NaNoWriMo Day 7

I KNOW! I'm terrible.  I took a few days off of writing.  I wasn't feeling well, and since I had a comfortable number, I took a few days off.  Big mistake.  Now I feel behind. *sigh* C'est la vie.  Today I went to a local write-in.  It was a lot of fun.  We did more talking about the election than actually writing, but it was nice not to sit alone and write.  I wrote about 2700 words today, bringing my total word count to 12755. My goal is to hit 20k before Saturday...

Here is an excerpt of what I wrote today:

After rising with the sun, and taking a sub-par shower, Declan and Bernadette made their way to the Caverns again, making sure they arrived when they opened.  Arriving early was a very smart choice, the place was practically deserted.  They purchased their National Parks pass, which would get them into every National Park they were planning on visiting on their trip, and began walking toward the cave entrance.  The sign on the wall said their self-guided tour would take them about an hour to complete.  Sounded easy enough.

                The tour started them out on a steep ramp that took them down into the Big Room of the Cave.  Once they descended into the cave, they were able to get a view of the magnitude of the cave. The walls rose around them, ending in a ceiling that was easily twenty feet above their head.  Compared to the cave they were in the day before, when they had to duck through several parts of it, this one was enormous.

                “I don’t think we’ll be too tall for any part of this cave,” Bernadette breathed out, as she began filming.

                Declan didn’t have any words, he just pulled out the still camera and began taking lots of pictures.  One of his favorite things was rocks. He loved rocks, and it was almost kind of a weird obsession of his to take pictures of all the interesting and cool looking rocks that he came across on their vacations.  The fact that caves were pretty much made of rocks, made sites like Carlsbad Caverns heaven for him.

                The ramp was steep for the whole mile they walked it.  Luckily, the cave was still pretty empty, since it was still pretty early, so they were able to stop and rest when they felt the need.

                “My calves are burning,” Bernadette said, leaning against a rail.

                “My whole legs feel like jelly,” Declan said.

                “We’re so out of shape!  We really need to start working out or something when we get home.”

                Declan laughed. “You say that every time we go on vacation, and we always make a plan, but we never follow through when we get home.”

                Bernadette huffed. “Well this time, we’re totally following through.  This is ridiculous.  Old people have started to pass us!”

                Sure enough, as Bernadette said it, a couple, more than likely in the late sixties, passed them like they did this sort of hike every day.

                “Remember, when we were in Greece? In Nafplio? And we were going up the thousand steps, and that old man, ran past us?” Declan asked, with a grin on his face.

                “Yes!” Bernadette exclaimed.  “And he stood up at the top and waited for us to get up there, and then bragged that he was able to do the whole thing in ten minutes, when it took us nearly an hour.”

                They laughed together at the memory.  It had been nearly five years ago, on their honeymoon.  Back when they didn’t have any worries, back when they were still excited about the future.

                “Okay, we can’t let these old people beat us. You ready to get a move on?” Declan asked.

                Bernadette nodded, and they continued their steep descent into the cave.