Camping Success

We just enjoyed a fantastic weekend, camping near the beach with Rigo, Colleen, Lucas and Liana.

This year, we went to El Capitan State Beach, staying two nights in our tent next to Colleen and Rigo's trailer.

Everything went so well! The weather was great, the children had a lot of fun, we ate well, and the beach was beautiful. We also had a great spot in the campground, set apart from a lot of the other campers.

Violet and Liana had fun roasting their own hot dogs on Friday night, while the grownups ate homemade hamburgers.








Rigo and Stacey handled breakfast both mornings - pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, and homemade orange juice.




















































The children all enjoyed playing in the trees on our campsite. They had quite the involved game going on with their stuffed animals. It was glorious to see them playing for hours on end - all weekend, really - with no electronics involved.

Last year, we spent one night sleeping in our tent on a similar beach-camping trip with Rigo and Colleen. Sleeping atop a couple of comforters didn't mask the fact that the ground is hard.

This year, we brought an air mattress, and wow, what a difference. We also bought girlie sleeping bags for the girls, and mats to put them on. All of us slept well.

A little bird story, since I love my birds. Cora and Violet were trying to turn on a water fountain, and a scrub jay buzzed Cora's head, landing in the thicket two feet away. He was staring intently at me, so I turned on the water. As it dribbled out, the bird jumped over to the edge and took a drink, just inches from my hand. Must have been a thirsty bird!