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Kaleb and I packed up the car and headed down to Southern California to visit my brothers and their families. It had been a long time since we had seen them in person due to the pandemic. We also planned to make good on our 2019 Christmas present to our niece and nephew Alison and Brandon - a camping trip! As this would be the first time the kids have been away from home without parents for more than one night, I selected a campground not too far away: Arroyo Campground at O'Neill Regional Park. Reservations were easily made online. A website containing pictures of the campsites was helpful in selecting a desirable location. The campground featured drinking water, fire pits, picnic tables, flush toilets and hot showers, so not exactly roughing it.
First stop on the road trip was to Edmund's house, where we stayed a couple of nights chilling with the family. It was an easy time, watching My Octopus Teacher and playing with niece Abby. We all planned to meet up with Allen and his family at Crystal Cove State Park, but Abby fell ill. Kaleb and I ended up driving directly to Allen's for an overnight stay, passing time playing board games, watching Jeopardy, and singing on the piano and the karaoke microphone. We also set up a spotting scope to point at the moon, seeing its craters.
Kaleb and I, along with Alison and Brandon, headed out to O'Neill Regional Park after lunch the next day. The campground was only 10 minutes away from civilization, so we planned to purchase food after checking in. The reservation confirmation mentioned that only local firewood could be burned and was for sale at the ranger station, but they were out when we arrived. The ranger gave us a list of places nearby to get wood.
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| trail map |
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| campground map |
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The restrooms/showers and water spigot were conveniently near by. We found a flat area under a group of trees to set up the tents. The shade was much appreciated as temperatures were forecasted to approach 90° during our stay.
After the campsite was set up, we drove to a shopping center to get firewood from Lowe's and food and supplies from Target. Spotting a Handel's ice cream shop next door, we stopped there too...isn't this how all camping trips start?
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Watch the kids attempt to start a fire:
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| wood-fired hot dogs on the menu |
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| waiting for dark |
S'mores were on the menu for dessert, but being almost the longest day of the year, it took a while for night to fall to get the full experience. We also set up the spotting scope towards the waxing moon to view the craters. It never got really dark; we had a hard time seeing sparks shoot in our mouths from crunching LifeSavers Wint-o-Greens.
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The next morning, we re-hydrated a freeze-dried breakfast (Mountain House Scrambled Eggs with Uncured Bacon) to give the kids a taste of backpacking food, using a Jetboil camping stove that boiled water in 2 minutes. The four of us agreed that this particular meal wasn't good. Kaleb and I wanted to try it, as we liked Mountain House's Breakfast Skillet in the past. Now we know to avoid the bacon and egg one.
We then hiked to the vista point on Live Oak Trail. The trailhead was conveniently within walking distance from the campground.
Some parts were a bit steep. We saw several rabbits and deer along the way. The trail surprisingly meandered through a random cactus forest.
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We reached the top of the vista point but due to the fog, we were unable to make out the ocean or Catalina Island - just the mountains, Oso Reservoir and the suburban neighborhood below.
After eating our packed lunches on a picnic table at the vista point, we hiked back down to the campsite, then drove to Handel's for an ice cream reward. Isn't camping fun? To be fair, treats can sometimes be found on hikes, like when Kaleb and I enjoyed a piece of chocolate cake at an isolated tea house high in the Canadian Rockies, and buying snacks at the makeshift mini-mart on the Inca Trail over ten thousand feet up in the Peruvian Andes.
That night for dinner, we re-hydrated more Mountain House freeze-dried entrees (lasagna, spaghetti, chicken rice). Kaleb and I had these ones before, so we knew they tasted good. After making s'mores, we piled on all of the remaining wood for a roaring fire.
The boys throwing around a football:
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| lasagna and chicken rice |
Come Tuesday morning, it was already time to pack up. Two nights flew by fast. We had instant oatmeal and hot chocolate for breakfast.
And that was the end of our short camping trip! In this current climate when long-distance travel is limited, consider "getting away" to your local campground for a change of scenery. You don't even have to stay overnight - we saw families arrive in the morning, set up a shade tent, adults lounging around the fire grilling lunch and dinner while the kids played (one group even had guitar sing-along), then pack up and leave after s'mores.
So what's next? After 18 months, Kaleb and I are finally getting on an airplane, heading to the South - Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia...stay tuned!
(Missed reading part 2 of our trip to Lake Tahoe? Click here! Don't miss a single update! Click here to subscribe and have the latest delivered straight into your inbox...opt out anytime.)
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Getting excited reading about these trips and want to go? Contact me at yellowdogtravel at gmail d0t com with your ideas and I can help you plan it! Or if you've already put a deposit on a cruise through the cruise line, contact me to get more information on transferring the reservation to me to get bonuses like extra onboard credit or gifts. I have lots of happy repeat clients - references always available.
Another disclaimer: The intention of this blog was to remind Future Me in full detail about where I went and what I did. I could have made it private, but I frequently get questions from family, friends and internet folks about how I planned things, got deals, etc., so instead of repeating the story over and over, I direct them here. If you are offended by anything I say or do, save yourself the discomfort and kindly click away from my blog. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!
