Camping at the Coast

I love camping, I love camping in the fall even more.  My favorite fall camping spot (favorite camping spot ever) is Grover Hot Springs State Park in the eastern Sierra.  Because Grover Hot Springs is at least 4 hours (without any stops for kids) I knew that wasn't a good idea.  Instead we headed to the coast to Salt Point State Park, a 2 hr drive with construction and a stop to buy diapers...I can't believe I forgot to pack them!  

I am hesitant to camp with a baby, there can be long nights and crying babies involved.  Thanks to some convincing from my mom I decided to chance a camping trip for a fun family weekend. 

At first we were planning on staying at a motel near the campground so Ally could camp with my parents and we could stay in a motel (I am not sure why I don't have the same anxiety about a motel with a baby as I do with camping).  However I couldn't commit to the price tag, the camping price tag (and the choice to scrap camping in favor of a motel if things got hairy) made my decision in favor of camping.

Ally was in absolute heaven, camping at the ocean.  Two of her favorite things.  

Packed to the brim and ready to go!

Helping Papa setting things up.

Little Miss Blue Eyes

Geocaching!

About a week before our camping trip (which Ally didn't know about yet) Allyson asked my mom when we could go "treasure hunting" again.  She remembered the fun toys she found and wanted to go again.  Of course I was all for doing some geocaching and we found a few right in the state park.

Her first "treasure" and her favorite by far.

It is worth mentioning that the shirt Allyson is wearing first belonged to Uncle Marshall (quite a while ago).  She has a few of his shirts and they are quite popular in her shirt rotation.

Finding a cache hidden in the rocks.

We lucked out on the weather big time.  I had obsessively checked the weather so I could be prepared.  It was supposed to be cool, highs in the upper 60s.  Instead we had highs in the high 70s and 80s, which was wonderful except I packed lots of pants and sweatshirts! 

Allyson really wanted to go to a beach and play in the sand.  We headed to Stump Beach inside the state park, as we were going down the stairs to the beach we saw huge piles of seaweed all over the beach.  We kept going hoping for the best.  

It was disgusting!  It was slippery, slimy and worst of all smelly.  We decided to head out in search of a better beach, and we decided Stump Beach should be called Stinky Beach.  

I was a little worried that Eva would get cold at night, she moves around a lot, it is hard to keep blankets on her.  

Allyson July 2010

Allyson wore this adorable sleeper when we camped at the coast when she was 9 months old.  I wasn't sure it would fit Eva but it did!  

She stayed toasty warm through the night (slept all night!) and looked adorable.

Adorable Eva, I love her chunky legs.

She looks so grown up.  She couldn't sit in this chair, on her own, for long.  But she sure looked cute!

Much to Ally's delight we spent a whole afternoon at a non stinky beach (which we all appreciated!).  Per the Ranger's suggestion we headed to the cove at Fort Ross for some fun beach time.  There were tons of shells, a big group of divers, and a few curious sea lions.

The highlight of the day came when we spotted two whales!  We got to watch them spout a few different times as they were headed north.  I was so excited, it was a first for me.  When I saw the first spout I wasn't sure if I was seeing things, but Steve saw it too. 

Ally's sand castle.  The sand was pretty coarse, and more rocky than sandy but she made the most of it.

A view of Fort Ross from the beach.

Allyson had so much fun helping Daddy do the dishes.  This girl loves to clean!

Getting crazy around the campfire.  She kept making silly faces for the camera.

No camping trip is complete with out roasting (or burning...depends on the person) marshmallows.  We had lots of fun and came home happy, dirty and tired, but mostly just happy.  I love making fun memories together as a family.