We took OPA for our first excursion the day after she arrived at our house. We went camping at Sunset State Beach for Anthony’s birthday weekend! We didn’t have that much time to pack on Friday because it had been a busy week. Anthony and I removed as many seats as we could from rows 3 to 5. We couldn’t believe how heavy the seats were. We had to leave three of the individual seats because we need special tools to remove them.
The ride was so smooth and this was one of the few times driving to Santa Cruz that Blake didn’t get car sick. We think it’s because he is higher up and can see out more clearly. Everyone enjoyed the ride and grandma and the kids were more comfortable with OPA’s bench seat than in our Honda Pilot.
We arrived at the campsite after 6:30 pm. We quickly set up the tent for Anthony, Faith, and grandma before it got dark. We set up cots inside the tent for them and used mats for me and Blake in the van. We were hoping to pick up an air mattress, but ran out of time and didn’t want to get to the campsite too late. We had a quick dinner and had to borrow matches from our neighbors because we forgot our lighter.
Anthony enjoyed the fire while grandma rested. The kids and I watched Captain America and Winter Soldier before Faith headed to the tent for bed. Blake and I continued to watch the Mighty Ducks.
Unfortunately, our parking spot was on a slight incline so Blake and I were slipping all night. Blake was freezing all night and was screaming so we didn’t sleep well.
The next morning, I slept in for a bit and then had a quick breakfast before Anthony and I ran to Target for the lighter, an air mattress, garbage bags, and paper plates, Ace Hardware for propane and the market to get ice.
When we got back, we decided to cook lunch so we can bring our meal to the beach to enjoy the day for Anthony’s birthday. While Anthony was cooking, I set up the air mattress in the van so we could enjoy it at the beach.
Although Sunset Beach allows dogs at the campsite, dogs are not allowed on the beach so we drove over to Manresa Beach so we can walk him. We found a spot with an ocean view so Anthony backed the van in and we opened the back doors and set up a table to set up all the food for our lunch. It was really windy so the kids and I ate inside the van. Anthony and grandma sat on the picnic tables.
Anthony took Bandit out for a beach walk while I was preparing food and then when they came back, Anthony and I got to walk along the beach for a while. It was beautiful, but still a little windy. We loved seeing OPA parked along this beautiful view.
When we got back to the campsite, I helped Anthony make dinner by cutting an onion and accidentally cut my fingers instead. He had me wrap it with a paper towel and hold pressure on it. He wanted to make dinner for the kids and grandma in case he had to take me to the emergency room to get stitches. Thank goodness it stopped bleeding. Instead we went to CVS to get liquid bandaid and regular bandaids. Thank you, Connie and Sofia for the advice.
I felt so bad, this was not how I wanted Anthony to spend his birthday.
Faith decided to sleep in the van with me and Blake. I set up another air mattress that we bought specifically for her that goes over the bench seat. This will be her bed once the conversion is done. Luckily the bed is really comfortable. Unfortunately, we still had a rough night because Blake tends to be hot when he falls asleep and kicks off his sleeping bag and then gets really cold and screams out at night. The air mattress was more comfortable than the ground, but no one slept well with his screaming. I can’t wait until we add installations and our heater in the van.
When we woke up, we quickly packed up because we were all ready to take a nap in our warm comfortable bed. After packing the car, we walked down to the beach for a quick stroll. Grandma stayed up top with Bandit since he’s not allowed down on the beach since she already did her morning stroll.
Besides not being able to sleep and my little accident, we had a good trip, but definitely can’t wait for the conversion so we can have some of the luxury of a home on wheels.
Outdoor Phamily Adventures 