan again after the hell he put her through 10 years ago. She still had to deal with a cheating soon-to-be-ex fiance to break-up with officially and a house to sell. That was next on her mental to-do list.

Straightening her shoulders she left the trailer and headed towards Scarlett’s trailer. She needed some girl talk and baby girl cuddles. Knocking on Scarlett’s door Willa stepped back to wait for someone to answer. While she was waiting a beautiful blue Staffordshire bull terrier wandered over to her and sniffed her legs. Looking down Willa smiled and once the dog sat down Willa knelt next to her. “Oh look at you. What a pretty girl you are. Where’s your owner huh?” she said as she ran her hands over the dog’s head and back.

Willa looked around and noticed a young man walking quickly towards her holding a leash. “Oh my god. I am so sorry. Did she bother you?” He asked with a crisp British accent as he snapped the leash onto the dog’s collar. Willa stood up and smiled after giving the dog one last pat on the head. “Not at all. She was a perfect lady. Came up and sniffed my legs and then sat like a good girl. What’s her name? She is beautiful.”

“Tessa and thank you. She seems to like you. I’m Tom by the way. Tom Holland.” Tom said as he held out his hand. Willa shook it with a smile, “Willa. I’m Robert’s niece for all intents and purposes. It was nice to meet you Tom and you as well Tessa. Have a good day.” She said as Scarlett finally opened her trailer door and ushered Willa in with a smile and a hug.

“Hey girl. RDJ said you were in town. What’s going on? You look tired.” Scarlett stated as she handed off her little girl to Willa, who immediately cuddled her to her chest. “Hey there Buttercup.” Willa said as she softly kissed the baby fine hair on her head. “Tony cheated on me. I caught him. It’s over. I just have to tell him that.”

“I am so sorry. I know you loved him deeply.” Scar said as she took in her friends appearance. Dark circles under her eyes. Mascara smudged and faint tear tracks running down her face made Scar’s heart hurt for her friend. Honestly Scar never liked Willa’s former fiance. He had always seemed just a bit off. He put out a very off-putting vibe that made her skin crawl. She never could put her finger on why she felt that way. Now it made sense. He was a very good liar and manipulator. He had probably been cheating since the start of the relationship, but Willa was blind to anything, but his charm.

Everyone had said they were perfect for each other. Tony had acted like Willa hung the moon, but to Scarlett, whenever he’d smile at Willa when she wasn’t looking it seemed predatory or something. Scarlett had shared her feelings on Tony with Robert, but he said she was just imagining things. So Scarlett let it drop, but still didn’t like, nor trust the man. She hated to see her friend hurting, but was so glad Tony was going to be gone. Willa deserved better.

“I should get going. I wanna make some calls to my realtor to try and get the house listed again. Also need to start looking for a new place to live. We can catch up again soon.” Willa said as she handed off the sleeping baby to Scarlett’s nanny as Scarlett had to head to set to film. Scarlett helped Willa stand as they quickly left her trailer and started to walk back towards the set. Passing by Robert’s trailers, Willa veered off after hugging Scarlett and promising a girls night soon.

Going into a trailer Willa pulled out her phone and called her realtor to set up and appointment to see about selling the house and maybe finding a new place. She also called her best friend Becca to tell her everything.

“Hey Becca.”

“Hey. What is going on? Tony called her frantic last night saying he couldn’t get ahold of you.” Becca asked as soon as she heard Willa’s voice.

“I walked in on him fucking some blonde slut in our bed! To hell with him. I texted him this morning and told him I caught him and we needed to talk, but face to face. I refuse to stoop to the level of breaking up with him over text.” Willa said as her voice broke. Becca cursed a blue streak and broke it off with, “I’ll fucking rip his dick off and shove it up his ass.” Willa laughed at the last in spite of herself.

“Don’t do that. Then he would sue and then I’d have to get a hitman and it would be messy.”

“Fine I won’t rip his dick off, but David reserves the right to punch him when we go get your stuff IF he mouths off. You know David never did like him much.” Becca replied as she looked towards her husband, who nodded his head in agreement. Willa sighed knowing she’d not win this argument, so she didn’t even bother trying. They spoke for a few more minutes and Willa hung up after promising to be home in a couple days. She did have to go back to work in a few days anyway.

The rest of the day was spent on set watching everyone work, avoiding Sebastian as much as humanly possible and catching up with everyone. Those damned blue eyes of his were on her more than she wanted them to be. She could feel him staring whenever her back was turned or she wasn’t paying attention. Finally the day was over and Willa was headed back with Uncle Bob to the house. She was tired and she just wanted a long soak in the tub and to head for bed early. She had alot of things on her mind and just wanted to sort through them in peace.

“Feeling ok there Willabee?” asked Robert as he glanced over at her. He took in her far off expression.

“Yeah I am ok. Just got alot on my mind. Probably going to go to bed early.” Willa said. Robert nodded and the rest of the short drive was silent. Pulling up to the house Robert parked and turned off the car. Both got out and walked into house. Willa hugged Little Man and gave Princess kisses as she walked by and headed upstairs. She headed for her bathroom and turned on the taps for the tub. She headed back into her room and pulled off her clothes and grabbed a night gown. She headed back into the bathroom and turned off the taps. She threw her hair up in a messy bun and slipped into the water.

The water was the perfect temperature and it was helping to relax her from head to toe. Closing her eyes Willa’s thoughts turned from Tony to Sebastian. Back to the first day they’d met in 2005.

______________________________________________________________

September 2005

Willa walked onto set and sighed. She wasn’t exactly sure where she needed to go, but knew she needed to head towards the main set. Being a runner on a movie set wasn’t ideal, but she was interested in how sets worked and what went on behind the scenes. When she’d found a job as a runner on a movie set to film in Canada, she’d jumped at the chance and sent in her resume. It had been a very long two weeks waiting for a call back, but finally the call came and she’d nailed the interview. Now two months later she was actually on set.

Wandering around the set had Willa catching sight of a group of guys sitting around the craft area drinking coffee. Knowing she was a bit lost and needed to get to her boss so she could start work. Sighing and pushing back her social anxiety of having to talk to strangers Willa walked over to the group of guys. “Excuse me. I am so sorry to interrupt, but do any of you know where I can find Kathy Wilson? I am supposed to be meeting her in about 5 minutes and I am lost.”

“Yeah. I’ll walk you over to the main trailer area. She should be there somewhere.” a guy with steel blue eyes said as he stood up. Willa swallowed hard. His eyes were beautiful. He was good looking, in a boyish kinda way. He smiled this little half smile making Willa smile back as well. “Thanks.”

They took off walking and chatting about nothing really. Soon they reached the trailers and had to part ways. “Thank you again for your help.” Willa said as she looked up into those blue eyes.

“No problem. I never did your name.” he said. Willa laughed.

“Wilamina, but most people call me Willa. How about you? I didn’t get your name either.”

“Sebastian, but my friends call me Seb.”

“Well it was nice meeting you Sebastian. Thanks once again for walking me over here. I’ll be seeing you around.”

“Yeah definitely.” he said with a smile and wave as they went their separate ways.

______________________________________________________________

Willa jolted awake as her head slipped off the back of the tub. The water was freezing and she was shriveled up like a prune. Getting out of the tub she dried off and pulled on her nightgown. She brushed her hair and threw it back into a braid for the night. Crawling into bed, Willa sighed and snuggled down into the soft blankets. Her heart was still hurting, but she felt slightly better than before.

She hadn’t realized how much seeing Sebastian again would hurt. She’d thought she had gotten over him before she’d met Tony, but damn his voice and eyes took her right back to that girl, who was head over heels in love with him. She can still remember him stopping her as they wrapped filming for the day and offering to “buy” her a cup of coffee from craft services. She had accepted and they had ended up talking for hours about their likes, dislikes, hobbies, and families. She’d fallen hard for him. He had such a boyish charm to him. He was a little shy, but once he warmed up he was wickedly sarcastic and funny.

She’d been drawn to him like a moth to a flame. None of the guys she’d dated in high school could compare to him. He’d called her Mina on accident and when she hadn’t corrected him, he continued to call her that. It was his own private nickname for her. She’d never allowed anyone else to call her that. Tony tried once, but she’d shut that down hard. One of a few times she’d denied Tony what he wanted.

Falling asleep that night Willa thought maybe there were brighter days ahead. She just had to take it one day at a time.

______________________________________________________________

Author’s Note: Hello everyone. Just wanted to apologize for this chapter taking so long. It was difficult to write and it is a little shorter than I’d like, but next chapter will hopefully be better. Next chapter Willa goes home and confronts Tony. I can’t wait to write it.

Constructive criticism is encouraged. Feedback makes me happy. Flames will be used to keep plot bunnies warm this winter.  

#sebastian stan #sebastianstanxofc #sebastian stan slow burn #sebastian stan angst #sebastian stan fluff #sebastian stan smut

[talesofafangirlwithadvr]

MARCH PICKS!!!

Life has gotten VERY crazy over the past couple of weeks (it feels more like months-time is irrelevant now). To escape watching the news again and again I have turned to TV and movies now more than ever. While some of these I watched at the start of the month, when life felt more normal, more have been added since “social distancing” and quarantine. But these are my top choices for the month overall. Some will seem familiar from my top Quarantine picks (check out that article if you’d like here) and that’s because many have been my recent watches. 

Spoilers ahead!

LOCKE AND KEY

I cannot stop talking about this show. It is no way similar to this, but I feel like I have not loved a Netflix show like this since Derry Girls last year. This is the show I keep asking people if they have watched it and telling them to if they haven’t. So you should watch this show :)

Locke and Key follows the Locke family as they travel to their father’s ancestral estate after his tragic death. It is their mother’s idea and the three Locke siblings don’t want to leave their home in Seattle and find it tough accumulating to their new home and school. The youngest son, Body, is the first to hear these magical keys that lead to the larger mystery of this story. When I finished watching I had to quickly jot down my notes on the show. I am so happy that I looked at Netflix’s Top 10 list to decide what to watch next. I got hooked easily and while certain characters had annoying moments, in the end I really liked them and cannot wait to see how the story progresses in season 2. SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS...... I knew Ellie was going to be “Dodge” in the last episode when she got thrown through the door. It was just too easy. There was still like 20 minutes of the show left and then when she yelled out Tyler. It just felt right, but I was not expecting Gabe to be the 3rd personality! This echo really knows how to manipulate people. And now Eden too! 

The idea of having magical keys and the different powers for each was really creative and something I would have never thought about. Lots of people have compared it to Stranger Things, Narnia and Stephen King novels, and while those are somewhat accurate there is so much more to it. Must check it out for yourself!  

ONWARD

Before movie theaters closed (here in New York) I was lucky to see Onward in theaters. Even though I’ve already seen it, I am still very excited that it will be released to Disney Plus in a couple of weeks (days?) and is already available to buy digitally. 

Disney/Pixar had me guessing what this would be about for a while (like they usually do with their teaser trailers). But the more this was advertised, the more I got intrigued. It was a very cute film about the importance of family. Not just father and son, but also the bond of brothers. It took a slight turn I didn’t think we’d be taking, but am happy to see represented on the screen. I love all the moments the Dad did walking around (only a bottom half). It was pretty funny, especially when he had his top half on. I liked how they used a leash to keep track of him and how they communicated with him by tapping his feet. I think my favorite was the dancing though.  Super realistic with the whole driving thing and getting on the freeway. (When Barley says something about never being ready it felt very accurate.) I wish their dad could hear them though. I understand why he couldn’t, but still it would have been nice considering the ending. Loved the MOM POWER! She was fantastic. I loved her duo with the Manticore. I also liked how realistic it felt, well despite not having mystical creatures in our world. I liked how they focused on beings taking the easy way out and losing a piece of yourself and your history. I wish I could experience a quest like that.  

THE LODGE SEASON 2

The Lodge is a Disney Channel UK show that I was lucky to watch the first season of back in 2016 or 2017 (it’s so long ago I can’t remember). I kept trying to find the second season after it didn’t air on our Disney Channel, but had no luck. That is until Disney Plus. It wasn’t one of the first shows to air on the streaming service, but since coming out in November, the 2 season Coming of Age Musical Tween show is FINALLY available. I was thrilled! (If you can’t already tell.)

Naturally I started by re-watching the 10 episode first season. Each episode is about 25 minutes long, so it was a fast watch. I forgot how well I knew the story-lines and overall plot. For those unfamiliar with the show, the first season follows Skye Hart who is traveling back to the countryside with her dad, Ed to work (and own) the family’s hotel called the Lodge. Her grandad has been managing it for years and needs some help. Also after the recent passing of Skye’s mum it is nice for them to head back to somewhere that was so special to her. (This seems to be a common thread this month. Compared to Locke and Key this is a lot brighter.) Of course, the Lodge is experiencing some money problems so they have to solve that issue and fast because one guy in particular wants to buy it and create a luxurious spa resort (classic bad guy stuff). Skye winds up being the star of a reality TV show called My Amazing Life, which brings the publicity, but more drama than she intended. The show is filled with the classic teen drama: from love triangles to secrets and there’s also a mystery plot involving her mom and a mysterious man with the initials SJ. A bonus is the musical component. In true musical form the songs are often performed in the moment when a character is feeling sad or happy, but there are also concert performances on the show as well. Some of the songs are quite good and ones that I can’t get out of my head. 

SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2

So, I definitely enjoyed the first season more than the second. Part of that was due to the plot. Obviously the Lodge was still not 100% solid, but I wanted to move past the money problems of the first season and explore some other stuff. (I don’t know what, but something else.) I also felt it was slower moving. While the episodes are about 25 minutes there isn’t much time to work with, but it often felt like we were still looking on a clue or hurtle for longer amounts of time then needed. I didn’t love the songs as much. Now as I am listening to some of them back I am liking more, but overall I thought season 1′s soundtrack was better. A lot of these songs sounded a like. I liked whenever Kaylee sang, but honestly thought she was singing the same song in a different version (now I know there’s about 3 different songs). Too much techno was used and lots of choreographed dancing that was at times strange. My biggest complaint was that Skye chose Sean over Ben, which was her biggest mistake. Throughout the season you could still see their chemistry in the looks they gave or moments that were said. (Her dad was the BIGGEST Team Ben fan.) But she only discovered it at the end when he was already with Danielle (wasn’t a fan of that ship either because of the way they rushed it). Even though there’s no season 3 (and it’s been years so it’s not coming) I will believe Skye and Ben are endgame. Because just look at them... 

Adorable. 

EMMA

Another one that the more I saw it advertised and read reviews, the more I wanted to watch it. I saw this in theaters after Onward, but just before major social distancing started. There were 5 of us total in the theater, which made it feel like out own personal home theater. Loved this movie a lot more than I thought I would. It paid homage to the novel really well as well as previous adaptations that came before it, yet still was recognizable as its own re-telling. For a full review check out my article: REVIEW EMMA (2020).

NANCY DREW

In the past few weeks (few episodes, actually) I have done a complete 360 with my opinion on the CW’s Nancy Drew. In this first season I was immediately intrigued to enter the mystery and explore a CW show without superheroes (which I honestly do love, but I like how the CW is expanding their shows again). In the fall I kept tuning in for new episodes, but as the season went on they would pile up on the DVR more. My main problem was the supernatural element. I didn’t understand why they had to have ghosts be real in this world. I wanted a classic mystery (I guess in the same vein as Scooby Doo, where the murderers were real people rather than a mystical entity). I started to get used to this element, but I didn’t love it. (This was the time when we had a lot of heavy supernatural material and possessions, etc.) My DVR didn’t tape episode 12, so I watched it through a YouTube review before watching the next one (you can see how much I cared then--now I would have opened the app and watched the episode for sure). The next episode was the Whisper Box, which was great, but it wasn’t until episode 14 that I truly fell in love with this show (and started to watch the episodes the day of). Part of it is definitely that I got used to the style of the show and also that parts of the mystery are starting to wrap up, but what I’m noticing is my main reason is Ace. His character continues to get more screen time and we continue to learn more about his life with every episode. I loved meeting his dad and seeing their relationship. His detective skills combined with Nancy are my favorite part about this show and I ship them so much now. He brings a humor to this show like saying he has enemies at the library. Nancy and Ace’s looks to each other as they read Lucy and Ryan’s emails while at the library. OMG the chemistry! If the writers don’t act on this relationship in later seasons, I don’t know what they are doing with themselves. It’s right there and yet Nancy has two other love interests right now. There’s been so many other things in the last few episodes and I am dying for this show to come back this upcoming week.  

I need more of these moments!!

PARTY OF FIVE

At the start of this month I had done a much better job watching this show and since then I haven’t been as good. I think I still have 5 or 6 episodes left, but I know it ended almost a month ago by now, so I will be able to catch up! I was familiar with the original Party of Five from the 90s and had wanted to watch that show for a while now, but due to the amount of seasons I hadn���t gotten around to it. So, once I heard this one was airing I was really excited to give it a chance. I like that it’s by the same creators as the first season and I can’t explain it, but I was really happy to see the iconic font with the title card. This show is so relevant for our current society. It addresses so many of the issues we face with the government today. Instead of having their parents die in a car crash like the original series, here they are deported which brings a whole other side to the story line. I like how we get to see the kids deal with them being away and the hope to live with them again while also seeing their current conversations. There’s so much drama and I am just hoping for some lightness at the end of this season because these characters deserve it! 

#march picks #tv watching #social distancing #netflix locke and key #locke and key season 1 #onward #disney's onward #disney plus #disney’s the lodge #the lodge season 2 #emma 2020 #anya taylor joy #johnny flynn #Nancy Drew #cw nancy drew #nancy x ace #party of five #freeform party of five

[r0hmad-blog]

So I’ve boasted a few times as of late that I haven’t felt in any real danger yet. There is a certain level of risk posed by traveling solo, and while I’m aware of that, I hadn’t felt unsafe yet. That was until I hit a free campground in Ohio.

I was in Ohio for the night, stopping on my way to the Chicago area. I had researched ahead of time free campsites because almost every RV park I’ve found is pretty pricey at $35/night and up. I found a horse campground near Cadiz, Ohio, a small town in the southwest part of the state. As with most campsites, once I got out there I didn’t have any cell service. I figured that was no big deal, as there are usually rangers or a campground manager to watch over things. I learned that with free campsites, there aren’t any personnel at all, except those who come biweekly or so collect trash.

My GPS directions took me down a few gravel roads, and into an area that is much like the rest of Ohio that I’ve seen – farmland and sparsely-spaced houses. I see the big wooden sign for the campsite and am glad to have found the right spot. I pull into the drive, and a sign points me to the restrooms to “register”. Registering is filling out a form listing the details of your party and your set-up, and you place the top half in a slot in an attached bucket. The other half of the slip goes on your dashboard and serves as your permit to camp. I put the number of people as “2” in my party, just for safety measures.

There was one other camper with me there the first night, who was traveling by motorhome. I parked across the campground from him, which means we were about fifty feet apart. The campground was small, with ten sites circled around the restrooms and common-area firepit. He was out walking the trails and waved as I pulled in. He was an older gentleman with long gray hair pulled back into a ponytail, a kind smile, and a walking stick. I figured he was with someone as he had a larger motorhome, but I never saw anyone else. We didn’t interact after that, and he left the next morning. I was to stay another night before heading to Illinois. I went into the tiny, tiny, town the next day, and left my camper at the campsite.

On my way back from town, about a thirty-minute drive, I passed a really fancy RV park on Tappan Lake. Out of curiosity, I took a drive around. What I noticed is that there wasn’t anyone at the check-in kiosk, so I went right on through. There were probably at least a hundred campers and motorhomes set up, each with built-on wooden decks, DirecTV satellite dishes, and lots of string lights. This was the place people parked their campers for the season, it seemed. What that meant was that no one was actually there. I noticed they had water spickets good for drinking, and as my campsite only had non-potable water, I filled up a couple jugs there. That’s when I noticed the bathhouse – seemingly not monitored, and definitely housing hot water. So I did what anyone wanting a hot shower would do – I drove back to my campsite, grabbed my shower stuff, and headed back out. The shower was glorious, by the by, and no one was the wiser that I wasn’t staying there. It was about 5:00pm at this point, and dusk would be encroaching soon. When I went back for my shower stuff, I was still the only one in the campground. It took me about an hour to shower and get back, as the fancy park was roughly twenty minutes from my campground.

As I was pulling back in, I noticed a smaller car parked four spaces to the right of my camper. It was a late-90’s model white Saturn. I was a little bummed to have another camper because I’d really liked having the campground to myself. He hadn’t set up a tent or anything yet, to which I figured he had just gotten there. I parked and got out fire-starting materials to cook dinner. He walked by my campsite, and I realized later why it was weird – he was coming from the opposite direction of his car. He must have walked the paved loop around the campground, where the only scenery is other empty campsites…so why do it? There were two trailheads behind his site, so it didn’t make sense for him to be walking the other way. He met eyes with me as he passed, and I said something about, “Hey, how’s it going?” I figure better to be forward and friendly because maybe confidence can be a deterrent?

About ten minutes later. as I was gathering (damp) kindling to help start my fire, I hear a, “Hey!” I look up, and here comes the guy. He was maybe 5’8″, wearing a red Tapout shirt and baggy jeans. He was a middle-aged white guy with a hat on. He says, “Trying to start a fire?” I respond with a friendly but cautious, “Trying to.” Ruca piped up with a bark as he got closer, which I was glad for. She was leashed on her 15′ leash, which is our usual campsite set-up, meaning she could almost get to the pavement but not quite. Dudeman, let’s call him, was holding a bundle of sticks that he had apparently gathered for me. He mentions he noticed me trying to start a fire and wanted to help. Could be nice, could be weird. He hands me the three long sticks and what looks like a Ho-Ho wrapper, chocolate still smeared on the plastic. I thank him and break the sticks, which did end up lighting with the help of the plastic. Nothing is staying lit though, and I’m guessing he noticed this, as he comes over again. This time, he has found a few bigger logs, as well as handing me a paper plate and some motor oil in a small Dasani bottle. Ruca barks more this time, as I think she can tell I was getting nervous with him coming over again. He keeps more of a distance. He mentions he, “Doesn’t want to get bit by [my] dog”, and I assure him she’s not too good with new people. She’s never bitten anyone, but I’m hoping in a pinch she’d at least scare someone with her bark. He smiles as he hands me the firewood, and I notice he has about four teeth. I also notice his right eye is sunken, and I assume being that we’re in the backwoods of Ohio that maybe he has done harder drugs in his lifetime. No big deal to me, I just don’t want him to come around again. He also mentions that he just threw his tent away and that I could try lighting that, too. A few paranoid questions that are running through my head at this point:

Why did he walk by that first time?

Why does he keep coming over? Is he actually trying to be helpful or is there an ulterior motive?

Did Ruca scare him enough to stay away?

Did he come to the woods alone to do drugs, maybe, without getting caught?

Why did he throw his tent away?? And, if it’s because it’s broken, why is he still here?

I think the last question freaked me out the most. He was just going to sleep in his car? For what reason? He had brought a tent, albeit broken, but no fire-starting materials? He was “helping” me with my fire, but hadn’t bothered to start one of his own…

My fire never really took off, even with all of the help, and I decided to call it a night. It was getting dark and this dude was really creeping me out. He was just sitting in his car, from what I could tell without him noticing me looking, doing what I wasn’t sure. Just sitting? Reading? Watching me? I wasn’t sure whether I was overexaggerating or if I was in actual danger. Here’s what I parsed out in my travel journal:

“As I’m writing it all out it seems super sketchy. Either he’s here to murder me, or he’s here to do drugs without getting caught. If I’m alive & unharmed by morning, I’m not saying shit. Here’s the thing, though: it’s 9:30pm. If I try to hook up and leave now, where am I going to go? And, the scarier part, what if he tries to help/takes action then? It seems smarter to be an awake, on-the-ready sitting duck than to go out into the night and hope that he doesn’t ambush me. Prey never have the advantage at night. Night-time is predator hour.” Paranoid? Probably. But a healthy fear of strangers is necessary when camping alone, I think. On paper, he does seem like your typical murderer: middle-aged white guy alone in the woods, with “random-but-convenient” help. Also consider the fact that I didn’t have any cell service, and there was no one around for at least two miles. Plus with the hundreds of miles of woods surrounding the area, outside help wasn’t on my side should I have needed it.

Needless to say, all of my lights stayed on that night and I slept with a breaker bar in each hand. I could totally have been overreacting, but without cell service and all of the other factors, I figured better safe than sorry. I hitched up and got out of there around 7am, as soon as there was light.

I am thankful he didn’t do anything if that was ever even his goal. I don’t know if I could have done anything differently, or if in the future there are extra precautions I could take. My camper has a deadbolt and all of the windows lock, but at the end of the day, I am still camping alone.  The small risk of danger still feels worth it, especially when I get to see beautiful scenery, hike whenever I want, and visit cities I’ve always dreamed of seeing. The benefits will always outweigh the risks.

PA mountains.

Hm. Ohio somewhere.

Stop signs in the middle of nowhere make me giggle. The only other person stopping here is also me, going the other direction because I got lost.

Tappan Lake, Ohio

So I've boasted a few times as of late that I haven't felt in any real danger yet. There is a certain level of risk posed by traveling solo, and while I'm aware of that, I hadn't felt unsafe yet. That was until I hit a free campground in Ohio. So I've boasted a few times as of late that I haven't felt in any real danger yet.

#campground #camping #cross country #ohio #rv #solo travel #tappan lake #travel