Point Reyes, take II

 We had so much fun last year at Point Reyes that we did it again, only this time on *bicycles*! Much less work, much easier, and much faster. Well, minus the lake, but more on that below... Actually got out of town pretty much on time, still ran into a lot of traffic, but at least no frantic trips to the bathroom this time. We took two cars this time, because of the bicycles and the trailers.

One big change from last time is that Ian is now walking - and running, jumping, talking, and capable of running into the water and getting wet. You will notice, however, that he's not as filthy. Part of that is because he is now upright, the other part of that is because the camp site was a lot less dusty and more grassy than last time (this time we were up the hill behind the bathroom).

One thing did slow us down on the way in, and that was the lake that was the trail. The creek had jumped its banks at some point and was now occupying the trail. The middle part wasn't too deep, but the ruts on either side were knee and hip deep. It was a bit like the goat, cabbage, and wolf puzzle - how to get everyone across. We ended up taking stuff out of one of the trailers, since we weren't sure if we could roll it across without getting everything wet. The kids happily played in the water on the other side, which was the first instance of Wet Kid and Wet Shoes.

The campsite was surrounded by 3 foot grass, which turned out to be ideal for keeping small kids entertained, since it's pretty much over their heads. Made it a bit tricky to find them, though. Isabella "raced" back and forth from the campsite to the bathroom over and over again, usually making one of us chase after her. Ian joined in, too, yelling "running, no walking!" as he went. Lots of ladybugs there and in the sand as well. It was pretty hot up at the campsite during the day, but down at the beach it was a lot cooler, especially with the wind blowing.

 We spent a lot of time fetching water for the kids on the beach. It was warm enough down close to the sand, and up at the base of the cliffs, but not really that warm by the water. So fetching water was rather chilly. Didn't deter the Isabella too much, though - she went running in the wave in her swim suit.

Pam and Mike came down to join us for Saturday, which was nice. There was lots of sitting up on the sand at the base of the cliff keeping warm.

The last day it got so windy that we actually had to get off the beach - blowing sand is not so good for small kids and not so nice for us adults, either. It was ok in the morning, but by afternoon got pretty bad (blew the umbrella over).

Tents are made to be played in... Ian has a new favorite phrase "down to the beach". He woke up bright and early the day we were leaving and insisted on going down to the beach, even walked all the way down by himself. He and Isabella both enjoyed the bicycle ride in and out - lots of "whee!"s, even on the bumpy parts. Isabella got a turn on the green seat while Ian went in the trailer, but just a short turn 'cause she's way too big now - her head hits me in the chin.

All in all, a very enjoyable trip.