"He is a beige carmel color with black head and stripes down his back"
Wow!,.......talk about not even being CLOSE to an accurate description..
I would have never guessed in a million years it was a Northern Water Snake by your description..
In any case though, it is definitely a juvenile Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon).
cheers, ~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing" 


