Amyblog

STAY A WHILE IN IDYLLWILD

I can't believe we are in the tail end of our summer break!! This year, I broked up the kids' summer into different activities. In the past, we've only done summer school followed by a lengthy stay at summer camp where they literally play ALL DAY LONG. But this year, they've spent four weeks in summer school and two weeks in Chinese immersion camp and will only spend three weeks in summer camp. Mr. BAW and I also had a work trip back in July and Grandma flew out from Michigan to watch the kids for a week. So we've actually not had that much time to do summer activities like hitting the beach. They've actually only been to the beach a few times this year. Also Mr. BAW had indicated that he wants to do a camping trip with the kids and Kepler. In fact, his camping hints came in the form of multiple Amazon packages mysteriously arriving at our front door. One day, a huge box arrived and I found out that evening it was an outdoor stove. Then another day, another huge box arrived and it was two camp chairs. So finally, I agreed to a two-day camping trip at the beginning of August.

I am not a camper by any means. I enjoy nature but prefer city life. But, I know the kids love the idea of camping so I will tolerate two nights without showers to indulge them. Mr. BAW also knows that he is to select a campsite with toilets and water source near by. This time, he did well, both requirements were met! We camped for two nights at Idyllwild, a sweet little town about three hours northeast of LA. Idyllwild is about 6,000 feet up but the actual campsite is another 15 minutes drive and 1,000 feet up from town. So altitude definitely played a part when we went hiking. But everyone seemed ok, even Kepler! Kepler did awesome on his very first camping trip. He slept in the back of the minivan each night. Our two camp neighbors both happened to have two large dogs, a Black Lab named Koa and a huge Golden named Scuti. All three dogs played well together! The campgrounds also had tons of giant pine cones which Kepler enjoyed chewing on.

We also spent an afternoon in Idyllwild enjoying ice cream (Kepler had his very first softserved!!) and shopping in quaint giftshops and thriftshops. We also browsed the art fair where the kids got to participate in a "painting at the park" event. Ahgoo painted a little Kepler and was very proud of herself. One big reason I enjoyed Idyllwild so much is also because they have a Golden Retriever for Mayor!! No kidding, their mayor is a huge Golden named Max! He was dorable! When we were walking around the art fair with Kepler, several people told us about meeting the Mayor that afternoon. One person even suggested that Kepler run for Mayor next term! After meeting Mayor Max (they were passing out little stuffed Max so the kids were super happy!) we decided to eat an early dinner in Idyllwild and I took full advantage of a lovely restarurant restroom with running warm water! Ha, TMI. Then, with full bellies, we went back to the campsite and the kids got to burn marshmallows by the campfire, which they enjoyed thoroughly!

I've definitely come a long way in being less anal about dirt. I'm also much more relaxed about the kids' eating. Maybe it's because the kids are older, but I've come to enjoy camping a lot more. We all had a wonderful time on this camping trip. The kids also helped with setting up and putting away the tent. Hopefully, Mr. BAW will instill some camping experience and outdoorsmanship in them and they'll enjoy going on their own camping trips when they are adults. Other highlights of the trip include this huge rock that resembles a frog, which I thought was so cute and made Ahgoo kiss it, these strange red trees called Manzanita trees that the kids enjoyed peeling off the curly bark of, and fun statues throughout Idyllwild like deer and the giant wood carving scupture. The only negative about this camping trip is that I became mosquito bait. It was partly my fault for not liking to put on bug spray because I don't like sticky stuff on my skin when I can't shower. I thought that if I just stick with wearing long sleeve and longer pants that I would be protected. Wrong! I must have been bitten nearly 30 times! But thankfully, the kids and Mr. BAW were untouched. I might actually use bug spray next time. I'm about to do a huge photo dump so enjoy!!