Camping Queen Camping At Ocean Cove

This weekend we went camping with some friends at Ocean Cove. While we visited Ocean Cove three or four times last summer, this was our first visit this year (and probably our only seeing as how abalone season has re-opened!). We headed up Friday and were surprised by the number of people already there.

Ocean Cove is kind of our stand-by campground, the place we go if we want to camp and can't get reservations anywhere else. When it's not abalone season it's usually easy to pull in and find a site or two and you usually have your pick but not this time! It was very crowded and by Saturday they were using the group campgrounds as overflow camping. And it was not even an abalone weekend... CRAZINESS!

Once you have camp set-up, you get settled in, and you're having fun, the sites don't really matter. We ate, plated, relaxed, and just enjoyed spending time with friends!

The kids made trains...

'Board'walks...

Hideouts...

And boats! Creativity is DEFINITELY their strong point!

And here's the view from our campsites... BEAUTIFUL!

I've been dubbed the "Camping Queen" by a good friend of mine. When she first said it I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but I've been assured it is very good and they can't wait to go camping with us. I guess six trips in one summer will earn you a title like that!

Stay tuned for our next adventure to Hendy Woods!

Healing Up

This is a post for those of you who are wondering how my dad is doing after his bike accident...

He is currently on his bike ride in Iowa. I talked to him this morning and he said that he's feeling great and that the wounds are almost healed. They are not hindering his ride progress at all.

I must say, the human body is an AMAZING (and intricate) piece of machinery!

Keep up the good work, Dad! See you in a few weeks!

Lazy Sunday

Here's to lazy days of sleeping in, going to the movies and hanging out!

Yep! That pretty much sums up our day!

Handy Everyday Tips

Here are a few handy tips for those of you wanting to read your neighbors mail everyday tips that I know I can sure use! And hey... If I can use them, you probably can too! So... I'll share because I'm nice like that. You're welcome.

* To open a sealed envelope put it in the freezer for a few hours. Slide a knife under the flap. The envelope can then be resealed.

* Use Empty toilet paper roll to store appliance cords. It keeps them neat and you can write on the roll what appliance it belongs to. (And they're a heck of a lot cheaper than those handy cord strap thingies!)

* To prevent icy door steps in freezing temperatures, get warm water and put Dawn dish washing liquid in it. Pour it all over the steps. They won't refreeze.

* To remove old wax from a glass candle holder, put it in the freezer for a few hours. Take the candle holder out and turn it upside down. The wax will fall out.

* Got kids? Got crayon marks on walls? Dip a damp rag in baking soda. The marks come off with little effort.

* To remove permanent marker from appliances and counter tops use rubbing alcohol on paper towel.

* Whenever I purchase a box of S.O.S Pads , I immediately take a pair of scissors and cut each pad in half. After years of having to throw away rusted, unused, smelly pads, I finally decided that this would be much more economical. Now a box of S.O.S pads last me indefinitely! In fact, I have noticed that the scissors get 'sharpened'' this way!

* Blood stains on clothes? Not to worry! Pour hydrogen peroxide on a cloth and wipe off every drop of blood. Works every time! (Okay, this one is a little odd...)

* Use vertical strokes when washing windows outside and horizontal for inside windows.This way you can tell which side has the streaks. Straight vinegar will get outside windows really clean. Don't wash windows on a sunny day. They will dry too quickly and will probably streak. (And... THAT would imply that I was windows!)

* Spray a bit of perfume on the light bulb in every room to create a lovely scent in each room when the light is turned on. (Hmmm.... The kids' room HAS been smelling a little funky. I think I'll try that!)

* Place fabric softener sheets in dresser drawers and your clothes will smell freshly washed for weeks to come. You can also do this with towels and linen.

* Candles will last a lot longer if placed in the freezer for at least 3 hours prior to burning.

* To clean artificial flowers, pour some salt into a paper bag and add the flowers. Shake vigorously as the salt will absorb all the dust and dirt and leave your artificial flowers looking like new! Works like a charm! (Interesting idea, but easier to just buy a new arrangement!)

* To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stove top. (I do this ALL the time, even when I'm camping. This one DOES work!)

* Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato based sauces and there won't be any stains. (I've heard this one before, too. I've not tried it (probably too lazy or forgetful or something) but I've heard of it.)

* Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.

* When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corn's natural sweetness.

* Got a headache? Cut a lime in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away. (That's AFTER you've finished the margarita, obviously... I think in reality you're just too drunk to realize that rubbing a lime on your head won't really make your headache go away... But hey... It's worth a try!)

* To get rid of itch from mosquito bites, try applying soap on the area and you will experience instant relief.

* Ants are said to never cross a chalk line so get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march. See for yourself what happens.

* Use air-freshener to clean mirrors. It does a good job and better still, leaves a lovely smell with the shine.

* When you get a splinter, reach for the scotch tape before resorting to tweezers or a needle. Simply put the scotch tape over the splinter, and then pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily. Duct tape works even better.

* Check out what you can do with Alka Seltzer! Use it to clean a toilet... Drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets, wait twenty minutes, brush and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous China. To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill it with water and drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets. Use it to polish jewelry. Drop two Alka Seltzer tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for two minutes. Use it to clean a thermos bottle. Fill the bottle with water, drop in four Alka Seltzer tablets, and let it soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary). Use it to unclog a drain. Clear the sink drain by dropping three Alka Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, and then run the hot water.


Okay, gotta run! Sounds like a trip to the store for dish soap and Alka Seltzer is in order!

Foiled Again!

I always struggle to come up with fun and different ideas for camping meals. We tend to eat the same few things... Hamburgers, meat and potatoes, and soup. Don't get me wrong, all of those things are great... But sometimes I just want something different.

This trip we experimented with foil dinners... Chicken foil dinners, to be exact! Talk about YUM!!

They even received a thumbs up from LIttle A! What can be better than that? Okay... Two thumbs up (one from each kid) would have been better, but for some reason Big A didn't like them. Not sure why, since there was NOTHING in them that he doens't like.

Anyhow, not only did they taste great, they were EASY! I prepared them at home, cooked them at the campsite, and there was NO CLEAN UP!

Chicken Foil Dinners

* Boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks

* Veggies of your choosing (I used the pre-cut saute veggies from Trader Joe's. I had one pack that had zucchini, crookneck squash, onions, carrots and garlic and one pack that had asparagus, onions and mushrooms)

* Cooking spray (I used my new olive oil sprayer)

* Garlic salt

Spray large sheets of foil with cooking spray (1 per person). Place chicken and veggies in the middle of each sheet of foil. Wrap the chick and veggies with the foil then wrap another sheet of foil the opposite way so the packets are double wrapped. Place the foil packs in a Ziploc bag and put them in the ice chest.

When you're ready to cook them... Get a good fire going. If the fire pit has a grate, I suggest using it. If not, just put the foil packs directly into the coals around the edge of the fire. No matter where you have the packs, turn and rotate them often. I believe it took about 45 minutes to cook them completely but it would have been a lot less if my fire had been better. There's not really a good way to tell they're done except to open them up and check the chicken.

Dump them on plates and enjoy! Best part? NO DISHES!!

Camping At Van Damme

This weekend we went camping at Van Damme State Park near Fort Bragg. This used to be my absolute favorite place in the world. I must say that I still really like it there but I've found many places that I like more.


Van Damme is across the street from the ocean so there tends to be very little sunshine and lots of fog and it can get quite cold and windy. The afternoon we arrived was one of those cold, foggy afternoons. We immediately put on sweatshirts and fixed some hot cocoa.

We were camped on the upper circle of the campground and took many walks 'around the circle' scoping out campsites for future trips, counting banana slugs and just enjoying family time.

I don't know what it is about this area, but banana slugs are plentiful and the kids loved playing with them and collecting them. Who knew that banana slugs eat paper?!?! The papers hung on every information board had big, ragged chunks out of them.

One good thing about Van Damme is that there is quite a variety of activities available in the area. We drove checked out the other campgrounds in the area (If you ever want to check out my camping binder or get information about campsites, let me know!), walked the boardwalk at MacKerricher State Park and saw the tide pools, seals and squirrels,




Check out all of the squirrel holes in the side of the cliff... They must have one fancy house going on behind those walls! And who knew that squirrels eat flowers? That astounds me about as much as the paper eating banana slugs!


On Sunday we were blessed with AMAZING weather! The skies were bright blue and sunny and it was warm. I didn't put a sweatshirt on all day. Even sitting by the fire that night the skies were clear and you could see a million stars. I had been a bit worried about the fog and the mist and how wet everything would be packing up Monday morning, but with this sunshine and clear skies at bedtime, I was convinced that we'd be able to get up the next morning and leisurely pack up our DRY gear.


Unfortunately I awoke Monday morning to the drip, drip, drip of rain or a VERY heavy mist. I jumped out of bed and realized what was going on. Not knowing how long this rain/mist would last and not wanting to pack our gear in the rain, I woke B and the kids and we rushed to dry stuff of and get packed up. We had camp dismantled, packed up and were on the road in record time, just under an hour!

We still had some drying out to do when we got home, but I know it was MUCH better than it could have been!

Skunk Train

Today we rode the Skunk Train. Since we were camping at a nearby campground, we had to get up early, eat breakfast, get our camp cleaned up and closed up for the day, and head into Fort Bragg to catch the train. This was the kids' second trip on the train, but it was our first trip with the steam engine (as opposed to the diesel engine or the motorcars). They loved it just as much this time as they did last time. The difference between this time and last is that this time we went in the summer and were able to spend much more of the trip in the open-air car rather than inside the train.
The trip takes about 4 1/2 hours from start to finish. This includes a 45 minute lunch and refilling stop at Northspur Station (the turn around point) as well as stops along the way to pick up and drop off passengers. When I say pick up and drop off passengers, I don't mean at regular train stations like you might be thinking. I'm talking about these little platforms right along the track. This one is actually quite fancy. Most of them are nothing more than a small wood 'deck' in a dirt clearing.

These stops are designated for people who come out to the middle of nowhere to spend time in rustic cabins (no heat or electricity) that were build hundreds of years ago by the loggers and railroad workers who owned the land. We learned on this trip, that when the cabins were given to the railroad employees with the condition that they were to remain in the family and could not be sold or rented out. It was really neat to see people getting off the train with all of their gear and heading to these cabins. Other train riders include large groups of boy scouts headed to or from Camp Noyo or inner-city kids headed to the Boys and Girls Club camp. On our way back to Fort Bragg we stooped to pick up 140 scouts and their gear. Talk about crowded!

Many of the cabins are along creeks and it's not uncommon to see the cabin goers floating down the stream in inner tubes or kayaks or other fun flotation devices. Other cabin goers stop whatever activities they are in the midst of when the train goes by, and wave to all of the passengers. There's a real sense of community out there, even in the absolute middle of nowhere!

Northspur Station is the turn-around point for the train. Here you can purchase lunch, beer, ice cream and other random trinkets while the train turns around and refills the water tanks.

Even though you spend the day sitting (or standing), for some reason it takes a lot out of you. Chalk it up to fresh air or the relaxation that is brought about by the rhythmic rocking of the railroad, but you get off the train feeling exhausted!

I've taken this trip five times now and would do it 100 more. It's a beautiful trip through untouched, undisturbed natural beauty and I highly recommend it!

Can You Say Road Rash!?!?

Well, the inevitable happened today... My dad finally had a serious bike accident. I say finally because it was bound to happen sometime, right? I mean after all... He rides his bike hundreds of miles a year, how could it not? The timing couldn't have been worse (Not that there's ever a good time for a bike accident!) as he's finishing up his training for RAGBRAI.

If you're familiar with this county, you know that we have some of the worst roads in California and probably some of the worst roads in the US. Our roads are filled with cracks and pot holes and are lined with high weeds. The county claims that they can't afford the upkeep, but don't get me started on the county. (For the record B and I both work for the county, so we see some of what goes on behind the scenes.)

Anyhow... My dad was riding down a hill on one of our chunky country roads when he hit a pot hole. My fear was that he'd gone over the handlebars, but he actually fell to the side and continued sliding down the hill with his right side acting as a buffer between his bike and the pavement. After a few seconds his head hit the ground which actually stopped the forward motion, and he tumbled into the weeds on the side of the road. Scraped, bruised, bloodied and in shock, he managed to gather himself and his bike and make his way across the road to a more visible and open area where he could assess the damage to both himself and his bike.

He was in the middle of nowhere with few cars passing and no cell service so after a few tweaks to his bike he determined that it still worked and he was able to ride to the main road. He made it to the main road without incident and the bike was riding fine, so decided he could make it home and kept right on riding.

If you're interested, he tells the story much better than I do (I can't imagine why!). You can read his account of the story here.

All in all.... The bike is fine and Dad is in pain but handling it like only my dad can. All can say is THANK GOD FOR BIKE HELMETS!

When The Kids Are Away...

THE ANIMALS WILL PLAY!

Or get dressed... Or something crazy like that!

And the kids will sleep in the most awkward positions!

Yep! That's what happens when the kids are away!