Like the 4th of July last year, we headed to the coast to hang out with our great friends the Bruners. I sang at a wedding Saturday evening so we had to wait to leave. Justin wasn't too thrilled to set up the tent in the dark but he did great with some help from Travis.
The men in camp woke up really early to go Sea Fishing. Justin went a few weeks ago for the first time and LOVED it so he was really excited to go again. They all caught fish and had fun doing it!
The rest of us back at camp had a lazy breakfast and hung out. We headed to the beach late in the morning. The tide was out so there were all kinds of critters to be found. I have never seen so many starfish! The kids found a tiny eel, anenomes, lots of crabs, and shells. La-La climbed a huge tree stump while Jaco played catch with a football. Care Bear was having fun exploring until she slipped on some seaweed and caught her face on some barnacles. She was tired, hungry, and hurt and let everyone know that she was done!
The men finally returned from fishing just in time for lunch. After lunch Justin took Care Bear, La-La, and Raegen crabbing but came back empty handed. Not a good day for crabs!
The best part about camping with the Bruners is the food! They have a huge feast with everyone bringing something to tasty to share. Justin was in heaven with fresh fried fish and fresh sushi. I even tried the sushi and can't say I hated it but I don't think I would order it at a restaurant. We had chicken, fish, cabobs, fruit, salads of different varieties, cake, cobbler, bread, and corn! So YUMMY!
Justin made cherry cobbler in the dutch oven over hot coals. It was SOOO good! Once it was baked, he threw the hot coals into the river. La-La was walking around bare footed watching Justin work. I kept telling her to be careful and to put her shoes on before she stepped on a coal. Sure enough, my warning was not enough and she managed to step on a coal that did not quite make it to the river. She blistered her toe and cried and cried as the burn pain came and went.
Last 4th of July our dog Cody was the biggest nervous wreck you have ever seen! He was panting like it was 100 degrees and his body shook for HOURS! We knew we didn't want a repeat this year so we took a trip to the vet before we left and got some doggy valium. The poor boy was drugged but calm so it worked! He ran to find us when he heard a firework but never freaked out and stayed calm.
This year the forecast was clear and warm so we actually got to see the fireworks go off over the ocean! We watched the big fireworks and lit off some of our own, some legal and a few not so legal. Shhh...don't tell anyone! Both Care Bear and Justin were too tired to watch the whole show and fell asleep. Once we got back to camp, we all quickly fell asleep and slept great!
Monday morning we ate breakfast and cleaned up camp. Everyone went their separate ways and our way was down to California! We wanted to go to the Redwoods but did some exploring first. We stopped at a rest stop for lunch. Justin got creative and lit some charcoal, put his trusty cast iron skillet on top and cooked up some brats and hot dogs. It worked surprisingly well! Once the hot dogs were cooked, we took the skillet off and roasted marshmellows over the hot coals. We told the kids we were eating a "hobo" lunch. It was pretty funny!
After lunch, we found a coastal view road that took us on a crazy little trip! Huge potholes, single lanes, lots of curves, little to no pavement and beautiful views of the Pacific ocean! At one point we found some old WWII farm houses that actually were spy locations for the military to use to monitor foreign boats. They were pretty cool!
Once we got back to a real road, we found Ocean World, a small aquarium.
We learned about starfish, that anenomes are only poisonious to humans on the tongue, and we got to pet a shark!
I was surprised that La-La was nervous to pet the shark. She usually jumps right in for something like that but this time it took her a bit to warm up to the situation. Once she did, she didn't want to stop. Care Bear did it after seeing La-La do it and Jaco had to have his hand pushed in the water by Daddy to do it.
Finally, I got my Redwood fix! We checked out a new trail and loved exploring among the giants! I really love it in the Redwoods. They are so spiritual to me!
We had a fabulous 4th of July and plan to make it a yearly tradition to go camping with the Bruners!
The men finally returned from fishing just in time for lunch. After lunch Justin took Care Bear, La-La, and Raegen crabbing but came back empty handed. Not a good day for crabs!
The best part about camping with the Bruners is the food! They have a huge feast with everyone bringing something to tasty to share. Justin was in heaven with fresh fried fish and fresh sushi. I even tried the sushi and can't say I hated it but I don't think I would order it at a restaurant. We had chicken, fish, cabobs, fruit, salads of different varieties, cake, cobbler, bread, and corn! So YUMMY!
Justin made cherry cobbler in the dutch oven over hot coals. It was SOOO good! Once it was baked, he threw the hot coals into the river. La-La was walking around bare footed watching Justin work. I kept telling her to be careful and to put her shoes on before she stepped on a coal. Sure enough, my warning was not enough and she managed to step on a coal that did not quite make it to the river. She blistered her toe and cried and cried as the burn pain came and went.
Last 4th of July our dog Cody was the biggest nervous wreck you have ever seen! He was panting like it was 100 degrees and his body shook for HOURS! We knew we didn't want a repeat this year so we took a trip to the vet before we left and got some doggy valium. The poor boy was drugged but calm so it worked! He ran to find us when he heard a firework but never freaked out and stayed calm.
This year the forecast was clear and warm so we actually got to see the fireworks go off over the ocean! We watched the big fireworks and lit off some of our own, some legal and a few not so legal. Shhh...don't tell anyone! Both Care Bear and Justin were too tired to watch the whole show and fell asleep. Once we got back to camp, we all quickly fell asleep and slept great!
Monday morning we ate breakfast and cleaned up camp. Everyone went their separate ways and our way was down to California! We wanted to go to the Redwoods but did some exploring first. We stopped at a rest stop for lunch. Justin got creative and lit some charcoal, put his trusty cast iron skillet on top and cooked up some brats and hot dogs. It worked surprisingly well! Once the hot dogs were cooked, we took the skillet off and roasted marshmellows over the hot coals. We told the kids we were eating a "hobo" lunch. It was pretty funny!
After lunch, we found a coastal view road that took us on a crazy little trip! Huge potholes, single lanes, lots of curves, little to no pavement and beautiful views of the Pacific ocean! At one point we found some old WWII farm houses that actually were spy locations for the military to use to monitor foreign boats. They were pretty cool!Once we got back to a real road, we found Ocean World, a small aquarium.
We learned about starfish, that anenomes are only poisonious to humans on the tongue, and we got to pet a shark!
I was surprised that La-La was nervous to pet the shark. She usually jumps right in for something like that but this time it took her a bit to warm up to the situation. Once she did, she didn't want to stop. Care Bear did it after seeing La-La do it and Jaco had to have his hand pushed in the water by Daddy to do it.
Finally, I got my Redwood fix! We checked out a new trail and loved exploring among the giants! I really love it in the Redwoods. They are so spiritual to me!
We had a fabulous 4th of July and plan to make it a yearly tradition to go camping with the Bruners!
5 comments:
That looks so fun!
what a fun fourth.
i LOVE your collages... i feel like i was there! so much fun and such sweet memories!!!
sorry! that was me..
~selina
I love all the pictures! You definitely know how to vacation.
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