Camping in Santa Barbara - pt. 2

On Saturday afternoon, we tried to nap at the campsite. It was really hot, and although there was a slight breeze, I had set up the tent facing the wrong way to take advantage of the wind. L napped for about a half hour, but O never fell asleep. We eventually gave up and drove down the hill to beat the heat. We took a wrong turn on State Street and ended up in Goleta. The girls enjoyed the long pier and were fascinated by the fishermen and the kelp.

Then we drove into Santa Barbara and spent a few hours at Alameda Park in an area called Kid's World. It was just about the most awesome playground I've ever seen. There were probably 100+ kids playing on it, and of course, the girls played with different things, so it was really challenging for me to keep an eye on them by myself. Eventually, they hung out together and I was able to take a few photos of them playing. The photo below of the swing set shows about a third of the fort playground. It was really massive! - and it looked really fun!

Across the street is this amazing park with a big grassy area where a wedding was taking place. Near the grassy area was a large pond with a whole bunch of turtles and ducks, so we had fun feeding them.

On the way to dinner, I did something for myself. I had wanted to see some of the older homes in Santa Barbara and to drive down State Street. It was really neat to see all that. I wouldn't mind living there someday!

Then we had a dinner at Denny's (kids eat free on Saturday - did not know that!) and after buying more fuel canisters for the stove, we drove up the hill for our last night of camp fires and s'mores before bed.

The next morning, we ate some yummy gluten-free oatmeal that Jenetta put together for us, and I packed up the site while the girls played with the dog. Then after a four hour trip back (including potty stops and lunch), we were home where a clean bath and a soft bed were a welcome sight!







Would I do it again? Probably... It would have been a lot easier with another adult present to watch the girls while I did all the chores. They were too young to help much, although I was able to give them some tasks they could complete without too much supervision. But the hardest part was dealing with the potty situation by myself. L has probably a 95% success rate, but the accidents are always at the most unfortunate times. I was trying to make some popcorn on the stove and L decided that was the right time to poop a major load in her pants. I had just asked her if she needed to go and of course the answer was "no..." Plus whenever one had to go, all three of us had to make the trek down to the bathrooms or I had to find a place to pull off the freeway, etc, etc...

But the girls asked this morning if I could take them camping again tomorrow. I guess they liked it! Maybe we will go again when it gets cooler in our mountains or make a trip to one of the state beaches sometime. We have all the equipment now - I might as well get some use out of it.

But one thing was so clear - I miss having Jenetta around (and not just for the work and the food prep!)