We were out of town and were invited by our local hosts to stay near a boat launch on paper mill property to provide sentinel duties for some Butterfly dinghies that would be on the beach for the weekend. This was an incredible opportunity to have the woods and the lake to ourselves! Beautiful sunsets over the water. Sunrises thru the trees...epic stuff from the brochure.
We didn't even draw the blinds, for the first time. As an afterthought I deadbolted the side door ostensibly for less chilly air overnight but also a bit for the kids safety.
@ 1AM my wife is in a complete state of panic. She has a flashlight in her face laying in bed on her frontside head up neck craned to the bright light in the window. She can't even speak. She is making a sound of fear, not a scream just low grade sound because she didn't what else to do; as though she were stuck between awake and asleep and in a bad state as well. I wake up to this. Why is the bedroom lit up? Oh, there is a flashlight on the other side of the glass, almost touching the glass. Crap. Which do I deal with first the wife or the intruder? I tap on the glass to acknowledge the bright light. I shake my wife to try to wake her up. I put on some shorts and I go outside.
Then the voice , after too long, says, Sheriff, come on out. Oh, good. what a relief my guard is down, there is nothing to worry about this is the best case at this point. I tell him I'll be right out.
As I come to my senses, as I walk out, I see the uniform and I simultaneously am struck by the depth of my vulnerability. I did not confirm it was a Sheriff. Till I saw the uniform and Kevlar, I didn't know, but I didn't even question it in my sleep state.
We had a nice chat. Our host had indeed called the Sheriff's office previously to inform them of the situation.
I learned a valuable lesson. I kind of wished I had a gun and on the other hand I won't do that.
You could say I did not see that coming. You could say I have never been scared in that way in my life.
Is there a protocol that boondockers use...do we call dispatch ahead of time, to let them know, and to keep a look out on our behalf? Do we pack heat? Kungfu? Law enforcement is one side of the coin but the implied vulnerability is of course the bad guys. My imagination runs a bit with that one.
This was really our first night boondocking and we'll do it a bunch more. The previous night we were at a yacht club (out of season, we had a boat in tow, showed up late, left early, nobody saw us, we awoke to Revelry at 0700 from the adjacent Coast Guard station, no visitors).
We didn't even draw the blinds, for the first time. As an afterthought I deadbolted the side door ostensibly for less chilly air overnight but also a bit for the kids safety.
@ 1AM my wife is in a complete state of panic. She has a flashlight in her face laying in bed on her frontside head up neck craned to the bright light in the window. She can't even speak. She is making a sound of fear, not a scream just low grade sound because she didn't what else to do; as though she were stuck between awake and asleep and in a bad state as well. I wake up to this. Why is the bedroom lit up? Oh, there is a flashlight on the other side of the glass, almost touching the glass. Crap. Which do I deal with first the wife or the intruder? I tap on the glass to acknowledge the bright light. I shake my wife to try to wake her up. I put on some shorts and I go outside.
Then the voice , after too long, says, Sheriff, come on out. Oh, good. what a relief my guard is down, there is nothing to worry about this is the best case at this point. I tell him I'll be right out.
As I come to my senses, as I walk out, I see the uniform and I simultaneously am struck by the depth of my vulnerability. I did not confirm it was a Sheriff. Till I saw the uniform and Kevlar, I didn't know, but I didn't even question it in my sleep state.
We had a nice chat. Our host had indeed called the Sheriff's office previously to inform them of the situation.
I learned a valuable lesson. I kind of wished I had a gun and on the other hand I won't do that.
You could say I did not see that coming. You could say I have never been scared in that way in my life.
Is there a protocol that boondockers use...do we call dispatch ahead of time, to let them know, and to keep a look out on our behalf? Do we pack heat? Kungfu? Law enforcement is one side of the coin but the implied vulnerability is of course the bad guys. My imagination runs a bit with that one.
This was really our first night boondocking and we'll do it a bunch more. The previous night we were at a yacht club (out of season, we had a boat in tow, showed up late, left early, nobody saw us, we awoke to Revelry at 0700 from the adjacent Coast Guard station, no visitors).