Here's to Camping with Friends!

A favorite place, some favorite people, no phones or computers - how could we go wrong? We had a wonderful 5 days at Standish-Hickey, swimming, sunning, and relaxing. Britton, River and Mage, Jolie and Nio, Emma and Julia, and Carson's friend Kevin all joined us. We had a wonderful time, and it was especially wonderful to have such good friends there.


It was a little more adventurous than usual this year, as the seasonal bridge wasn't up yet on the trail to the swimming hole - so we had to ford the river with all the gear and kids. But that just added to the fun (or so we told ourselves)! The swimming hole was as perfect as always, and perhaps slightly less crowded thanks to that missing bridge. All the kids loved it: Julia, Mage & River played in the sand, caught fish, made castles. Kevin played in the rapid coming into the swimming hole. Carson, Reed & Nio learned how to swim up to that rapid and "peel out", letting the current take them back downstream. And we moms all jumped from the rock, though from a slightly more sane height than some (guys) do.

Marley the dog came for two days, and learned how to swim - albeit cautiously. Then (thankfully) Geoff took him home again. It's tough to have a dog along when they have to be attached to you by a 6 foot leash, or tied in camp with you there, at all times. It's tougher when the dog, new to camping, starts barking in the tent at 2am... and 2:15 am... and 2:30 am... and then when you let him out to pee he bolts before you can get the leash on, and there you are, whispering the name of your black dog in the pitch black campground and hoping to catch him before he finds someone else's dog in THEIR tent! And you DO catch him, and put him back in the tent, and he barks at 3:00am... and 3:15... and 3:30... and... at least he alternates his barking with your husband's snoring... actually, I guess that doesn't really make it better, does it!


On Wed. we went up the road a bit to Richardson Grove State Park, walked in the redwoods, and to mix it up a bit, swam at THEIR swimming hole (excellent, but not quite as excellent as ours.) Those old growth redwoods are so amazing and wonderful - they make you feel so small and brief, both literally and figuratively!

The kids had s'mores every night, and threw about 8 million rocks into the river. I'm always amazed that by the end of summer, the river isn't gone, replaced by a mountain of rocks thrown by boys. The weather was perfect, the food was plentiful, and the company excellent. What a great time!

There are many more photos here: http://www.coconutmoon.com/thebabe/. Ask me if you need the password.