Camping at Carpinteria State Beach with a group from CHN (California Homeschool Network)
Date(s): October 7-9, 2007. Album by AQW. Photos by AQW. 1 - 30 of 30 Total. 928 Visits.
1 All packed up and ready to hit the road for the 90-minute drive to Carpinteria State Beach - our family's first time camping!
2 Celeste has no intention of leaving her diva-riffic ways behind
3 An applesauce snack outside the tent
4 Family camping photo - so glad we got it when we did, since Celeste didn't last two hours past this photo! Daddy had to head home to go to work the next day, so Gramma kindly offered to watch Smidge so Mommy and Dexter could stay at the campsite for a couple of days.
5 Forget the sleeping bag - now that there's just two of us, Mommy's air mattress, flannel sheets, and down comforters are WAY more cozy!
6 Eating some Cheerios, watching the teens at the next table with interest
7 Forget the Cheerios, the teens are much more interesting
8 Home sweet home-away-from-home... it may not be the most picturesque setting, but putting our tent right next to the bathrooms turned out to be a great move during those VERY cold middle-of-the-night potty trips
9 Standing on the sand dune, shooting back toward the group campsite
10 Same sand dune, now shooting toward the beach. Dexter loved being so close to the ocean.
11 First trip to the beach side... Dexter decided to get his feet wet - literally and figuratively - in Carpinteria Creek first.
12 "HEEEEEE-YAH!!!"
13 Dexter and new friend Anthony played in the waves for hours...
14 ...and hours...
15 ...and hours!
16 See those black things on the surface of the water near the pole? Dolphins! A huge pod of dolphins, playing right off the shore.
17 Dexter was much more interested in the seaweed than the dolphins.
18 Back to camp, snuggled into cozy sweats for dinner - cooked on the campstove by Dexter (with a little help from Mommy).
19 Dexter's first s'more! He'd been talking for weeks about how he couldn't wait to make s'mores, they were his favorite food... even though he'd never tasted one. Turned out, he didn't like it!
20 Temps in the low 40's on Tuesday morning... Dexter warms by the fire with the big boys. Nice and snug in two pairs of blanket pajamas and a cozy hat!
21 Hanging out with his new best friend, 14yo David. Dexter was David's shadow the whole time we were there.
22 "Come on David, let's go climb that tree!"
23 "Daaaaaaaaaavid! Daaaaaaaavid! Come climb with me!!!"
24 Two turkeys in a tree
25 The beach, day two - too cold to go in the water, so Dexter dug in the sand for hours...
26 ...and hours...
27 ...and hours!
28 Some of the kids dug for clams and put them in this kid-built habitat they dubbed "Clam World"
29 Back to camp for a potluck dinner... Dexter brought his own chair and made himself right at home (bottom left)
30 Ahhhhhh, relaxing with a bowl of hot pasta - a lovely way to end a terrific day and a terrific camping trip. Can't wait to go again next year!
