Our First Camping Trip

Well, not exactly, but the first one with all five of us.  Mike and I did some camping before the kids and then made a few trips when the older kids were very young, but our last trip was when our older daughter was about a year old.  We'd never tried it with all three kids and had always gone with a group before, so this was a new experience for us.

We did have quite a bit of equipment already, luckily.  We had the Taj Ma-tent, our three-room dome tent, sleeping bags, air mattresses, and the like.  We needed things like a camp sink, gear box, flashlights, lanterns, and a stove (which we borrowed from a friend).  Once we were geared up, it was just a matter of finding room for it all in the van, along with leaving room for three kids and us.  We decided to leave the dog for this trip since we hadn't done this before and the only place he was allowed was in the campground itself and not on any of the trails or down by the river.  It was a good thing, too, because there wasn't an inch of extra room in the car!

Once we were loaded and ready to head out, it was a two-hour drive down to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park along one of the most picturesque roads in the country.  We knew nothing about the campground before we got there - I reserved the spot simply because it was where we could get two consecutive nights in a campground that wasn't too far away.  It turned out to be fantastic and our site was one of the best in the park.  We were at the end of the road, so there was very little traffic and the kids could run around without us having to worry too much about them.  We were also right on the Big Sur River, so our site overlooked the river and there was a path down the hill right from our site.  It was wonderful to go to bed at night and be able to hear the water flowing by.

We took the time the week before to practice setting up the tent, so once we got there and checked out the site, it wasn't too much trouble to get it set up.  The kids headed for the river to throw rocks in the water and check out the paths and we got the car unloaded and settled in for the evening.  Dinner was ribs grilled over the fire with s'mores for dessert.  After getting everyone cleaned up a bit, we put the kids to bed - they fell asleep immediately - and Mike and I hung out by the fire for bit longer.  We finally hit the sack, too, knowing that the kids were likely to be up with the sun.

Our first big rookie mistake - forgetting to throw the trash out before going to bed.  When Mike got up to go to the bathroom during the night, he was greeted by a couple of skunks who had discovered our bag of goodies and were having a nocturnal feast.  Luckily, they weren't at all concerned with us and didn't bother to spray us or any of the gear.  They did make a mess, but that wasn't a big deal.  Lesson learned and we made sure to put the trash out before going to bed the next night.

Mike and I were awakened by the blue jay alarm at 6:00 the next morning.  I have no idea what set them off, but they were tremendously loud and sitting in the tree right above our site and it sounded like there were about a bazillion of them all squawking at the same time.  That was the only time we heard them in a group like that.  The kids, on the other hand, had no trouble sleeping through it and finally woke up around 8:00.

We took our time getting going.  Our older daughter provided the excitement for the morning by letting Mike pull out her first tooth before breakfast, so she was excited all day, making sure she showed her gap to everyone we came across.  We finally made our way down to Julia Pfeiffer State Park, which was about 15 minutes down the road.  We saw the famous waterfall that falls directly onto the beach and hiked up into the hills to another waterfall.  The kids loved climbing over logs and hiking up the trails and it was a beautiful, quiet redwood forest.  After the hikes, we found a cafe near our campground for lunch and then headed back to our site for the rest of the afternoon.

The kids had been begging to go swim in the river, so we walked a bit up from our site where the water was deeper and let them give it a go.  Even though they're really strong swimmers, they're not used to moving water, so they were a bit freaked out by actually swimming in the river.  They did have a good time playing in the water and our son got brave enough to to back float and let the current carry him for a bit, which he thought was very cool.  After getting dressed, I gave them t-shirts to decorate as their souvenirs of the trip, and they've worn them proudly since then.  Dinner was burgers grilled over the fire, with more s'mores for dessert.  We all went to bed earlier and hoped for a better night's sleep.

It didn't happen.  The kids slept fine again - I swear they could sleep through absolutely anything - but we were up about every hour because the kids in the tent next to us kept waking up howling.  I really felt for their parents, but we were less than happy with the lack of sleep.

The next morning was breakfast, taking down the tent, and packing everything back into the car.  We decided to check out Pfeiffer Beach on our way out, which was really beautiful with neat rock arches and purple sand.  We didn't want to get back too late, so we didn't stay long, much to the kids' chagrin.  Next time we'll plan on actually hanging out at the beach, because it was a great spot.

We got home without a problem and started the process of cleaning everything, doing laundry, and repacking and organizing all the gear for next time.  We're doing another trip at the end of August, so we'll be ready to go when it's time to pack up next time.  It was a really fun couple of days and a great chance for the kids to be outside and be dirty and run around without any kind of a schedule or ourside distractions.  They loved it and can't wait to go again and we will definitely go back to that campground and that site in particular, because it was just ideal.