600th post... Big (for) Sur-e...picture overload

Another one of our summer activities was a camping trip along the central coast, in the Big Sur area.  We had a good time, for the most part, but we only ended up camping 2 nights.  Our first mistake was that we didn't plan our trip in advance.  In our naivety, we headed out on a Monday, thinking we'd camp most of the week.  Back in Oklahoma, campgrounds were always available - in fact, you're lucky if you're not the ONLY one there.  Anyway, the first campground we had in mind was full, so we had to backtrack about an hour to find one with vacant sites.  Once again we had to put the tent up in the dark and we were next to the bathrooms, so we got a nice waft every so often from those.  Blah.  In the morning, our campsite was full of bees, so breakfast was interesting.  Besides the bees, the boys were absolutely loving it.  Weston had a nice nap while we were packing things up - pretty rough life.  :)      

We continued along the coast, enjoying the views and some clouds (the clouds seem to follow us on our scenic trips) and letting the boys play.  We also hunted for a camping spot.  Every single place was full.  And we didn't want to spend $250 to stay in the coastal motels.  We were starting to get discouraged and then Nathan suggested we say a prayer that we could find a spot.  The simple faith of a child - we pulled into the Limekiln State Park campground and they had one spot left, due to a cancellation.
 

We loved camping at Limekiln, nestled among the tall trees, with hiking on one side of the state park and beach on the other side.  We probably could have stayed there all week, but unfortunately we could only stay one night due to everything being reserved.  That was the next hard thing about our week.  We had to keep setting everything up and taking it down every day - very tiresome.  

We enjoyed the state park while we were there - perfect hike for the boys, with lots of things to climb over and under and on and a waterfall at the end to throw rocks.  They also loved the beach, which had shallow water pools to play in.  After a campfire we went to bed early, but the night was pretty cold, so we didn't sleep great.  It was nice to get a warm 6 minute (50 cents) shower in the morning.  

On Wednesday, we loaded up again and headed out for more coastal fun.  We explored Point Lobos State Reserve - the boys loved seeing all the crabs in the tide pools and hiding under the rocks.  We also enjoyed watching the harbor seals and listening to the barking sea lions.  One gentleman that walked by said one of the seals was named Leo and if you called out his name, he'd move.  The boys got a kick out of hollering at "Leo" and watching his flipper or head move.  The favorite spot was Sea Lion Cove, with plenty of rocks for everyone!  (Owen is holding a shell in his grubby little hands.)

On Wednesday, we continued to look for a place to camp, but everything was full.  And after 2 nights of unloading, setting up, and loading up again, we were tired.  We stayed inland at a cheap motel in Salinas, thinking we might go back to Monterey on Thursday.  Instead of doing that, it worked out to have lunch with my brother and his family, who recently moved to Angola.  After seeing them, we drove to Pinnacles National Monument, and did a short hike.  The boys were excited to use their flashlights in the Balconies Cave.  We didn't actually do the whole thing - it got pretty tricky and too challenging with Weston in the backpack and all of the boys needing help.  Being there in the late afternoon, the colors were gorgeous on the red rocks, which are the remains of an extinct volcano.

Instead of spending another night camping or at a motel, we headed home, opting to do some fun things at home with the boys on Friday (bowling, swimming, park, ice cream, and movie).  The boys had a great time - I decided I don't like camping much anymore.  It's too much work.  It took us 7 hours to get everything ready, lots of time setting up and taking down, being crammed in the van with all of our stuff at our feet, and at least 2 days to put everything away.  One side benefit - we realized our camping and 72 hour kit (mostly non-existent until now) are mostly the same stuff.  If it took us that long to get ready for camping, we'd never be ready for an emergency.  We organized some things into containers and bags, even clothes and extra shoes - it shouldn't take us 7 hours next time to get out the door.  We may have to do a test run and see how we do with what we've got...

We did have a fun week!  Tiring, but good quality time with the boys.  And Weston - I've never seen a kid happier to be outside.