Awesome adventure Lincoln. You need to have your wife print this out and scrapbook it, along with all the past and future trips, so the kids will know how much cooler their parents were than all those other parents at school. Just goes to show folks that you can still be almost totally isolated on the east coast. A tow bill on the island will easily run $750-1000, and depending on where you are on the tide line, too late. You have to have a mechanically sound vehicle, and keep your wits about you on the sand. It is one of the last places you can drive around out there, and go literally miles without seeing another vehicle.
I cant wait to get back to CALO.
Some handy tips for CALO tent tamping. I made stakes out of 12-18 inch pieces of rebar, painted with epoxy paint, and high viz reflective tape. Extra tent poles and guide lines are always handy. we used a piece of indoor outdoor carpet for a welcome mat/shoe free zone, to keep sand in the tent to a minimum. You did the right thing by staying out a ways from the dunes. The greenheads come out in force, and most folks try to retreat to the dune edge for the wind block, and get eaten alive.