Well, we went camping this past week and it was really fun even though we're all really tired, very sunburnt and pretty mosquito-bitten. I should start out by saying that one of my biggest goals of this camping trip was that we would settle into our spot and not move for the three days we had reserved. (Last year we camped down the Oregon and California coast and moved places every day.) Well, we didn't make our goal--we moved every night this trip too. :) But it was all for the best! And we were very blessed.
I had camped as a little girl with my family at Pt. Mugu (which is in the north part of Malibu-- ) so I knew it was really beautiful and fun as well as being really close by. But I haven't been back since I was probably 9 years old! We had always camped at the "Big Sycamore" loop, not the "Thornehill Broome" loop. But I booked "Thornehill Broome" (because that's what was available for three days in a row) not really knowing what it was like but thinking it couldn't be so different . . . right?
So we spent all Tuesday morning (okay, after sleeping in and putting pics on myspace) getting ourselves packed and ready. It was a lot of work!! I had to pack everybody's clothes, bathing suits, towels, and all the cookware, dishes, etc. Craig got the tent, sleeping bags, lantern, chairs, stove, flashlights, etc. together. As he was getting it all together, we realized my sister had accidently taken our ice chest and beach umbrella to her house!! She lives an hour away but really wanted to bring it out to us. We still had to stop at REI for some things and at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's to get all of our food! So we had no problem waiting for her. But then we ended up hanging with her and her family for at least an hour at REI! It seemed like we were never actually going to leave. Then getting our groceries seemed to take forever. By the time we got to our campsite it was dark-- but at least it seemed really nice, and right on the beach! Sweet Ceci was already asleep for the night.
We quickly started a fire to make hot dogs for dinner. The girls were so happy roasting their hot dogs over the fire. Craig worked on getting the tent put up while I got out our dishes and food. But it sure would have been nice if our lantern worked!!! Craig had checked it a couple days prior, and it was fine-- but in the meantime the batteries leaked and broke the lantern. NOT GOOD. :( We made our beds by the light of a flashlight which was frustrating. I do have to say the stars were beautiful and plentiful that night. And it was nice hearing the waves roll.
The next morning was our biggest frustration. When we went to check out the beach, we found that there was a huge barrier of rocks that you had to cross to get to the water. I mean, how do you build sandcastles in a pile of rocks?? The girls were so cute though-- they played in the rocks (they became a castle) and climbed over them to put their feet in the water. But c'mon!! After this discovery I was determined we were going to leave and get a spot in the Big Sycamore loop or go back home. Craig went straight over to Big Sycamore while the girls and I prayed. I made some scrambled eggs with tortillas ( I LOVE cooking on a campstove!) And then Craig came back with the good news: there was a spot for us at Big Sycamore. Yay!! I had already packed most of our stuff so we were off very quickly. We drove straight to the Target in Oxnard 15 miles north and bought a new lantern. Then we went straight back to our lovely campsite at Big Sycamore. :)
