Camping

We went camping this weekend.

The timing wasn't all that great for me since I have a bazillion things to do what with having only two weeks until the semester is OVER. (*dances around room*)

But hubster's best friend and his wife and baby were going. And hubster's brother and his family were going. So, I didn't want to be the party pooper and say, "Sorry, Honey. Can't go. Too much work." And I couldn't send him off with the kids while I stayed home because today was the Boy's b-day! So we went. And I only graded three essays.

Nevertheless. It was beautiful. We stayed at an undeveloped camping area (i.e., you must have a bucket and a shovel to camp there, and there is a sign that tells you so) in the Los Padres National Forest, near Fort Hunter Liggett. We even got stuck behind a military convoy on the way in (which made for a funny sight, I'm sure, since we were bringing up the rear of the convoy with our two 23-year-old VW Vanagons).

We camped right next to a beautiful river/stream, and the whole area was just stunning, with beautiful live oak trees and a lot of meadows full of lupin. The kids could ride bikes around our area on dirt roads (we surprised the Boy with a new bike), and the Boy spent hours, hours finding all kinds of creatures. Within the first 10 minutes he found a scorpion (and proceeded to find many more). Then he found beautiful caterpillars. A frog. One crazy, huge water beetle thing with some kind of eggs stuck on its back. A lizard. Cocoons. Ladybuy larvae. And I can't remember what else.

Shortly after our arrival, the kids starting playing in the stream, and I set up a chair on the water's edge. Hubs brought me a gin and tonic, and what do you know, there was wild mint growing all around the river bank. It tasted fantastic in my drink.

It was a great weekend, and we topped it off with dinner to celebrate the boy's b-day and Mother's Day for my mother and me.

Now, we just just have to wait to see if anyone comes down with poison oak. Please, God. No.

edit:// You know that wild mint that I mentioned? Well, I just found this on the Fort Hunter Liggett Wikipedia page: "The entire world population of the rare Santa Lucia mint (Pogogyne clareana) occurs on Fort Hunter Liggett grounds." Apparently, the mint that I picked for my G & T is rare and threatened (mostly by erosion and miltary activity, and now, apparently by my desire to put mint in my drink). Sorry, natural world.