We love camping! Sadly it had been almost 2 years since we had been camping, we attended 2 family weddings and I photographed a 3rd one last summer. Making our time off for camping non existent for the summer. So we promised ourselves we would make it camping at least once this summer.
We had been planning this camping trip for months and looked forward to our short camping weekend. In preparation for this camping trip I knew I needed to get the boys some sleeping bags. We had don't a lot of research trying to find what kids sleeping bags would work best, but most of them where expensive and un personal. So me and all my creative blood decided to make them each a personalized sleeping bag. We took the boys shopping and they picked out the fabric(fleece) they liked best. Zander picked Lightning McQueen, CARS themed fabric, while Drezden went with monsters. Their sleeping bags are 2 layers of fleece, and snuggly warm. Of course my creative blood is also procrastinating blood and I was working on these the morning we were planning on leaving. I will add a picture to this post later as I realize I did not take one yet.
The plan was to leave Friday shortly after Paul came home from a half day at work. We had everything ready, Paul just needed to pack it into the car. As life goes with 3 young children it took us much longer to get going then we had planned. We departed the house around 4 pm about 2 hour later then planned. 3 children under 3, two dogs, and two parents. We were ready! We had to make a quick stop at the store for ice for the cooler then we would be headed on our way to the coast.
We decided to stop for ice at a junction about 45 min into our trip, this is when we realized we forgot the keys to unlock the padlocks on the trailer, which held the cooler. We were not about to turn back, so we both agreed just to break into the trailer by using bolt cutters on the padlocks. Paul went into the store and purchased a pair along with a hack saw, hoping one of the two would get it open. Neither worked on the pad lock, so we decided to cut the loops that the pad locks attached too. This worked, we could finally add ice to the cooler and continue on our way. It was now almost 6:30 PM and we had a long drive ahead of us.
Traveling with young children is always challenging, especially for longer trips in the middle of the day when they are usually playing outside. The boys really did an excellent job, we had to make a few stops to feed Syler, but other then that the trip there was a good one.
We pulled into the campsite (#31 at
Beachside) at about 9:30 where our camping partners Scott and Justine (Paul's cousins) were waiting for us. Sadly we had the wood for the fire and the tent with us, so they were not able to get a jump start on setting up.
Paul and Scott got going right away on setting up the tent so we could put the boys to bed. Justine helped entertain the boys while I made dinner. ( Yes very late dinner, we had originally planned to arrive at camp at 6:30, perfect time for dinner) Dinner was homemade burgers, and they were delicious over the fire! The perfect first camping meal in 2 years. YUM. The late start to the day and long drive were so worth it.
Saturday was wonderful. We had chocolate chip pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Then packed up some snacks and diapers and headed to the beach. It was pretty windy so we went behind a log for the boys to play in the sand. Drezden did not know what to think of the sand on his feet, but got used to it eventually. While the boys played Scott took Araki and Sh'daya for a run down the beach, they LOVED it!
Then we headed down to explore the ocean, along the way the boys collected lots of beach goodness in their bowls. Rocks, shells, feathers, seaweed, sand and anything else they could find.
The water was freezing, like the Pacific Ocean always is in Oregon , but they really wanted to check it out. So we played for some time running from the waves as they lapped at our feet. The boys enjoyed it so much! The dogs however where unsure of the salt water and the waves.
After all the ocean play we found a nice corner of beach behind some large sand drifts that shielded us from all the wind. We took a moment of rest and play here.
After the sand had filled up Drezden's diaper we returned to camp for lunch, where the boys discovered it was just as much fun to dig in the bark chips as it was the sand.
This was followed by naps, time around the campfire and great conversations. Then dinner and of course SMORES. Now the last time we camped Zander was not yet 1 year and Smores were not his thing. So this was both Zander and Drezdens first Smore experience. It was definitely one to remember!
Sadly Sunday was the end of our camping trip. I must say the last day is the worst, having to tear everything down, pack up and leave for home, always saddening for me. We tried to make up for it with a trip to the aquarium. It had been years since I had been there and remember it being the most awesome thing ever. Honestly this time around it was a little dissapointing. No whales, no dolphins, reapeats of seals, sea otters, and penguins, which we see at the zoo regularily. But there were some highlights, and the boys enjoyed it immensely!
They have this great "kid" area with lots of hands on things to check out. These were holes you put your hand in and try to guess what is inside, Drezden ended up pulling out one item. OOPS. he juse really wanted to see it. LOL
This was this pretty awesome bridge that was over a big aquarium with all sorts of fish. They loved it
Japanese Spider Crab = pretty creepy, giant crab. Zander LOVED looking at it though.
I LOVE the jelly fish, they are beautiful to watch.
There are so many fish tanks full of fish, a lot of them go all the way to the ground, which is awesome for the boys they can get right up close and personal.
They also still have the touch pool, which I remember from when I was there eons ago. But it was really hard for the boys to reach things in it. Definitely geared towards age 5 and up I think.
But by far the best part was having sharks swim over and around us. :) We spent some time in the shark tunnel, the boys loved it.
Outside there is a great little play area with all sorts of figures for kids to climb on. My boys love climbing so we spent a while here. Might have been the highlight of the aquarium for them.
Thankfully the aquarium helped wear the big boys out, so they were nap ready for the trip home. Syler however slept the whole time at the aquarium and was ready to play and be interacted with for the whole way home. This made for many stops and a long drive home. But it was worth it for the great time we had.
Once we arrived home Araki and Sh'daya were greeted happily by the pack. I am sure they smelt of beach and it made the others jealous.
We sure hope its not another 2 years before we camp again, maybe this November for Paul's birthday.
