This past weekend we went camping with our small group.  This time was a little different because: 1. Everyone was able to make it (for a total of 31 people!); 2. We went to Crystal Cove instead of San Clemente; 3. Some of us stayed for two nights instead of our usual one night.  Since D and I were in charge of planning, I was a little nervous about things going smoothly, but it ended up being really fun! 

We only had two sites the first night and we fended for ourselves for dinner.  I brought ingredients to make banana boats on the grill for dessert (split a banana, stuff with mini marshmallows and chocolate chips, wrap in foil, heat up on grill, add crushed graham crackers and M&Ms to taste).

The other families were kept up by birds that were chirping into the night, but our family didn’t even hear them—I guess we are sound sleepers.  We were in charge of breakfast.  I made pancakes ahead of time, and we served them with blueberry topping and whipped cream, along with pineapple bacon sausage from Costco.

The kids had a LOT of fun hanging out in our friends’ Honda Element with custom camper.  It was like having a tree house/club house.

We spent pretty much all of Saturday hanging out on the beach.  I can’t remember the last time that we lasted that long.  It helped that someone brought an EZ Up so we did not roast in the sun.

To make it easier, lunch was pizza from Costco, which a couple of people picked up. 

Dinner was hot dogs and chili and rice, which has become a tradition.  We also had s’mores, made possible by a propane fire pit.

After dinner, some people spotted whales.  n claimed he could see the whale’s eye, as well as a person riding the whale.  He must have really good eyesight!  

For breakfast the next morning we had scrambled eggs on croissants, muffins and fruit. 

Since it was Sunday, we also had a short devotional which reminded us about the ever-presence of God in our lives (even when we tend to forget). 

After packing up, we were pretty much spent, so we went straight home.  n took a nap for almost three hours!  Our house is still recovering from the explosion which comes with unpacking from a camping trip, but the memories are definitely worth it!

To celebrate the end of summer, we went on a short overnight trip to El Capitan State Beach, just north of Goleta/Santa Barbara.  We left after church on Sunday.  Our first stop was for lunch at Porto’s in Burbank.  This was our first time eating in.  As usual, it was a madhouse.

Chicken sandwich with plantain chips

Mango smoothie

Medianoche cubano sandwich for the kids.

Steak torta—so good!  Definitely recommend this one.  I think the guacamole makes it.

D set up the tent in record time.  Our campsite was quite spacious.  The weather was nice, since we were right by the beach.  (I really wish it would cool down here, though).

After setting up, we drove down to the beach, since we weren’t sure how far it was.  Turns out it was really close!

We kept dinner simple—hot dogs (Oscar Mayer Angus, without nitrates—pretty good), chips and baby carrots.

We tried s’mores over the camp stove and were half-way successful.  The marshmallows need to be really close to the flame, but if you get too close, they catch fire easily.

I convinced everyone to walk down to the beach for a post-dinner stroll. 

n, the photobomber

Goodbye, sun.

The first time we went camping we were fortunate enough to go with my brother in law, who has a lot of camping experience.  He told us about the equipment we needed, the concept of a “control box”, helped D set up the tent for the first time etc.  Now that we have gone several times since then (D could tell you exactly how many), we feel much more comfortable.  The class we went to last week at REI was geared towards “beginners”; I guess now we would qualify as “intermediate”, at least in terms of family car camping.  However, it was kind of fun to be with others who have a similar desire and/or love for camping and to swap some stories/experiences.  It was late for the kids since it lasted over 1.5 hours, but I think they enjoyed it.  They also provided some entertainment when they started laughing uncontrollably after the instructor said the words “long underwear” and “privacy” (don’t ask). 

We also came away with a better idea of which tent we want to buy next—the REI Basecamp 6.  (Not pictured here—this is the Hobitat).  I’m hoping our Basecamp 4 will hold out for a couple of more years, though. 

On Good Friday we went camping at a new-to-us local campsite.  Before, the only way you could camp at Crystal Cove was to hike-in.  Now that there is a drive-in campsite, it is much more accessible. 

It was overcast and chilly.  We didn’t see the sun set because we never really saw the sun.

We had a visitor at our site.

We invited another family to come along.  The 4 kids made good weights when setting up the tent.

Our neighbors had quite the setup going on.  We really liked the family-friendly vibe here.  San Clemente is fun, but it can attract the party-ers.  El Moro doesn’t allow open fires or alcohol, which may explain why it is not as popular.

But, the views are amazing!  There are only a couple of campsites at San Clemente that have a view like this:

The next morning we drove down to the day use lot and walked through the tunnel under PCH to the beach.

It was a fun trip.  Oh, and we ate well too, although I didn’t take pictures.  Shocker, I know.  Dinner was Trader Joe’s bul gogi and Hawaiian short ribs, asparagus and rice (kept warm in the rice cooker for 3+ hours) and hot dogs for the kids.  Breakfast was scrambled eggs, sausage, cheese & tortillas, strawberries, coffee, hot chocolate and cherry-corn scones.  D was able to use his new camp stove (Christmas present from my dad) and it worked well since it is half burner, half grill.  We will be returning in the fall with a larger group.  It is nice to have another camping option that is so close by.   

Most people visit Anza Borrego in Spring for the wildflowers.  I thought fall would be nice, but it was still a little too hot—mid/upper 80’s in the day.  The campsites were the most spaced out ones that we have been to.  The bathroom was also a bit of a trek, but it was clean.

This wooden structure actually did help to provide some shade.  We had space 103, but 104 had a really nice stone structure.  It cooled down pretty quickly once the sun set behind the mountain. 

We had a simple dinner of ramen.  I took it up a notch from cup o’noodles and went to Mitsuwa the day before to buy refrigerated packages of miso ramen.  I added some green onions and baby bok choy.  It was easy to do on the camping stove.  We didn’t want to go through the trouble of a campfire/hibachi.  We also shared an apricot danish from Dudley’s for dessert.

Not sure why n only has one shoe on in this picture.

Striking a pose. 

I couldn’t stop taking pictures of the moon/sunset…

Nighttime temps were supposed to be in the mid-50’s, which didn’t seem too bad to us after Utah. I was hoping to see tons of stars, but the moon was too bright for that.

My mom made glow bugs for the kids by putting electric tea lights in a plastic Easter egg.  The kids had fun with them in the tent.

We returned to San Clemente State Beach for what is becoming an annual tradition of camping with our small group, plus another family; 9 adults, 11 kids total.  The weather was warm, and we walked down to the beach both Friday and Saturday.  Camping is fun, but it sure does take a lot of prep and clean-up/recovery.  There was some talk about going somewhere different, or maybe two nights, so we’ll see what happens next year.

In celebration of the first weekend of summer last weekend we camped out in our backyard for the first time.

Since we’re used to camping on hard-packed dirt, camping on grass was comparatively luxurious.  Plus, you can’t beat being able to use your own bathroom. 

Our backyard is just big enough to fit our tent—haha. 

D grilled some turkey burgers and we ate outside using the patio furniture that our neighbors graciously donated to us.

Of course, we had to have s’mores for dessert.  We added slices of banana for a little twist.

I think the backyard campout during the first weekend of summer will become a new family tradition for us.

A while back we made reservations to go camping at South Carlsbad State Beach to extend our second Legoland trip into a mini-vacation. We weren’t sure what the weather would be like in late February, but it turned out just fine.

D has become quite the expert on setting up our tent since he’s had so much practice.

We reserved a campsite overlooking the ocean. It was kind of expensive–$50, plus a reservation fee. But, cheaper than a hotel, right?

The view was nice, although obstructed by the necessary wire fence (there is a high, steep drop off to the beach). Over the fence, this was our view:

I think these are brown pelicans? Small groups passed directly overhead every few minutes.

This was camping lite because for dinner we went to a restaurant called El Caribe in Carlsbad.

We shared a salmon burrito and grilled shrimp burrito which came chock full of spinach and other vegetables. The food tasted very healthy and fresh. I particularly liked the shrimp burrito (k did too). D really liked the salsas from the bar. They added a nice layer of flavor, especially the sweet and spicy one.

For picky n, we ordered a kids’ cheese quesadilla.

Despite that face, he ate his food too. We also bought a milk at a cafe a couple doors down.

Back at the campsite, our dreams of s’mores were not to be because D was unable to get a fire going. We had bought the wood at the camp store, and it just didn’t seem to want to ignite. We’ll blame it on the wood. The kids still enjoyed their chocolate squares on graham crackers though.

Overall, I enjoyed staying at this campground. There were a lot of RVs and families, and everyone seemed very respectful. The bathrooms were the nicest I’ve come across as far as camping goes. The sound of the crashing waves lulled us to sleep (for 10 hours!) and also acted as a natural sound barrier so noise from our neighbors was minimal.