Jen's family and ours (me and the three kids) packed half of our houses and headed up to Whidbey I
sland on the Memorial Day weekend for our annual camping trip! This is our third time camping together and Saya decided to join this time. I always look forward to our camping trip because it's a lot of fun bonding and playing plus it whips my spoiled butt into shape. It is not uncomfortable because Jen's family has some nice gears like mini oven and mosquito net equipped canopy, but we have to live with what we could bring. There certainly isn't a dish washer and we have to be creative to keep ourselves warm at night. All those work which sounds inconvenient is actually refreshing to me and makes me appreciate the life I have at my cozy home.
The children were super happy of course. We stayed at Deception Pass State Park and it is one of the most beautiful camp ground around. It is located on the north tip of the Whidbey and surrounded by two beaches called West and North beaches. We can see Canada from the West beach and it reminded me how far north we are. Our lot was large which allowed us to park two cars comfortably and had no neighbor on one side, which was really nice. The kids explored the woods a bit pretending they are training for an army. Saya was happy the older kids promoted her to general.
We ran into Sean's friend from school at the West beach and that was kind of fun. The rainy beach was beautiful - the dark sky and roaring waves created a melancholic atmosphere. Kids were in their own sunny place though, building a fort with beach logs. The rain didn't bother them at all despite being cold. There were many pretty rocks as well which looked more like river rocks with smooth surface and rounded corners. The girls collected some for their souvenir.
The meal time was a bit chaotic, but that is part of the fun in camping! Jen and I decided we are going to eat well, so Jen grilled up Korean barbecue one night and I... what did I make? I honestly cannot remember what I cooked one night. Oh gosh, it must have been deleted from my memory for good... All I know is that we ate very well and didn't settle for any instant meals. The best part of eating,at least for kids were, Kevin's s'mores. I had one on my gluten free bread and I must say that he roasts the marshmallows perfectly. He never burns them and waits until marshmallow becomes like a melting ice cream, Just as they hang dangerously from the roasting stick, he catches it with the chocolate and graham crackers. Yummy, they were so good!
The weather was not perfect but it turned sunny on the last day. We headed to the North beach and had a picnic there on the beach. Kids had a lot of fun building another fort with beach logs and dog watching. We could see the famous Deception Pass Bridge from the beach and were admiring the view. The bridge was built in 1935 and still looks quite elegant after 81 years. There were many tourists at the North beach and they were all walking to the same direction towards the West beach. We wondered what they are going to do there. We had a nice relaxing time at the beach.
The unpacking took a lot long but of course we were bit sad about leaving. The Collins can't camp next year, so we have to go camping on our own next time. That kind of got me thinking, maybe if we have a RV, Noah can come camping, too. I checked out some RVs online and an used RV for a party of six is about $28k. It is a lot of money and I cannot justify to purchase it to save money for travel, however for the memories we make with kids it might be worth it. The kids are growing up so fast and soon they will be in teenage years in which they prefer to hang out with their friends than parents. I guess I need to start buying lottery or start getting busy taking more pictures!
Thanks Collins for the wonderful time! I love camping!!
