In his element

My brothers and I fell asleep on the sandy beach of Big Munson Island while the moon illuminated the open Atlantic ocean before us. A strong breeze of six knots was forecasted throughout the night which would undoubtedly keep the bugs away. Luke laid cocooned in his hammock on the soft sand with a travel pillow under his head. I laid next to him on an old, thin mattress. Sam laid on his beach towel.

By 2 a.m. the forecasted wind had stopped. I was awoken to a buzzing in my right ear, then my left. Throngs of mosquitoes and no-see’ms were happily biting at our exposed skin and through thin sun shirts. I pulled my hood over my head and sleeves down over my wrists in a vain attempt to protect myself. Sam pulled his towel out from underneath himself and onto his face dumping a load of sand in his eyes and mouth.

I ran to grab the tent we had arrogantly refused to set up. Sam and I draped it over ourselves like a tarp and laid back on the sand. The bugs were kept at bay, but the intense humidity of the Florida Keys became trapped in our unintentional sauna. Sweat poured from our faces. Attempts to stick our heads into the fresh air resulted in nothing but unwanted attention from our six legged friends.

Only three feet away, Luke was still sleeping peacefully, unbeknownst to our ordeal. Wrapped in his hammock, thick enough to deter the bugs but thin enough to remain cool throughout the night, he demonstrated his aptitude for island life. Sam and I were out of our elements. Luke was entirely in his.

Just hours prior, he stood in front of dozens of scouts on the final night of their week-long “Out Island Adventure.”

He and his coworkers, having conducted themselves in a manner of light-hearted savagery for the past week, concluded the night with more civilized words of wisdom for their students of the wild.

“I hope that you take a piece of it with you and keep it in your heart,” he spoke of Big Munson Island. “This is my favorite place in the world.”