Carpenteria State Beach

Camping is a little like having kids. You don't do it because it's easier. It's not. Camping is an experience in building relationships, working together, being patient when you're frustrated, and actually spending time looking at each other and nature instead of the tvs, computers, phones or laundry.

Camping is also a real-time lesson in cultural diversity. Go to any American campground and you will see a variety of plants, animals, natural scenery and people. Camping grounds, especially in California, collect a variety of people of all types, styles and attitudes - with one thing (and sometimes only one thing) in common - sleeping in the great outdoors. They all do it in different ways and for different reasons. You may find the couple from LA just up for a romantic weekend in their pop-up tent trailer, or the family who bring all their friends and relatives together for a big RV party, or the elderly couple who stay for a couple of weeks before moving on to another long-term RV spot, or the many others who take their dogs or bikes or surfboards and a tent to live at the beach for a long weekend . . . sans the highprice beachside hotel.

Carpenteria State Beach is no exception, and over the long weekend people took to their campers and tents in droves. We took the kids for our first campout in about two years. My sad, but valiant attempts at camping organization have earned me a reputation . . . mostly for forgetting to pack those little annoying extras, like FOOD. I was determined to not only have a good attitude, but to not forget anything. So I made my lists, and then more lists from those lists and then went back and checked my lists. In the end the worst thing I forgot was the ketchup. Camping is all about roughin' it, right? So the naturalist becomes sudden neighbors with the beach party rock n' rollers, the romancers next to the family with their kids and dogs. We had a lot of family lessons on courtesy (we tend to use our "loud voices" at early dawn) and proper campground ettiquette (don't stare into people's windows as we pass by and don't just walk into someone's camp and eat their food).

I had no idea where Carpenteria State Beach was when we booked it online at the last minute (see the Reserve America site at http://www.reserveamerica.com/ and fill in what you're looking for on the left. This site reserves campsites across the U.S., not just California). We had to piece together the camping sites for our trip, since most people book the good spots more than six months in advance. We had to move our spot twice over the weekend, but it was certainly good practice at put up and take down as we were more than a little rusty. By the last time we moved, we'd worked out almost all of those kinks that usually end up in marital disagreements (like giving and recieving directions on backing the trailer into a tight spot).

Carpenteria is north of Los Angeles, southwest of Santa Barbara on the 101 highway. It's a beautiful spot, nestled near the now-green mountains along the coast and against the ocean's relentless waves. The beach changes from sandy on the north end of the grounds to rocky with cliffs to the south. A seal nursery lies along the coast to the south during these winter months, where you can go and observe seal mothers and babies sunning themselves (remember not to disturb them in any way though). The high tide brings crashing waves followed by the applauding sound of rounded ocean rocks being slowly rolled back out to sea. Surfers get an early morning start in the cold waters. Low tide leaves plenty of room for tide pooling, sunning and swimming (if you dare). There are no real kid bike paths here, but everyone just uses the roads since traffic is sparce and slow. Pitted dirt paths lead to more beautiful views of the ocean, interesting local wildlife (like the seals and earthier ones like gophers), and a variety of plants. The State Beach is within an adult walk, or a short ride to the area around the Casitas Plaza where you can find restaurants, banks, laundromats and grocery stores. A Community Pool on the corner of Palm Ave (State Route 224) and Casitas Pass Rd would be a great place to safely swim with the kids if you'd like a more mellow, less salty swim. And across Palm/SR 224 is a small, but fabulous toy store (think Melissa and Doug gone wild) in a house-turned-shop. We loved the eeBoo Animal Bingo Game, everyone (ages 3-30+) was able to play this together over and over and over again.

There are three loops in Carpenteria. All have bathrooms and showers at both ends of each loop. The showers always work, but the hot water is optional . . . which means you pay 25 cents for a minute or two of hot water. We found we could get the kids by on 50 cents by getting them wet in warm water, getting out to soap up when the time ran out and then pay another quarter to have a nice warm rinse. Big community sinks with both consistent hot and cold water (located outside the bathrooms) were also good for a quick rinse, or washing dishes. The beachside spots are far preferrable to the other spots, due not only to the lovely views but also to having more space for the kids to run around off the parking lot. On one interior spot we couldn't even have a fire because our trailer would only fit directly over the camp's firepit. Every spot comes with its own table and firepit. Some have a lot more privacy, some have electric and water hook-ups and some are "dry" spots. Just be sure to know what you need and if you're not sure don't be afraid to try a couple on for size. We were pretty recognizable by the end of our last move because we'd seen and been seen by pretty much everyone. Like: oh, there those crazy people with the cute kids go again.

The next time, I'd probably shoot for booking the first loop, the Miguel, six months in advance since those ocean-side spots have access to the sandy part of the beach from their campsites (better for explorers under 6 years old). The other loops aren't bad, but the rocky break turns into a cliff the further from the entrance you get (much better for older explorers 7+). This was my idea of winter camping as the temperatures were really pretty comfortable, and it was not too crowded. Just don't make the mistake my hubbie made and come dressed only for summer . . . the nights still get really cold and it's only comfortable if you gear up like it was the dead of winter. It's so much easier to strip clothes off than to try to sleep shivering with cold. So must haves: a temperature-rated sleeping bag, extra blankets, warm hat, gloves (not ski gloves, but insulated soft gloves), warm coat, sweaters, long underwear, extra socks, firewood/kindling/lighter (I remembered ours this time) and don't forget the all-American camping classic: S'Mores.

How to Make S'Mores

Although this is classic American fare, there are as many ways to make them as there are people who camp. This is our family "recipe".

Ingredients - large marshmellows (white taste best - as good as marshmellows can taste anyway), toasting forks (bent wire clothes hangers work too but you can also buy these long-handled metal two-pronged utensils in sets for cheap), chocolate-chip cookies (often bars of chocolate and graham crackers are used, but we've found the chocolate is often too hard and graham crackers are too crumbly) and a dying fire with hot coals.

Directions - first place a marshmellow onto the toasting fork (I like to do one marshmellow at a time to get a nice even toast), place it near the bed of hot coals turning it slowly from side-to-side. Do not light it on fire because it will burn. Watch for the slight browning that will give it a slightly crunchy outside and warm gushy (is that a word?) inside. Remove the marshmellow from the fire and sandwich it between two cookies, pulling it off of the toasting fork. Eat. Repeat.

Okay, so it's not gourmet . . . but it's one of those things that you should try once in your life if only so the kids can get all sticky and gooey and talk about it until the next camping trip.

Torrey Pines Beach Trail

So, one recent Saturday we headed to the nearby Torrey Pines Beach Trail Hike with seven kids in tow (all under 12 and obviously not all of them ours). Torrey Pines is a pretty small, but unique California State Reserve located just of Interstate 5, north of San Diego, near Del Mar. It's an interesting and educational place, and a good place to just have some fun, especially with kids.

We parked in a nearby residential area and walked to the entrance of the park. If you can find it, the beach parking is free and close to the entrance, but Saturday is not a great time to snag one. The park itself is free, but parking inside the entrance is $10 per car. There is a lower lot just past the entrance and the bathrooms, but for hiking it's much better to park in one of the two smaller upper lots. If like us you walk in, or if you end up parking in the lower lot, then you'll have to walk up the hill. With only wide dirt areas next to the paved road, this was not an ideal walk with kids. Occasionally we had to cross over from one side to the other to walk on the "safer" side of the road. Luckily there wasn't much traffic on this road. Drinking water is a must. It's hot, steep and has little shade, so do not try this if you have any doubts about your health and abilities. There are several hikes along the road, most of them are loops that have beautiful or interesting views and lots of native plants and small wildlife: rabbits, lizards, birds and bugs. We saw what I think was a giant nest, hanging like a decorative ornament ball on a pine tree. Be sure to watch out for snakes.

To get to the Beach Trail hike, we continued to the very top of the hill where there is a Visitors Center hidden on the left and two small parking lots. Veer through the parking lot on the right and stop to read the large map on the bulletin board. The Beach Trail hike is not well marked at the trail head, but just walk on the wide dirt path to the right of the bulletin board and you're on it. This trail winds down the sandy beach cliffs to the ocean. The trail is dry and dusty and surrounded by native Californian scrub and chaparral, but is well-marked. It's best to stay on the path, since wandering off the path is detrimental to both the ecosystem and your health if you happen to be one to find a rattlesnake. After the all-uphill walking just to get to the trail head, the trail was all downhill and very easy. There are striking views of dusty scrub mixed with chaparral and cactus, with carved sand cliffs and ocean as a backdrop. At every split, stay to the left until the split on the left is a steep rise, then turn to the right over sand boulders. The most difficult portion of the trail is the very end, getting from the cliffs down to the beach. Years ago we had hiked the trail and the cliff portion was very narrow, washed out and even dangerous. Now they've installed metal stairs, which are very steep, but are much safer than the eroding dirt cliff path. It took less than an hour from head to tail, and the kids loved the hike.

The final reward is stripping down to swimsuits at the water's edge and jumping in to cool off, or tide pooling the giant rocks to the south of the metal stairs. We played for hours, and then had a long, but lazy walk on the beach back to the park entrance. Check out http://www.torreypine.org/index.html for maps and more detailed information on the park.

Summer Sand, Sea, Sun in Albufeira Portugal

Portugal is a beautiful country. Coming as it did at the very end of our trip we opted for serious downtime. So we didn't really "see" Portugal as this meant alternating beach days with pool days. Not hard to do in Albufeira in the south of Portugal , where you will find dozens of similar seaside towns with perfect summer weather: warm and dry. Getting around was quite easy. Everyone we met spoke some level of English and we found many things catered to the UK tourism industry, including the escalators down to the beach (enter on the left, exit on the right). Fish 'n chip shops abound, and books, even kids books, are readily available in certain bookstores. A mini train is a fun, but more expensive way to get to and from the beach, and buses run very regularly. Bull fighting is one entertainment option and local shopping is another. There are beautiful handmade linens and expensive (10 euro per) but well made beach towels for sale near the beach. Local events, summer concerts or sporting events are frequently there as well. We basically lived in our swimsuits for a week before starting the long journey home. The entire southern county of Portugal, the Algarve, is a well known "family friendly" destination. The weather is warm and dry and the sand is soft with generally gentle waters. The sun is very hot and strong but the water is very cold. The downside to this lovely place is that some parents brought their kids here to get a vacation FROM rather than WITH their kids and inconsiderate and childish, obnoxious behavior often went unchecked by tuned out adults. As an added FYI, you can't go to a pool or beach here without seeing topless women. All throughout Europe, men, boys and kids wear the speedo bottoms and babies go naked. Directly opposite the American cultural norm, we saw girls up to the age of twelve wearing only bottoms. And when they do graduate to wearing tops, it's bikini style. I just convinced all the men where to go! We didn't find this offensive as it's really normal here, but it required a little explanation to our girls. This coincides with the European mentality generally. In Croatia we learned that any beautiful beach can easily become a nudist beach, but here in Albufeira the usual thing is to lay down to take off your top, but this not a hard and fast rule by any means.

Overall, we found southern Portugal to be the perfect temperature with plenty to do and see and we'll probably be back for more.