This past Friday we went down to San Clemente for a one-night camping trip with some people in our small group. We had reserved three sites, and there were seven adults and eight kids. I had some concerns with who our neighbors would be, after our last trip to San Clemente. However, thankfully, everything turned out fine. n had his best night of sleep during camping so far, waking up only one time. That, in turn, resulted in my best sleep during camping, too! It seemed like everyone had a good time, so hopefully we can make this an annual (at least!) outing for us.

During Memorial Day weekend (Sun.-Mon.) we went camping at the San Mateo campground near San Onofre. I am pleased to say that our experience was MUCH better than our last trip to San Clemente. Our site (#75) was right across from the bathroom (which is key for k these days), yet still had a private feel due to strategically placed trees/shrubbery. The main positive was having quiet, respectful neighbors!

The back of our site led to a hiking path. I was concerned when a few people used our site to cut through to the path during the afternoon, but it only ended up being two groups during our entire stay, so it wasn’t a big deal at all. We saw lots of bunnies/squirrels on the path.

After we set up camp we drove to nearby San Onofre, which I believe is the northern-most beach in San Diego county. The camping reservation is good for parking at any state park/beach for the entire day you check in and check out. One thing I really liked about San Onofre is that the parking is literally steps away from the beach. This is a real advantage when you’re lugging beach gear along with a couple of kids.

It was a beautiful day.

After we returned to the campsite, it was time to fire up the grill. We brought a package of “Bool Kogi” from Trader Joe’s and it turned out really easy/good.

We also made some fried rice.

Can’t go camping without s’mores!

The next morning we had our usual eggs-sausage-hash browns breakfast and packed up (or I should say, D packed up) and went to San Clemente state beach. Then we ate lunch at LaRocco’s. They serve NY style pizza, which we bought by the slice.

n enjoying a garlic knot.

It was good, but on the oily side.

Also, I’m not sure why I have so many pictures of n on this trip. Oh well, I guess it helps balance out the “second child, so I don’t have as many photos of me” syndrome that we have inevitably fallen into.

Well, we made it through our last and final camping adventure of the year. We returned to San Clemente, to the exact same spot we had earlier this spring. It was quite different this time, and not in a good way. We were debating asking other people to go with us, but I’m glad we didn’t. I wouldn’t have wanted to put anyone else through what happened to us.

The weather was very overcast on Friday afternoon. I didn’t mind that too much, as I was glad that it wasn’t the scorching heat we had not too long ago. It was kind of nice to return to the same spot, since we knew exactly what to expect. The only difference was the tree had a lot less leaves.

D has become a pro at setting up our tent, and had it up in no time flat.

It wasn’t until we were going to start the stove for dinner that we realized we were missing one critical thing: a ligther. (We had assumed it was in the box with all our camping gear). D made a quick trip to Walmart, and picked up a couple of other things that we didn’t bring. We decided to go simple for dinner and just had noodles. First, I tried a box of Trader Joe’s “Tokyo-Style” soba.

Uh, not so good. I mean it was ok, but everyone preferred the regular Top Ramen that I had brought as back-up. (Added some frozen vegetables and ham for some color).

Afterward, we made s’mores over a campfire, always a hit, and got ready for bed. k and n had a difficult time falling asleep, however. While they were trying to fall asleep, a motley crew of young adults arrived at the campsite next to us. Oh, it was so awful…loud, drunk, swearing, etc. They were still up at 2:50 a.m. (and so was I, as I heard someone say what time it was). n fell asleep, but he kept on waking up and crying. One of our loud neighbors loudly complained about him, but I didn’t feel too bad considering what they put us through. Two of them were walking towards out tent until they finally realized it wasn’t theirs.

k had to go to the bathroom at 4:30 in the morning, and D kindly offered to take her. Must remember to bring shoes that are easy for her to put on/take off next time. D also made breakfast for us in the mist: eggs, hash brown patties and mango chicken sausage. After D cleaned up, we headed back to the tent to digest. After a while, D went outside and realized that the mist had turned into a light rain. We quickly packed up our tent and went home, getting somewhat muddy in the process.

I know I have made this trip sound awful. It just irks me that your neighbors, who you have no control over, can really ruin a trip. I think next time we need to find a place where the sites are not so squished together. However, there were definitely fun parts: k getting really excited about camping since she remembered out past trips, k and n running around the campsite, laughing at n in the tent when he pointed his fingers to the sky and bounced along to our rendition of Lady Gaga’s Pokerface (neighbor’s music choice), and the togetherness. When there was some quiet, it was nice being able to hear the crashing of the waves. Plus, when I was young, I used to always pretend with my sister that we were camping and it started to rain. Now I’ve experienced it in real life (not too fun in reality). Guess it is time to book our next trip, for next year.

D woke up early in the morning, even before the birds. Uncle K was kind enough to make us breakfast…potatoes o’brien and a breakfast casserole cooked in my mom’s dutch oven.

The breakfast casserole in all of its glory. There were lovely crunchy bits on the edges thanks to the dutch oven. Yum!

The potatoes. Needless to say, k was quite happy with this meal.

Once we packed up we headed out to Zuma Beach. It was a lovely day. D was impressed by the very smooth sand on the beach. He also took a swim in the chilly water. k seems to have an aversion to sand in her toes and going in the water, however.

We left before noon to get to Malibu Seafood, on PCH, before the crowds. We still had to pay $3 for parking. This picture was taken on our way out…as you can see, it is popular. D had fish and chips and I had a fried shrimp sandwich. k ate so many snacks on the beach she wasn’t really hungry. You can see the Pacific from the outside seating. They also had clean bathrooms, always a plus.

Finally, it was time to go home. We were all pretty tired by this point. We headed south on PCH, and Malibu was “bumpin'”, according to D. Tons of people out and about. We made pretty good time and arrived at home at 1:30 p.m.

When we got back to the campsite, it was dinnertime.

We roasted hot dogs in a blanket.

Made smores with homemade marshmallows. Note the large marshmallow to chocolate/graham cracker ratio.

The park rangers told us about a campfire program they had from 8-9 p.m. about astronomy, so we decided to check it out. There was a presentation by “Spacy Tracey”, who was quite the character. She had planet pants, as well as star-shaped glasses and earrings. There were a lot of kids in the audience who were very eager to share all of their astronomy-related knowledge. k, on the other hand, wasn’t too interested and seemed hyper–maybe from the smores? We left around 8:45, before S.T. had a chance to point out the constellations. I made sure k saw the stars when we returned to the campsite, though, since we don’t see to many back at home.

It didn’t take k too long to fall asleep, although by that time, it was way past her bedtime. For some reason, she likes to sleep at our feet, right up against the wall of the tent. She didn’t wake up until morning!

We will be camping in the near future. This is going to be a momentous event for two reasons. First, it will be the first time D+L+k will be camping together. Secondly, it is the start of the Lim family tradition.

Last Sunday, in our Sunday school class, our teacher told us that families should have traditions that they do on a regular basis. These traditions help families become close knit. So we decided camping/hiking will be our family tradition. I pretend to be rugged, but my camping skills are limited to setting up a tent. So I will be relying on my brother-in-law to do all the cooking. Basically the pressure is on him to make the tradition start on the right foot.

The Lim Family will be one with nature!