RE: Foiled on the first day.
Sounds like heck uva good time. As long as you learnt something, it wasn't a total bust.
I spooked a gobbler on my first turkey hunt. The image of that sucker flying over a fence and running off into a cow pasture haunted me until the following spring. Keep at it, and think about it this way....earn the bird and it'll be more satisfying of a memory.
One last thing....War Eagle!!!