Labor Day Camp Out - Part I

You know how it is, you go camping for a weekend and take a crapload of pictures.  So that means I can bore entertain you with plenty of snapshots over two days of blogs! 

This past weekend we ventured back to Olema where we used to camp all the time as kids growing up.  For those of you not familiar with California it's north of San Francisco near Pt. Reyes.  Beautiful area, but boy can it get cold.... I remember one year when my mom forgot the sleeping bags and the 5 of us were huddled up together, never so close as a family as that summer night in Olema.

But enough about 1990-something, let me tell you about this past weekend.  Dave, Drew and I were the first to arrive around 2pm and Drew was ever so helpful (I'm serious) in helping us put up our tent.  Something that normally takes 3 people was successfully put up with 2 1/2!  He held a pole - put some real muscle into it sometimes - but managed to really help his parents out.  What a kid.

Next to arrive was Uncle Matt, Rana & Adrina.  Matt was "armed" and ready to go....

Courtesy the belated birthday present from my parents.  For all of us once we settled in, it was time to relax!

L-R: Rana, Grammy, Me

Drew was content playing behind the trailers on Mollie's rug (my parents' dog) playing with all the toys Rana's Mom brought up.  He pulled every one of those toys out of the bag, and then put them back in the bag.

The next morning I ran for more than an hour along the quiet roads (a feat that will come back to bite me in the butt later that night, but I'll fill you in on that in a bit) and then afterward we headed toward the Earthquake Trail and snapped a few photos...

Drew at a tree near where the fence split by 16 feet during the 1906 quake...

Grammy & GrampC

Drew and Adrina, sitting in a tree.....

Our Family Tree....

Rana, Uncle Matt & an unhappy Adrina. (she pouted for all group photos).

A bit later we ventured out for some wine tasting in the area.  I mean we are camping near wine country and all!

L-R: Dave, Rana, Matt, Mom & Dad  - Adrina & Drew are in the far back

Here's a close-up of the two of them who were staying out of trouble at the winery by coloring.  When they weren't coloring they were apple picking!

Enjoying the "fruits" of his labor - hardee har har

After wine tasting (we went to one more winery - where Rana was stung by a bee) we headed back, but that's when it hit me.  My allergies.  In hindsight I think they flared up after my hour long run through all of Pt. Reyes' natural best... but I was MISERABLE.  I stayed in Grammy and GrampC's trailer with Drew who was trying to settle down for the night - and I needed a few zz's as well.  I woke up around 8pm when Dave came in to check on us, with no voice.  Zip. Zero. Zilch. 

I decided to sleep in the trailer instead of our tent for the night to see if I can kick the worst of it.  Thankfully it worked, while I woke up at first without a voice, it gradually returned.  For a while there I was trying to figure out how to convince Dave that we needed to go home a day early.  Whew, crisis averted.  I'll deal with a few sniffles and sneezes.  Not the achy, no voice miserable feeling I had a few hours earlier.

As for part two of our camping trip... you'll have to wait until tomorrow!