Camping, schmamping, let's go to the beach!

The day after Mark got out of school, we hit the road. Our destination: a small beach campground just north of Santa Barbara.

I'd packed the car with so much gear, there was barely room for me or Mark. Which thrilled Mark, because he got to sit in front with me, fiddling endlessly with the radio, and telling me when I made a wrong turn. (New rule: Person sitting shotgun on roadtrips must offer up more helpful comments than "You're totally lost, aren't you?")

We took the scenic route up through Malibu, along PCH. It was a gorgeous drive, albeit a bit scary at one part, when we raced a semi-truck carrying half a house on the winding two-lane road.

Our camp was halfway set up when my brother Tim and his family arrived. Their mini-van was even MORE tightly packed than our car, and Tim proudly explained, "We brought everything in our house to live outdoors."

Seeing this scene reminded me I'd forgot to pack towels.

Tim wasn't kidding, especially when he unloaded his outdoor kitchen--a barbecue, camp grill, table, tablecloth, one million utensils, and even a coffee maker.

Yeah, when's the last time YOU brought Calphalon pans to cook with??

Dude likes to travel in style! But I'll say this--we never went hungry, and all the food was top-notch. If I had a bigger car, and/or any talent for cooking, I'd purchase everything Tim has!

I could tell Hannah and Nick have grown since we saw them at Christmas. Mark and Nick are six months apart in age, and very competitive about...well, everything, including their height. They both posed for the "who's taller" picture, where Mark was dismayed to learn it wasn't him (he'd been taller at Christmas).

Our site was four spots away from the ocean, which is what we love most about it. I walked with the boys along the beach in search of caves. We found them, but even better, Nick found a shark egg on the sand.

Because I'm not much of a cook, Tim only put me in charge of one meal, and was very specific as to what I should make (burgers). But I've been camping with the Boy Scouts, and was impressed with their amazing little Dutch ovens. I realized it's just a camping Crock Pot, and hey, I rock the slow cooker! So I volunteered to bring my new Dutch oven and try out some recipes. Since I didn't want the pressure of making inedible meals, we declared everything in the Dutch oven as "bonus food." If it came out good, great! If it came out terrible--well, hey, at least we weren't counting on it as our meals.

The first dish was rocking! I made and soaked French toast overnight, then cooked it Saturday morning. It was driving Tim crazy, because he likes to cook, and by cook, I mean fiddle with the food the whole time. He kept wanting to lift the lid, or check the coals, and I finally kicked him out of our camp.

But the French toast came out DELICIOUS! At one point, Nick and Tim both yelled, "It smells soooooo good!" And I pointed out to Mark they were, indeed, talking about my cooking.

The only downside was the mild sunscreen taste. Because the French toast was so fluffy, everyone wanted to touch it. Like phones in the car, I'd recommend going hands-free next time.

After (our second) breakfast, we dragged just about everything but our tents down to the beach. We even dragged down more family members, when my parents and my two San Diego nieces arrived just before lunch.

I love watching all the kids together. They get along really well, and instantly just melt into a giant roaming band of cousins. 

 

They're all teens and pre-teens now, and not only are they physically growing, they're also comedically growing, too. Their humor has evolved into biting, sharp-witted, and terribly funny insults. Hannah hacked in to her dad's Facebook account, and used it to insult me in all my status updates. I couldn't stop laughing with them (and at them) all weekend long.

The kids and Tim boogie boarded all day, and my parents, Kim and I relaxed on the beach. It was awesome.

Tim barbecued ribs for dinner, and I made cornbread in my Dutch oven. It was from a boxed mix, so it was good, but not great. Still, I was gaining confidence in my cooking skills and my Dutch oven.

Little Diva Gabi insisted on staying with my parents in the hotel--she's no dummy! Nathalie opted to camp with us, so she and Mark set up their tent. However, I forgot to bring an air mattress for that tent, but my dad solved the problem.

"Here," he said handing us the day's newspaper. "Put that in the tent, it'll be one more layer of protection from the ground."

"The rest of us just stood there, stunned and a little confused. But hey, it was my dad, so I silently handed the paper to Mark and Nathalie, who obediently lined the tent floor with it.

(When I asked Nat the next morning if she'd slept well, she answered, "Yes, except the newspaper rattled every time I moved in the tent...so that kept me awake." My brother Tim also noted that we'd intentionally added another layer of kindling to an already flammable tent, but I just ignored that observation.)

Since we were out in the wiled and without a TV, we did our best to entertain ourselves. Tim used the flaming logs to create fiery initials for our names. However, he only had three logs, so he made everyone's initials but Mark's, which needed four logs.

On Sunday, it was Kim's turn to use the Dutch oven. She made the most amazing cobbler with fresh-picked blueberries, and we dang near licked the oven clean. Which is saying a lot, since half the group doesn't even like blueberries! We voted Kim's dish the best all around bonus food of the trip.

The cobbler turned out teeth purple!

My mom and I decided to go wine tasting, and tried to talk Kim into joining us. She balked, saying she should really spend the day with Tim, since it was Father's Day. I pointed out that Tim wasn't her father, but she wasn't swayed. I also pointed out my dad was staying at camp to relax, and that he and Tim could handle the kids, but that didn't work either. Then I stopped trying because honestly, I just wanted to drink wine, and my mom was more than willing to join me.

We drove to Los Olivos and sampled some of the local wines, then headed out to the Bridlewood winery, which makes one of my favorites viogniers. It's also a gorgeous winery, with horses, a race track, and rolling hills covered in vines. Mom and I brought a picnic lunch and really enjoyed the view (and the wine).

Mark is trying to rank up in Boy Scouts, so he was in charge of making dinner that night. He barbecued burgers, and thought he dropped mine right into the charcoal, he did a great job otherwise (luckily, I brought extra turkey burgers!).

Monday was our last chance to use the Dutch oven. I baked breakfast in it, a hash brown-bacon-egg-and-cheese casserole. 

It was awesome! ("It smells like Carl's Jr.," Nick said, dreamily. "That's a compliment," Kim clarified.) Mark even ate two huge helpings, and he hates eggs. That recipe is definitely a keeper. (Unlike the broccoli and cheddar cheese quiche I was going to make, but didn't since Hannah and Nick hate broccoli. Or rather, as Nick told me, "I LIKE broccoli, I just don't like to eat it.")

The food was so hot, it looked like they were breathing smoke out.

The San Diego crew left Monday morning, and we were sad, until the sun came out and distracted us. Most of the campground had emptied out on Sunday, so we had the beach to ourselves. It was a beautiful day, and we spent it much as we had the past few days--Kim and I lolling on the beach with our books, everyone else in the water.

So it was bittersweet when we finally had to pack up our camps later that afternoon. I was sad to leave my family, and the beach, but I was really looking forward to a soft bed and a hot shower. (Even Mark was excited to shower--he never showered once while we were there. Boys are gross.) And I'll see Tim, Kim and the kids again in a couple weeks, so I wasn't that sad.

Ahhhh...summer vacation. It's seriously the best kind of vacation ever, even if it only lasts four days.