We love to go camping with the Kuch family. We had such fun with them last year at Deception Pass that we knew we wanted to figure out a time to camp with them again this summer. We weren't sure if it was going to happen, but thankfully we squeezed a camping trip in right before school started.
Christina really wanted to stay out at the ocean by Long Beach. She had heard good things about this nice campground that was about 4.5 miles outside of Long Beach. It was a little more on the spendy side, but that was okay.
We left on Wednesday, August 26th and camped until Saturday, August 29th. Our plan was to leave around 11am on Wednesday, but we were ready earlier and were able to leave at 10:30am.
Our first stop was to find lunch in Olympia. Prior to Covid we would park in a parking lot, I would run in, order food and bring it out to the van. Now it's more difficult since the dining rooms of fast food restaurants are closed. It's also crazy how different it is from place to place. When we came home from Aunt Vicki's we were able to stop at a MCD's and I was able to order inside and take the food out...you couldn't eat inside though. At this MCD's the dining room wasn't open and the drive thru was far too narrow for the trailer to fit though. We ended up going to Sonic instead...thankfully there drive thru was wide enough and straight enough for the trailer to fit through. The only thing was Sonic is EXPENSIVE!!! I doubt we'll ever go there again as a family. Sheesh!!
We stayed at Wallicut River RV Campground. At first when we drove in it looked a bit like those RV Parks where there isn't any trees and you're just parked right next door to the other RV's. Thankfully our campsite was in a newer area in the back that was more woodsy. The first site we had had two huge holes from the tires of previous trailers. Michael was trying to go between the trenches, but the ground kept falling in. Right about the third time he tried backing in one of the employees drove over in his ATV and told us he had told the office to not book this site since he needed to address the issue. He drove up to the office and got a list of the other sites that were available. The Kuch's and us ended up moving a few sites to the left and it worked out great. We were closer to the Port O Potty and the new sites had a bit more sunshine coming through the trees.
There was also a perfect tree for the Kuch's hammock!
All the fire pits were the rims of big truck tires.
We moved both picnic tables together and I put our card table up in the middle so we had one big table.
First camping fire of the season! Love doing life with these folks!
Love how getting out in nature just seems to bring loads of creativity out of the kids. These are the girls fairy houses. Can you see the fire pit with the mini pinecones? So cute!
After seeing my cousin Marshall's Coleman Road trip grill when were in South Fork in July, I knew I had to get us one. It's always been hard for me to figure out what to cook while camping simply because our kids are so picky. It seems like most camp food is cooked in a big pot over the fire, but most of those meals my kids will not eat. Having a grill and a griddle has made cooking while camping so great for us! The only tricky thing is making sure the grill/griddle with level!
Those boys and their Beyblades!!!! Love it!
This kid loves camping even if he does spend the majority of the time in the trailer either reading or drawing.
We had quite a few tree at the sites that could be climbed.
Or hidden in!
The Kuch family had originally planned on biking on the Discovery Trail as a family on the day we all arrived, but with getting a later start, having to set up camp and seeing how much fun the kids were having playing they decided to wait until the next day.
The next morning we came up with a whole plan for our day. We packed lunches and headed out for Cape Disappointment State Park.
This was the first lookout point. The ocean actually used to come in way further. They had a picture of what it used to look like. We were even able to see the Discovery Trail from the lookout point!
Even though it was cloudy it was a bit bright!
Our next stop was to hike to where we could see the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. First we ate our lunch down in the parking lot and then walked up to look around.
Even though it was cloudy it was a really nice day.
Looking out at the ocean!
There is a Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center...of course it was closed right now because of Covid. The sign up at on the building says...The object of your mission...the Pacific Ocean. The kids are pointing at the ocean.
The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse was a bit of a walk and Ga-Ga was already having a hard time just on the walk up to the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. So instead of visiting that one we decided to go over to the North Head Lighthouse.
This was the cutest most well kept lighthouse I've seen in a long time! The little part in the front is actually a church. You can see the cross on the top. I think it would be so fun to sing praises to the Lord out here right next to the ocean.
I laid on the ground to get this picture...such a fun angle!
Same for this one!
When we first showed up at the Lighthouse there were a few people there, but then they all left. Right before we left we were able to get a picture with just our families...minus Christina since she was taking the picture. Once we were done with the picture a bunch of people showed up to check it out. It was such perfect timing!
Gorgeous views!
Once we were finished checking out the Lighthouse, Ga-Ga & Pa drove down to Long Beach...they were meeting us later after our next adventure. Riding our bikes down the Discovery trail!!! We have never actually taken our kids on a bike ride outside our neighborhood so this was a first for us. Of course right out of the gate we had an issue with Zeke's tire being a bit flat. Bill had a pump, but for some reason it wasn't working. I saw 2 ladies coming up the trail and asked if they happen to have a pump. I wasn't sure if they would be okay with letting us use it, but I took a chance and they were so sweet. We got all the tires aired and ready to go and then we were off.
Well at least Christina, the older kids and I. Poor Michael, Bill and Zeke were lagging behind. Zeke still didn't feel comfortable on his bike and he didn't know how to use his brakes. The beginning of the trail was downhill so that was difficult for him. Michael was so patient and Bill was hanging back keeping them company.
It was such a fun ride getting to coast downhill so far!
We all cheered when we saw Zeke coming down the hill.
Once you got down the trail was right next to the beach. Up on that hill was where we started our journey!
We got to down to the beach and of course the kids wanted to get out and run around on the sand. It was only short stop though since we had a long way to go to get into town.
This sweet man of mine!
These kids did SO amazing! It wasn't easy and we stopped many, many...MANY times, but that's okay! It was awesome and we powered through.
In all I believe we biked 6 miles...not bad for a first trip.
The big motivator for all of us was the promise of ice cream at the end of the journey!
Side Note:
I'm going to rant here for a moment. I'm so sick of the inconsistency of all things COVID-19. If the masks work than why do we need to be social distanced? If they don't work than why are we using them? I'm not an anti-mask person...I will wear one when I go in a store and it's required. I do feel it should be a choice and not pushed on us though. If you are truly scared for your health than YOU should be responsible for your own health. I am not responsible for YOUR health.
We all wore masks into Scoopers to get our ice cream. It was actually Owen's first time ever wearing a mask since the kids mainly stay home and don't go out. There were signs on the floor showing people where to stand so they were 6 ft apart. We got in line and were separated from the person in front of us. We were trying to read the sign with all the different flavors of ice cream on it, but it was hard to see because of the glare from the lights. There was an obvious gap in front of me and the guy in front of us, but kids being kids they moved in front of me so they could read the sign easier and like a mom that is surrounded by kids all the time I didn't notice that the gap had been filled in. I was just about to pull the kids back when the guy turned around and said, "You guys need to back up. The line is back there. You are freaking me out!" I didn't get mad at him or even acknowledge him. I told the kids that we needed to back up a bit and then made sure that we wouldn't get near him again. The thing is if this guy was that freaked out about catching COVID-19 then he should not be going out in public. You are responsible for your own health and in all honesty there is no way you are ever going to have a zero percent chance of getting this virus when you go out into situations that are beyond your control. If he was that freaked out he should have gone through the MCD's drive thru to get ice cream so he wouldn't have the chance of standing in line and being too close to someone. The fact is that children are not the ones spreading this disease....period! I think it is so tragic that this man is so afraid of other people...children no less...so much so that he thinks it's okay to yell at them for just standing near him. It's absolute lunacy! They weren't coughing, they weren't sniffing and sneezing. They weren't touching him. They were just standing behind him. I can not wait until we go back to normal, but sadly I think that will be years away. The amount of psychological trauma that people have gone through being told they are going to die every second of the day by whatever media outlet they listen is going to take years to override.
End of rant!
The ice cream so so yummy! I actually ended up getting a chocolate malt shake and it was the best!!!
We thought it was hilarious that Ga-Ga got Spumoni and her ice cream matched her shirt!
After ice cream the kids wanted to head down to the beach. There was this group of people flying kites and they were amazing! They actually had choreography for their kites. It was stunning and completely mesmerizing to watch.
While Christina and I were with the kids at the beach, Pa took Bill and Michael and drove back up to where our vehicles were parked at the State Park. We didn't have a Discovery Pass for our vehicles so we both got ticketed. Later in the day we went back to pay the ticket and buy a Discovery Pass. The guy was so funny to Michael saying that it wasn't a ticket just a friendly reminder. Yeah a friendly reminder that says you'll get a $99 ticket in the mail if you don't pay it. Hahaha!
Love these kids!
Even though we are living through a worldwide pandemic we are certainly trying to make the best of it. Being out in nature is such a blessing!
Love this lady and her friendship! Just wish we could lived closer to each other!
The weather could not have been more gorgeous while we were there. It was coolish in the morning, but then the sun came out in the afternoon.
Cute girly girls!
I'm thinking I need to add a hammock to our camping stash!
Every night we had fires in our fire pit...how can it truly be camping if there isn't a fire! This particular fire was started by Owen...it was his first time doing it all by himself! Pa took this picture and I just love how the fire is reflecting in Owen's glasses.
The next day which was Friday, August 28th. We decided to head north up to Leadbetter State Park. Michael really wanted to air up our bike tires again, but for some reason I guess gas stations don't have air anymore. We did find one...the third gas station we stopped at, but the machine just took our money and then didn't work. Grrr! The tires weren't that bad so we didn't worry about it.
Once we got to the State Park it took us a minute to figure out what the game plan was. Mom and Dad decided to head to the beach to wait for us.
This is Willapa Bay!
It was beautiful!
It wasn't until we got out at the gas station to try to air up the tires that we realized that Zeke was still in his fleece pajamas! Good grief child!
Look at how big these kids are. When the Kuch's first came into our lives Anna, Addison and Zeke were all just babies! Time flies!!!
Taking the trail!
Gorgeous day for a walk!
Love these two boys and their great friendship!
Sweet Addison and Ann!
After we finished this super short walk down to the Bay we decided to take another trail. That's when we found the actual Bay Loop. We only did a small portion of it. The second trail we took had a bunch of loose sand on it so it was difficult to walk and my knee was hurting me. We decided to turn back since we wanted to save some energy for the beach and our bike ride later in the day.
We drove just a little ways down the road to the northern most access point to the beach. Ga-Ga & Pa had been sitting in their car waiting for us to join them. We took out our camp chairs and set up. It was just a little breezy, but the sun was warm.
The sand felt so nice and warm on my feet. Ga-Ga wasn't feeling the best so she spent sometime in the car.
It was rather bright out so Ga-Ga let me use one of her visors to block the sun from my eyes. Michael always laughs at me when I wear one of these, but they are nice. This particular one started to give me a headache since it was so tight though. After the trip Ga-Ga actually gave me an old visor of hers that's adjustable so it won't give me a headache.
I did venture down to the water for a bit with Christina. The kids were having the time of their life!
Working on their sandcastle!
These girls made a moat, collected shells and crab parts and built a pretty amazing castle!
Jack and Caleb had fun making a castle with a moat and crabs too!
Impressive!!!
It was loads of fun just standing at the waters edge and letting yourself sink into the sand!
Love this big dude!
Handsome guys right here!
Once we were finished at the beach I thought it would be fun to drive down the beach as far as we could go. According to the map it looked like we could drive all the way to Long Beach. We didn't exactly want to go that far though because we wanted to finish the Discovery Trail by starting at the north trailhead and biking down to where we got off the trail the day before. I thought it would be fun to say we've done the whole trail. The drive on the beach was amazing! I can't imagine that you can actually drive on the beach in many places in the world. It's doesn't even seem like you should be able to, but you can. I didn't take one picture while we were driving I was just soaking it in. The only thing we were worried about was when it came time to get off the beach because you have to drive on the more soft sand. We were in the truck so we weren't worried about our vehicle...although we did see a couple trucks get stuck the day before at Long Beach. My Dad was in his Chrysler 300 so I was a little worried about him, but he did fine. Bill got a little hung up, but if I remember right he just backed up and came at it again and was just fine. Such a cool experience!
The bikes Michael and I have match. My parents gave them to us. My Dad had bought them hoping he and Mom could go on bike rides...they have a great trail by their house. Unfortunately, my Mom gets vertigo really bad when she gets on the bike. They were in our basement for years, but now we are putting them to go use. The day before I felt like I had to hoist myself back onto my seat over and over again. It was so frustrating I thought I needed a new bike, but then Michael adjusted my seat so it leans back now and it's amazing!!!!
After our big ride the day before I was sure the kids were going to be too sore or tired and not want to ride bikes for a long time, but they actually wanted to ride more.
Zeke was the one that surprised me...I was sure he was DONE!! But he specifically wanted to ride again so that's when I thought why not finish the trail. This section of the trail was significantly shorter than the day before. It was so nice! When we were finished this time instead of getting ice cream, Ga-Ga treated us to yummy treats at the bakery instead. While us ladies and kids were in the bakery picking out all the goodies, Pa took Bill and Michael back up to where our vehicles were parked at the north trailhead. It was the best set up and we were so thankful that Pa was willing to do that!
Back at the campground the kids played invisible lightsaber battles.
Hung out chatting.
Rode bikes around.
Play Beyblades and more!
Us adults mainly sat around the fire and visited.
We also enjoyed the yummy baked goods Ga-Ga got us.
2 of the nights it was a bit breezy so Ga-Ga needed a blanket to keep warm.
I love that even though my parents don't camp they always come along with us and stay at a hotel or a B&B. This trip they stayed at this cute Inn just down the road from the campground.
There room was really quaint and cozy. Dad said the bed was very comfy! The only thing that wasn't good was the shower...it was so tiny...like a cruise ship shower.
It looks so cute all lite up at night!
Speaking of night...this was our last fire of the camping trip. While we were sitting there I remembered that the Kuch's got us this fun gift at Christmas that turns the fire all different colors. This pictures shows it, but it doesn't do it justice really. It was so mesmerizingly beautiful! Such a fun, unique gift!
The next morning it was time to pack up camp. This was the first time we've camped in the middle of the week...Wed - Sat and not over the whole weekend. We usually camp that way to avoid having Michael use too many of his vacation days. I will say I really loved camping in the middle of the week. Everything seemed less busy, but that could just be because of Covid. Who knows!
It was another incredible camping trip in the books with the Kuch's! We have made such fun memories with them over the years and I can't wait to see what comes next!
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