Plaskett Creek - Part 1

Plaskett Creek is one of my favorite campgrounds so I was excited to go there for our September camping trip. We left early Friday afternoon and drove our way up the windy expanse of Highway 1 past Cambria. The weather was overcast and cool - a dramatic contrast to Paso's high 90's.

We arrived and located a perfect site. Flat, open with a couple of trees for shade, the grassy expanse was a camping oasis after the the dirt camping we've experienced the last couple of trips. We unloaded our gear and prepared to set up our new tent.

After five years with the same tent, we finally broke down and purchased this beauty. With a center height of 7'5" and a cabin design, it's perfect for family camping. Our old tent, while roomy, was a dome tent that really didn't allow us to utilize all the space. It took us only about a half hour to set it up - pretty good considering it was the first time we'd put it together. At one point I was stretched out on my tip toes trying to hold my side of the tent up, Chad was stretched trying to hold his side up and we realized that we'd left the last integral pole ten feet away. Thankfully we had a very big helper.

"Joseph baby, could you please grab that pole and take it over to Daddy?"

"Okay!" He picked up the pole and used the curve end to play golf with a pine cone.

"Joseph...take it over to Daddy."

"Okay!" He dragged it over to Chad, stopping ever foot or so to hammer it against the ground. He finally reached Chad and threw it at his feet.

"I a BIG help!" Yes you are, honey. Yes you are.

After we got the tent set up, the beds aired up and our gear unpacked, we headed down to the beach. Jelly fish were scattered across the ground. There is something so fascinating about them. Maybe it's their smoothness or the way they look like giant chunks of sea glass. My fingers itched to tough them and feel if they were hard or soft, smooth or textured. My common sense won out and I contented myself with taking a few pictures.



After our beach walk, we decided to go back to the site and make dinner. There was one problem - because of the massive wildfires over the summer, Plaskett Creek did not allow campfires. No campfires! What about s'mores and hot dogs and campfire cobbler? With dinner, I got creative and channeled my inner redneck. I fried up our turkey dogs. All I was missing was a loaf of Wonderbread and mayo. As for the s'mores and cobbler, well, I had to content myself with a marshmallow in my hot cocoa.

After dinner, we sat looking out over the ocean and reading stories to Joseph. The Loucks arrived an hour after we put Joseph to bed. While Danielle fed Lane and I chatted with her, Chad helped Adam with his tent. Adam was nearly inconsolable with the thought of no fires. He kept looking with longing at the covered fire pit and asked, in all seriousness, "I wonder what would happen if..." Shortly after their arrival, we called it a night, burrowing under our down comforters to escape the cold.