Yes, our tent is practically big enough to park a car in, but I wouldn't camp in anything else with a toddler. It can divide into two rooms and there is lots of space for Josh to run around and play, which was really handy.
It turned out to be a bit colder then we anticipated, so we took a quick trip to the store to get some warmer clothes for Josh. On the super clearance rack we found warm sweats and a fuzzy robe, which Josh loved.
Since we didn't have any reservations for the holiday weekend, I went over early on Friday morning to get a spot at a campground that didn't take reservations. My mom and grandma went over with me to help with Josh and keep me company until David could get there that evening. It also meant that I had to set up the tent myself. I considered going around the campground and offering to sell tickets: how many blonds does it take to set up a 10 man tent? Luckily, the tent was super easy to set up; no testosterone required.
While waiting for David, we went down to the beach. There was fog rolling in from the ocean, but no wind. Josh loved digging in the sand but had to sit right next to grandma, or on top of her, practically the entire time.
Josh insists on carrying as many things around as he can. Here, he actually has two rocks, a shovel and a tent stake. Yes, my child is walking around with a sharp pointy object. He took a fancy to it back at the camp and refused to part with it. We were all tired of his screaming, so I decided that the sharp pointy was the lesser of the two evils. I started calling him Van Helsing because he kept using it to stab piles of sand and rocks.
Josh slept pretty good in the tent. The first night he slept the whole way through in his pack n play. The next night he woke up around 2am and wouldn't be consoled, so David brought him into bed with us and after a brief wrestling match, pinned him into a comfortable position and we all fell asleep.
On Saturday, we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Since we got there at opening, we almost had the place to ourselves.
In this one, David and Josh were inside a bubble in a piranha tank. Sorry some of the pictures are blurry. There wasn't a lot of light and I couldn't use my flash for many of the photos.
At first, Josh was a little unsure of walking on the see through panels over the water.
There were divers cleaning the glass, which fascinated Josh. This diver, since Josh was the only kid there, played peek-a-boo with him for a while. Josh loved it! The diver even brought over an eel for Josh to see close up.
Josh followed this orange garibaldi (the only orange fish in the tank) back and forth for about 10 minutes. He probably would have followed him longer, but I finally made him leave.
After throwing a few tantrums, we decided to let Josh take a break for a while. David and I basked in the sun while Josh amused himself by playing with fallen flower petals and debris between the paving stones. It figures that we pay a hefty admission price and Josh gets just as much entertainment from cement blocks.Our last evening we took a sunset walk to the beach. We had the whole ocean to ourselves.
It was really hard to get good pictures of Josh's face, because he was constantly in this position. He loved picking up the sand and throwing it.
Our camping trip was trying at times (it is so much easier to camp with a baby than a toddler) and I think our neighbors didn't appreciate high-pitched screaming ruining their enjoyment of nature. It isn't going to stop us from going again, hopefully in a few weeks.
3 comments:
Looks like a very fun trip!
You guys are so much more brave than I. I don't think that I could stand to take a trip with a toddler.
We have a vacation home like that, too! LOL You can stand up in it, it's so tall. LOVE the pictures of the beach and the footprints! I understand how difficult it is doing just about ANYTHING with a toddler. Give him another couple years and it will be fun. :)
I totally would have played with the diver, too!
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