Day EIGHTEEN | As the Sun Goes Down

The Skipper

"WE'RE ROLLING OUT!" Gary says from the parking lot of our hotel. We jump in the vans and hit the ground running. Cruising down the highway for miles and miles, we soon stop to grab some groceries for our island getaway. After eating lunch outside the vans in the nice warm weather, we pack up once again and take off towards Biloxi, MS. 

Arriving in Biloxi, we park the vans right next to the harbor and unload our tents and sleeping bags. While half the studio loads their things in the boat called the Skipper, the other half sits and waits for their turn. Sitting there bored out of our minds, some of us decided to go and do something. Some walked down the sidewalk towards the beach, some played with tree themed cards, and some went to a nearby store to occupy their time.

Flipping like a dolphin

Finally when the Skipper returned after two hours, we grabbed our luggage and loaded it onto the boat. Taking off from the harbor we started our adventure in the Gulf of Mexico. Gliding through the water many of us went to the front of the boat to get a better view of the water. Making our way through the deep waters we see pelicans and seagulls fly over our heads. Following behind our boat we see dolphins off in the distance jumping out of the water. Soon they catch up to us and from the wake of our boat the dolphins begin to leap out of the water.

The dolphins soon disappear and the sun soon begins to fall. Watching the beautiful sunset, the water begins to turn a red. Off in the distance now we see Horn Island and the tents sprouting up from the sandy beach. We then arrive about three hundred feet from the island and anchor. The crew then explains to us how we will be getting to the island in small groups of about six. Group after group we arrive on the island. Looking for our tent mates we set up our tents as the sun seems to fall faster.

Watching the sun go down

After pitching out tents we all went to look for sticks so that we could cook our hot dogs over the soon to be made fire. Whittling our sticks, our stomachs are ready for the group meal. We are sitting in a circle around the warm fire holding our hot dogs on sticks, and eagerly waiting for our hot dogs to cook over the fire. Even though many people’s hot dogs kept falling into the fire, we kept on going and didn’t give up. We were too hungry to give up. Right after hot dogs, we moved on to cooking marshmallows, either really burnt or golden brown. The S’mores were delicious.

When everyone was done cooking their hot dogs and S’mores, many tried to make seats for themselves by digging in the sand to make comfortable chairs. Everyone sat in a circle around the fire and chatted with people nearby as the sun completely vanished. Talking away into the night, people began to go on their way one after another to get some rest for the next day. The group around the fire got smaller and smaller, as some went to sit nearby the water and watch the stars above.

As the fire simmers down

The fire simmered down, the crowd was gone, and the only thing left was the sounds of the water hitting the shore. What a peaceful night on Horn Island. 

Shane and Qiyi