Camping in Monterey Bay

I read an article the other day that talked about how most people find looking at friends vacation photos annoying and they wished people wouldn't share them on social media. That made me a bit sad. I love looking at my friends vacation photos. It's not like I go to their houses after their trips and they bust out the slide projector and give me a presentation of their trip. So if they didn't post them on social media, how would I be able to enjoy the trip with them? Then again, I love and value travel, so maybe that is why I like it so much. Who knows. Moving on...moving on to sharing my vacation photos with you ;)

We spent Friday through Monday camping in Monterey Bay at a KOA. The campground itself is kind of a mecca for children. Our campsite backed right up to the playground, which was perfect for the kids to go out and play whenever. There seemed to be a large number of girls around Isla's age at the campground, so it especially worked out well for her. 

On Saturday we went to an annual street fair in Santa Cruz that ended up being a bit of a let down and sort of lame. But we walked to a good coffee shop after, so win there. Then we took the kids to the boardwalk. It was crazy busy, but the kids had a good time. I took Isla on the ferris wheel. The views were spectacular, but I have to admit, when we were stopped at the very top and it was vibrating a bit, it made me sort of anxious. But the moving part, that was fun. Callum got to have ice cream two different times because the poor kid was confined to his stroller while we took turns taking the kids on rides. 

On Sunday we packed up and headed to the beach. It was fun. But going to the beach with a toddler is no easy feat. Callum kept running straight for the water and really didn't want to do anything else. He would play in the sand for a quick minute before beelining it straight for the water again. After he was good and tired out, I changed him, buckled him in his stroller and fed him snacks until we were ready to go. That made things a bit more peaceful! Connor and Isla were really into playing in the sand, which was fun. 

After the beach we headed back to the campground for some downtime, then made smores. Both Connor and Isla liked roasting the marshmallows, but only Isla would try (and said she liked) the smore. It reminds me of the first time we gave the kids smores. I was so excited and they hated the sticky mess that were the smores. This year, we gave one to Callum too. You can see the cute picture below where he is holding it above his head...just before he threw it on the ground. He had no interest in actually eating it. Oh well. 

Camping is always a bit of fun and stress all mixed together. The one thing I was bummed about, is I totally forgot to bring a book. I was disappointed because sitting by the trailer, with the playground in view, with a good book in my hand would have been perfect. Next time though, right?

^^ Connor and I on the front of a roller coaster. I was all annoyed because people kept cutting in line. ..that makes me sound so old! But then it worked out that we got to be in the front of the roller coaster. So I guess the line cutting was good?

^^ Digging a hole. He actually told me that I would have to help him pull out the buried treasure when he found it. Alas, it was never found. 

^^ My kids always love being buried in the sand and busting out. 

^^ Confined to the stroller...but when you get to eat all sorts of goodness, it's not so bad!

^^ I seem to be the only person in my family who enjoys a good crispy marshmallow that's been caught on fire. To each their own.

^^ It looks like he is playing keep away, but he is just gearing up to throw that thing!

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Camping at Calaveras Big Trees

^^ That's our little camping spot in between those two trees.

We took the kids tent camping in Calaveras Big Trees for two nights last week. We arrived and the kids were really excited. They wanted to help set things up…i.e. make it way more difficult to set up the tent while they run over it, etc. After setting up, I took a nap (hey, I'm pregnant!) while Ian and the kids went exploring. Then we made dinner. After dinner we went exploring some more, before heading back to our site to build a fire and get some smores made. Would you believe that neither of my kids would eat smores?! This has happened in past camping trips though, so not too shocking. But, Isla was game to eat uncooked marshmallows. In fact, that is practically all she asked for the whole time we were camping! That night, though we put the kids to bed around 9pm, they were playing and talking in the tent until 11pm. 

The next morning, Connor got up early, as usual. Isla slept until 9:15. We made breakfast, then headed down to the Ranger Cubs class the park offered. It was specifically for 2-6 year olds. And that day it was on ants. I thought the ranger was a little ambitious in what she wanted to teach the kids about ants, but it was fun never the less…even if Isla crawled over and started going through the rangers stuff about halfway through the lesson. 

 

^^ Checking out the home of some insect that eats ants (yeah, I wasn't paying close enough attention to remember it's name). And Connor sporting his ant antenna. 

^^ This seems to be their new way to pose together. I promise Connor isn't trying to choke Isla, but merely put his arm around her. 

After Ranger Cubs, we went to the lodge and explored it a bit. There is a small museum in it and a little documentary to watch. The kids were pretty into it. Then we headed back to our campsite for a quick lunch. After lunch, we headed down to the creek for a critter exploration with the rangers. Isla wasn't so much into looking for the critters as she was getting wet and playing in the creek. Connor was into finding the critters. But really, he was into Ian and I finding them. Then he would happily accompany us (not getting too close to said critters) to look at them under a microscope. 

After that, we went back to the campsite and got Isla all cleaned up. Then we headed out for a little hike. The hike was supposed to be pretty easy. It was only 1.6 miles, which sounded doable. The problem was, kids quickly loose interest…then they want to be carried. We had a carrier for Isla, but not Connor. So, I spent a bunch of time trying to distract him with games, looking at things and racing him.

 After the hike, we went to town in search of ice cream. We then headed back to our campsite to make dinner. After dinner, Connor showered and on his way back into the campsite he lost his second tooth. Kind of fun that he lost it while we were camping. The second night went about as well as the first, except the kids weren't quite as in good of moods. Connor ended up wanting to "sleep" in the tent (i.e.play in it) and Isla wanted to chill by the fire. This time they fell asleep about 10:30.

^^ Who doesn't want two cookies for breakfast when camping?!

The last morning we were a little more slow going…probably because of all the restful sleep we got ;) We ate breakfast, then slowly packed up the campsite. We headed home about lunch time. It really was a fun time. The kids love tent camping. The hard part is, they just don't sleep well (especially Isla) in a tent. I'm not sure how to rectify that…but I'm trying to convince Ian a trailer would help! 

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A Weekend of Camping Fun

This past weekend we went camping. It was our first foray into what I will refer to as resort camping. Up until this point, we have always stayed at state campgrounds. State campgrounds are beautiful, they are lush and they are great. But resort campgrounds, they have play structures for kids, activities for kids and really just tons of things for kids. And our campsite was right against the playground!

^^ A train ride at the campground. It was totally corny, but the kids LOVED it.

There was another first for us on this trip as well, we ditched the tent and took the in-laws motorhome. Ian is a tent camper at heart. I have always happily gone along...until last year. It was just a very hard trip. Enter the motorhome. I know it crushed Ian a bit, though I told him he could pitch a tent next to it if he wanted. But it seriously worked out so well for the kids. When they needed some downtime, they had an easy (and clean) place to play. Putting them to bed in the motorhome was about a thousand times easier than in a tent. And bathing them was much easier too. I'm not saying there aren't downsides to motorhome camping, because there are, but it really makes camping with kids so much easier. 

Less than a mile up the road from where we stayed was a nice state beach. We had brought our bikes to bike to the beach, but some friends convinced us that the tiny road to the beach was super busy (and small) and not safe to ride with the kids on. So they gave us a ride instead. All was good until I went to strap Isla into their son's car seat. She was angry. She was pissed. She screamed and cried and kicked and clawed at me the entire ride to the beach. I was convinced it was going to be an awful time at the beach. But, she quickly calmed down after we got her out of the car. We had an amazing day at the beach. We stayed for hours and brought lunch to eat while we were there. The weather was beautiful and the kids just played. It was all fun and games until we went to leave. Again, Isla lost the plot. Except, this time, she was wet and covered in sand. Ian walked back up to the parking lot with a hysterical Isla (he said he thought people were going to think he was trying to kidnap her...she was THAT BAD) and I packed up and lugged Connor and our stuff back up. By the time we made it back to Ian, Isla was thankfully calm. 

It was fun getting out of town for a few days and having nothing on the agenda. We did a lot of sitting, eating, chatting and fire staring. Even if it wasn't a "real" camping trip, like purists like my hubby would like, it was good enough for me. 

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Enjoying the Outdoors While Camping

The thing that was really difficult about camping this past week was not being able easily hang out at our campsite. Between the poison ivy, being on a hill (Connor trying to ride his bike around was disastrous!) and all the raccoons, it just wasn't a peaceful place. This left us scrambling trying to find things to do.

Because we were staying at a state park, our camping fees came with the bonus of admission into all the other state parks. This made going to the beach a breeze because it was "free" parking! And as an added bonus, the kids loved running around in the sand and playing.

^^ Isla wasn't into taking a family picture

 

^^ Isla kept laying face down in the sand and would end up with sand all over her face. At least she never ate it!


We also did some fruit picking, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Of course, I am always into that sort of thing. We drove just north of Santa Cruz to the Swanton Berry Farm. It's an all organic farm and operates totally on the honor system. You weigh your own berries, pay and even make change for yourself! They had a little store with fresh baked goods and drinks and it was operated totally on the honor system too. It was super cute and they had a bunch of wooden toys for the kids to play with! We really enjoyed ourselves.

 

^^ Connor ate every strawberry he picked. Well, so did Isla, but Connor was shoving them in his mouth like crazy. And don't you worry, I added a little extra to our bill to make up for what our kids ate.

When we were pulling up to the berry farm we saw a sign for u-pick Cal Poly apples just down the road. Supporting our school and picking apples was a win, win in our book. Fellow Cal Poly alumni, did you know Cal Poly owns more land in Santa Cruz than UC Santa Cruz?! We were the only people up picking apples and I think it made the experience that much better. We had to constantly watch out for Isla as she kept picking up half eaten apples and apples eaten by worms off the ground and starting to munch on them...yum!

 

 

^^ How cute is that tiny apple?! Connor totally ate it too.

Whether at home or on vacation, I always feel like when the kids are going crazy, getting outside and enjoying some fresh air is good for everyone!