Catching Up...Part 2...Surf and Legos!

 

So, as explained in the last entry, we changed our plans to accommodate more important things and decided to camp at the beach rather than near the Grand Canyon.  Sarah and the kids drove down to So Cal to get me and then we headed to the beach.  Before we left for the beach it was fun to watch the younger cousins play together.  Dax and Lucas, Leah, Grace and Jane.  They all love eachother so much.  Again, a special thanks to my brothers and their wives for taking good care of me while I was there without my family.

Dax and his cousin, Jane, cruisin' in the side by side.

Dax loved playing with all the new toys that were at his cousin' house.

Onto camping!  We were quite lucky apparently to get a campsite.  I have since been told that one typically needs to book campsites 6 months in advance in order to make a reservation.  This proved very much to be the case as we booked the site a week in advance and in doing so checked literally every campsite from Ventura County down to Mexico for an available site and found only 1!  Needless to say, I immediately booked it and we made Carlsbad State Beach our destination.

Dax misunderstood when we told him to eat a "sand"which.  

The weather was interesting.  Inland it was literally in the 100's and sunny, but at the beach the high was 74 with a low of 62 and overcast.  June gloom is what the locals call it and it lived up to the title.  Nonetheless, it was warm enough to have a fun time and made camping at night quite comfortable.  Nothing sucks more than trying to get to sleep when it's hot in a tent!  We were happy with the weather.  Surely there would be plenty of hot days in our future, so we enjoyed the overcast coastal cloud canopy in full. 

Sarah and the kids slept in every day which gave me time to shower, get dressed and make breakfast.

We liked the Carlsbad State Beach Campground, but of course, when you snag the last possible site at the last possible minute, you don't have a choice of what site you get.  We were a little bummed to have our site to the road rather than to the shore, but it was still nice to breathe the salt air and hear the crashing waves as we slept.  We had a heavy breakfast every morning and a campfire at night.  What is camping without the smell of bacon or sausage to wake you up and the smell of smoldering embers to lull you to sleep?!

The view from our campground

Me and my camp buddy

Dax was difficult to deal with.  We practically couldn't leave him outside the tent for any second unmonitored because he would immediately play in the dirt.  And by playing in the dirt, I mean dumping dirt on his head.  It was no big deal with regards to camping however it made it difficult when it came to going out to a restaurant or to Legoland when you wanted him to stay clean.  

Here's dirt in your eye, Dax!

Our first day at the beach we went to Oceanside City Beach and played in the water then met my Mom and my nieces, Madyson, Grace and Jane for lunch at our favorite breakfast joint in Oceanside, The Beach Break Café.  Sarah's cousins, Steve and Dovey also joined us as they live in Oceanside.  We had a fun time visiting and eating good food on the patio then headed back to the beach.  The sand and water were perfect and the sun made a brief appearance on occasion. 

Leah practiced her dance routine and cartwheels all over the beach.

Two of the finest sand castle builders around!

Introducing Dax to the water.  

Leah HATES seaweed.  If any got anywhere near her, she would scream bloody murder.  

The following day was LEGOLAND Day!!!!  Leah has wanted to visit LEGOLAND for quite sometime so, after doing so well in school her first year, we felt she deserved it.  We had a blast there and found ourselves thinking it might have been better to go to LEGOLAND the first day and the beach the next day as the weather on LEGOLAND day was fantastic and sunny...even hot.  Leah and I found a way to cool off by riding the Pirate Reef ride which left literally every square inch of us soaked with water!  We had a fun time and hardly covered half the park in a full day.  We will definitely be back some day.

Leah and Dax were both wound up and excited to visit Legoland.

"Hi!  I'm Dax!  It's my 1st time to Legoland!"

 

 

Leah Dancing at one of the shows

Of course, as usual, neither of the kids (Sarah included) can pass up a Merry-Go-'Round

The highlight of Leah's day was meeting Lucy, aka Wild Style

Leah is such a good big Sister.  She was very careful to make sure Dax had a good time.

We saw the real set for the movie, Lego Movie.

This girl loves anything Paris, just like her Mother.

The Trospers and "The Special", Emmitt

Dax LOVES helicopters.  With the Marine base so close to our campground, we saw a lot of helicopters.  Every 45 minutes, Dax would excitedly yell, "COPTER PLANE!  COPTER PLANE!"  So you can imagine his excitement to ride this ride.  

Leah and I got totally soaked on Pirate Reef.  What a fun ride, both during the ride and after.

The thing Leah was most excited to do was get her Drivers License!  Mission Accomplished.

 

Poor guy got tuckered out half way through the day. 

They all loved this ride.

Leah and some of the Lego Friends.

The last couple days were spent at the beach again.  The beach we camped at was well below the bluffs we were camping on and that meant hauling chairs, kids, towels, sand toys and more down 101 shaky wooden steps to the sand and surf....No Thank You!  We drove 1/2 a mile away to a beach that was level with the road and easier to explore.  The sand and water was more kid friendly there anyway.  We had fun as the clouds rolled in and out showering us with sun one moment and cool shade the next.  I heard several times in the same hour, "Daddy, I'm cold" and "Daddy, I'm hot". 

Just as when I was a little kid, their favorite thing to do was to get as close to the water's edge as they could and then run away as the waves came in.

Leah took this picture.  It may be the only picture of the two of us on this trip.  It's a bit blurry.

I particularly liked sharing the beach with Leah and Dax.  I got to show them how to make sandcastles where you drip the sand and water through your fists to make castle spires.  I taught them how to catch sandcrabs and a little bit of the science behind Mother Ocean and the rest of our planet.  We discussed birds and fish, shells and what once lived in each of the variety of shells we found.  I enjoyed watching them run from the surf and play in the sand.  They learned to be comfortable with the surf while also learning the force and strength of it that demands to be respected.  Mostly, I liked just feeling the surf, smelling the it, tasting it and gazing upon it.  I miss it.

Leah was freaking out here because she saw seaweed.  

They say all good things must come to an end and that is unfortunately true.  I am blessed to be able to enjoy these trips while sporadically catching wifi somewhere to keep up on work.  That being said, work called and we had to pack up so that I could get to Las Vegas for an insurance training conference.  As luck would have it, it rained the night before we were to leave and there are few things more annoying that rolling up camp after a rain and in the mud.  Ugh.  Luckily, I have the most amazing partner to help.  Sarah is the most amazing wife ever, but she is just as amazing of a traveling partner, camping partner and vacation partner.  She helped time fly and we were soon packed and cleaned and on our way. 

One night we went out to dinner with my Mom and our family friend, Pam in Laguna.  

L to R:  Pam, Mom, Leah, Dax, Sarah

Every night we had some form of ice cream at the kids unending request.  

Ice cream at the campground.

It was good to get away, but it made me yearn for more.  I believe I would be completely satisfied to live in an RV and chase the sun and surf.  With Wifi being what it is, I could maintain my work and find that stoke and peace that quite possibly can only be found at the feet of the Pacific.  If only.  Well, I gotta' run.  Time to hit KSL and start looking for an RV/home!  This one might work perfectly!

Our future home away from home?