This past weekend, we went on Dylan’s first camping trip! We didn’t want to go to far afield or stay too long (in case of any “crises” with sleeping outside in the cold, etc., etc.), so the trip was a short 2-nighter/3-dayer at nearby Big Basin.
As it turns out, the kids (Taliana and Dylan) had so much fun (and so did we!)!
It was hectic getting there — I ended up going into the office all Friday afternoon (scheduled camp-prep time) and Tom, of course, was at his office, too — so much of the prep was done last-minute, but it was well worth every effort it took to get us there and back.
I’m convinced we got the best campsite there. It was at a dead-end and there was a huge open space adjacent to our campsite where the kids could (and did!) run around!
The first night there, we made couscous with almonds, foul (black beans with parsley, lemon juice, tomatoes, bell peppers), roasted corn (that Assaf bought fresh from the farmer’s market earlier in the day) and roasted potatoes for dinner. Later in the evening, we made a vegan mint chocolate chip ice cream with a Mega Ball that Tom and I had picked up from REI. Everything was f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c and, naturally, the kids were totally excited about making ice cream — they helped by rolling the ball back and forth to one another!
The next day, we went on a short hike where we discovered huckleberry bushes in full berry production! We collected 2 Tupperware containers-full to take back to camp — and ate many more along the way. Dylan loved picking them so much, once back at camp, he traded his obsession with sweeping the tent with looking for more huckleberries to pick!
On our second (and last) night, we made more mint chocolate ice cream (this time using a combination of soy creamer and soy milk — better tasting, but a little less creamy in texture due to blending in the lower fat soy milk) AND roasted marshmallows for s’mores! I know this sounds like a lot of sugar, and after a post-hike 3-hour nap taken by both kids (during which we all got to enjoy a nice game of Elasund), we were all a bit worried they wouldn’t sleep. But they did so much running around the campsite — looking for walking sticks, acorns, huckleberries, etc. — that they sacked out right along with us!
It was such a fun trip. As soon as we got home the next day, Dylan wanted to bust out his play tents and he is still talking about camping!
We’re looking forward to taking a more extended camping trip next year!
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