Unexpected Outcomes

Sometimes things work out better than expected, even when they don’t go according to plan.

Yesterday I took my wife and daughter on an impromptu beach trip.

We stopped for burritos at our favorite spot in NC, Flaming Amy’s Burrito Barn. We walked the sand and went looking for seashells at Carolina Beach. We treated ourselves to ice cream and agreed that we would head over to Carolina Beach State Park to watch the sunset before we would head home.

Everything was going great, and our plans were shaping out just as I had expected.

Then we got to Carolina Beach State Park.

We parked down by the marina and found a trailhead nearby. The sign read, “Sugarloaf Trail - 1 mi”.

One mile sounded like the perfect distance to catch the sunset, get some exercise, and make it back to the car before dark (and park closing at 6 PM). We all agreed and set out to walk the Sugarloaf trail.

We were about .5 miles into our walk when the sun officially set and figured we only had another .5 to go. “We’ll be back to the car in 15 minutes,” I said. It was 5 PM.

5:15 PM came and went, and it was getting darker on the trail. “Just a little bit more. The signs must be a little off.”

Soon it was 5:30 PM, and we still hadn’t seen a sign for the trailhead where we started, an exit, or anything indicating that we were close to the finish. The trail grew darker, and I had the unfortunate realization that we might be lost. I mean, not lost-lost—we were still on the trail, somewhere in the park—but lost enough to not make it back to our car in time for park closing.

We continued forward, and I could sense my daughter’s uneasiness growing. She could tell that my wife and I were a little confused about where we could be in the park and knew that things weren’t going the way we expected them to. She could tell that we were lost.

As a parent, it’s a rather humbling experience to admit that you made a mistake and that you might not be in control of a scenario. The truth is, we’re not in control of many scenarios we find ourselves in and guide our children through, but we rarely get exposed.

I got exposed.

It was now 5:50 PM, and the trail was pitch black except for the almost full moon illuminating the trees up above. We were walking much more quickly now than when we started, and we kept glancing at my wife’s phone, looking for an intersection with any road within the park.

We finally emerged from the woods at 5:59 PM, almost a full mile away from where we parked.

I felt stupid for a moment and wanted to apologize to my family for a semi-sketchy experience that did not go the way any of us expected. But then, all of a sudden, we saw headlights coming down the road.

A Park Ranger pulled up and asked us if our car was parked down by the marina.

“Yes, that’s us. We got lost on the trail system and are heading back to get our car and head home. Very sorry for any inconvenience,’ I explained.

“No problem. Hop in. I’ll take you back to your car,” she said.

Here’s the thing, my daughter is actively engaged in the Junior Ranger Program, and every time we go camping, she always wants to talk with and learn from the Park Rangers. But she’s never been invited to ride in a Park Ranger pickup truck.

Until now.

Her eyes lit up, and she could hardly contain her excitement.

My wife and daughter got in the truck, and I hopped in the bed. As we were driving down the road back to the parking lot, I couldn’t help but look up at the moon and smile. Another interesting experience and another memory made with my family.

We got back to our car, and soon we were on the highway heading home.

At some point during the drive home, my daughter exclaimed, “I can’t believe I got to ride in the Park Ranger’s truck. That was so awesome. This is the best weekend ever!”

Such an unexpected outcome.

I’ll take it.