Category: State Parks

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California State Parks

Natural Bridges State Beach, California

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While we were camped at New Brighton State Beach outside of Santa Cruz, California we took a little evening trip to see the tide pools at Natural Bridges State Beach. This was one of those occasions where everything went wrong only to turn out splendidly wonderful in the end.

When We Visited: March 2014

Ages of Kids: 8, 6, 3

Tips: Definitely go in the evening for sunset as it is beautiful!

I had picked out a restaurant down by the pier for dinner, only we found out too late they were only open for lunch. The pier was closed (too early in the season), and neither Sam or I were really feeling the vibe of downtown Santa Cruz. Satiating the kids’ hunger with jawbreakers and other assorted candy we decided to head for the tide pools and figure out dinner afterward. By this time I was pretty grumpy and not at all in the mood. We drove in to the little overlook spot with a few other cars and realized the tide pools were clear on the other side of the beach. We could either keep driving (through the fee station) or go around to the other side. Totally didn’t help my mood.

Undaunted, Sam turned around and found us an access trail on a side road and we parked and walked about a quarter of a mile down to the beach and across the rocks to the tide pools.

My mood instantly improved as I watched my kids scramble over the rocks in the beautiful, golden, evening light. Add in the excitement of my kids poking sea anemones (which, turns out, you aren’t supposed to do), crashing waves, and a beautiful sunset and we were all in heaven.

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We stayed long past sunset and made our way back to the car in the almost dark. Hungry, but happy, we found the nearest Subway for dinner. 🙂

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Delaware State Parks

Delaware Seashore State Park, Rehoboth Beach & Lewes Beach

Delaware Seashore State Park-Charles W. Cullen bridge2

We went beach hopping in Delaware. 

Arriving on the East Coast for the first time, we knew that at some point we needed to take our kids to see the Atlantic Ocean. Okay, not just the kids. Having grown up near San Francisco and the Pacific Ocean, Sam was dying to dip his toes in the Atlantic. We asked around on Facebook (always reliable for crowd sourcing an answer) which beach we should go to, and the options unanimously came back as Virginia Beach (southern Virginia) or Rehoboth Beach (Delaware). Some of our good friends had just moved to Dover and said that if we came to Delaware they would come meet us! Sold.

When we visited: Late September 2013

Ages of Kids: 8, 6, 3

Favorites: Dolles Taffy at Rehoboth Beach (definitely a must), sunrises over the ocean, decent Fish & Chips (we are snobs when it comes to fish & chips)

Delaware Sea Shore State Park is located on a strip of land between the Indian River Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The campground is essentially a glorified parking lot, but as we planned to be at the beach almost all day, and this was our first outing in the Airstream since bringing it back from Illinois, we thought we could make it work. There are other state parks close by, but this was the only one with water, electric, and sewer hook ups and being totally newbies we didn’t feel ready to strike out on our own just yet.  It was great. The beach was only a short 15 minute walk from where we parked, and had miles of beautiful golden sand, medium sized waves, and no people. It is also only a short drive (30 minutes) from both Rehoboth Beach, and Lewes Beach – both of which we wanted to visit during our trip. We camped at Delaware Seashore State Park for 3 nights and took a day at each beach.

There’s a couple of great things about visiting beaches in the “off” season. The best thing is less people. Delaware Sea Shore was virtually empty, Rehoboth had more but its a boardwalk beach with other shops and things to do anyway, and we found a more secluded spot at Lewes Beach that only hand a handful of other people. Miles of sand all to ourselves. Beach gear is also on sale. We drove by a shop that was closing down for the winter and scored sand toys, a beach bag, a beach umbrella, and two boogie boards for 50% off. We knew we were headed to Florida & then Southern California (eventually) and figured we definitely needed to be prepared.

The down side is the weather. While its not “cold” its definitely not “so-hot-I-simply-have-to-get-in-the-water” warm. My problem was the wind. All 3 beaches were mildly windy and I’m just a wimp when it comes to getting OUT of the water in the wind. Hence, I just don’t get in. As it was our first beach experience on the East Coast, the kids didn’t care what temperature it was, they were getting IN, and Sam received the best husband/dad ever award because he got in to teach Rachel how to boogie board.

We spent some good time at the playground in the campground as well. We had it all to ourselves – and it is a good one. We tried to mix in some recess/playground time in between school & the beach, just to keep things balanced. We had a great time – and definitely recommend all 3 beaches. Rehoboth probably had the biggest/best waves for boogie boarding, Lewes has gentler waves for smaller kids, and Delaware was pretty private.  I guess which one you choose depends on what you are looking for!

 

 

Categories
Florida State Parks

Jess Parks the Airstream – Manatee State Park, Florida

Manatee Springs State Park FloridaHaving slightly more trailer towing experience, I have been doing all the driving whilst towing the Airstream. Jess has been determined since we set off from Virginia to become familiar with all the ins and outs of daily operation. She knows how to safely connect power and water, and could probably dump the tanks by herself if she tried.

Her first towing experience barely counted: She started at a highway rest area and stopped at a highway rest area. Her major obstacle was a construction zone, where she deftly dodged orange cones.

Her first REAL towing experience was a few weeks later, driving North from Tampa to Manatee Springs State Park, our destination for the night. She took over when I needed to join a phone conference. She piloted us beautifully along the highway to the town just outside the state park for a small grocery stop. I was finished with my call by that time, but she wanted to take us all the way in.

Checking into the entrance station, we were assigned spot 84 and given a map to the site. We pulled up to the site, and I jumped out to spot Jess as she backed the 28 foot Airstream into our campsite.

I quickly gained a new level of respect for Jess’ skill at spotting me as I back up. I barely managed to keep an eye on all the trees, the water and power posts, fire ring, the Airstream and truck, all while staying in view of the truck’s mirrors.

She did fine, and even received an encouraging comment from a patiently waiting elderly camper. We added a few boards to level the trailer, then unhitched, hooked up utilities, and even pulled out the awnings. Success!

We were quite pleased with ourselves and the beauty of the park and campsite. About a half hour later, we realized that we had carefully parked ourselves in campsite 80, not 84 as assigned.

We checked the next morning to see if we could stay in spot 80 instead, but to our dismay told that reservations had been made for site 80, and we’d need to move. She let me re-park it.

Despite our parking mishap, we rather enjoyed our stay, including some play time on the park’s play set, swimming in the freshwater spring, and riding bikes around the campground. I managed to pull in just enough Verizon signal to get my work done. If we hadn’t been in such a hurry to get to our next location, we could have enjoyed a much longer stay.

Categories
State Parks Virginia

Claytor Lake State Park Virginia

Claytor Lake State Park VirginiaWhile returning to Virginia with our newly purchased Airstream, we needed to make a stop in Radford, Virginia for a business visit by Sam. Searching on Google Maps, I located a State Park nearby that put us 1/2 hour away from Sam’s site visit. There really wasn’t much else in the area so I guessed it would have to do.

We were not excited. You see, we Had A Bad Experience with a state park 6 weeks earlier in Omaha. It was dirty, hot, unpleasant, and left us a little worried about staying in State Parks generally. In fact, it was so bad it became the new standard. “Well, at least it wasn’t as bad as Lake Manawa.” You can understand our hesitation to try again.

We arrived at Claytor Lake State Park at 10 pm, having spent the entire morning in Ohio getting new tires for the Airstream (but that’s a different story). We were all very tired, and Sam had a work visit to make the next morning. We saw a few open sites at the park and backed into one of them blasting the trailer across the road with our headlights. Oops. We scrambled out of the truck, and put everyone to bed without even unhitching. It was late, and dark, and the kids were just exhausted.

Well, we thought, we’ll just have to deal with it.

The next morning was a pleasant surprise. The bathrooms were clean and well-kept, the campsites were fairly flat (which is a good thing since we didn’t level the trailer), there were plenty of trees, and it was peaceful & quiet. After dropping Sam off in the city, and running a few errands (groceries, anyone?) the kids and I spent the day exploring. We even picked out The Ultimate Campsite and when Sam got back we moved our trailer over to it for the next few days.

When we visited: September 2013

Ages of Kids: 7,6,3

Best features: Trail system, beach & playground, beautifully wooded campsites (but not all of them are – you have to be picky and be willing to back in. Sites 1-12 would be my best recommendation).

We had an amazing couple of days. Claytor Lake has an incredible trail system – all blazed with accurate colors so you don’t get lost. I spent a few mornings trail running, we went on a family hike, and we desperately missed our bikes. We spent an entire afternoon at the near deserted beach (I love the off season!) with its beautiful white sands and perfectly tempered water.playing at the beach at Claytor Lake State Park VAWe would have stayed longer, but the park is in fairly close proximity to Virginia Tech and fills up quickly on football weekends. We couldn’t get a spot past Thursday night. Oh well, next time. Because we definitely will be going back. Claytor Lake State Park 02

Categories
Georgia National Parks State Parks

Skidaway Island State Park – Georgia

On the suggestion of multiple full-time Instagram friends, we stopped at Skidaway Island State Park for a few days on our journey south to Florida. There is a reason they all said it was their favorite spot in the entire country.

Skidaway Island State Park

When we visited: November 2013

Ages of kids: 8,6,3

Highlights: Beautiful trees, spacious campsites, full-hook ups, trails, playgrounds, nature center, clean showers, washer and dryer

I now have a love affair with Spanish Moss and those gorgeous trees. I’d never really even seen Spanish Moss before and this was a perfect introduction. I seriously couldn’t get enough of it, and neither could the kids.

We spent a relaxing 4 days at this state park, but I think I could have stayed for 2 weeks. Located about 25 minutes south Savannah, Georgia, the park is easy to get to, has plenty of activities for kids, and is in close proximity (20 minutes) to a grocery store. There are 2 playgrounds, a nature center, and miles of trails to explore either on bike or on foot. We took the kids on a 3 mile bike ride (we walked, they rode) and explored an old moonshine still (from bootlegging days), and a civil war battery site. They also have patches the kids can earn similar to the Jr. Ranger Badges at National Parks.

My kids also made friends with some other full time kids and they spent hours making “forts” among the palm trees, creating spears out of dead palm fronds, and generally running around having a good time. I definitely recommend staying here and we can’t wait to go back someday!