2007-04-20 Malaekahana camping trip

IMGP2225  Sammy takes a nap at Malaekahana campground soon after we arrive. It is a rustic Hawaiian-style campground right on the beach. Cost was $5.20/per person/night. The wind was unbelievable. I mean, I know we're on the windward side of the island and all, but if it weren't for the warmth I'd swear by the sound of it rattling the tent that we were in a bivy on Mt. McKinley. I used 6 stakes to keep it in the ground and threw all our stuff in there to hold it down. IMGP2226  This is what mom does during naptime - Blackberry!!!! (That is a verb now, right?) P4180006  This is about 100 yards from our site. P4180017
IMGP2232 IMGP2233  One of the rustic cottages by the ocean. p4180019  Talking to Dave in San Diego while we roast huli huli chicken. (Actually, we got it cooked since we were short on time the first night...but it sure looks like we roasted a fine meal, huh?!) p4180021  We moved the tent to the leeward side of a small hedge about 24" high (the most shelter our particular site offered). It made a difference, though.
IMGP2235  The next morning. Mom had planned on sleeping under the stars, the way she grew up camping (on just a tarp). She tried our cot for the first time - it got good reviews. She also bought a shower curtain to hide under in the event of sprinkles, which did indeed come during the night. We had a tarp she could have used but she wanted a more feminine look - ha ha! Sammy is being a good boy playing while I make breakfast. IMGP2238  My "fast and light" method of camping (i.e. get packed up in less than an hour) has some advantages, and some disadvantages. I didn't realize we didn't have a spatula tucked away in our camp gear bin. So I used two plastic knives to flip pancakes. I also tried to brew coffee in the French press, but this took too long to heat up. (I had not had percolator training yet - this is usually Dave's domain!). Can you see the stake? Yeah - I had to stake down the plate holding the cakes. The wind was unbelievable. The French press was a later casualty - the wind blew it away on our last morning. imgp2239  Almost ready for sweet potato pancakes and honey! IMGP2242  Holding onto the forks. We lost so much food to the wind. This morning, some prize coffee cake blew away to the chickens loitering around us (there were a million chickens and stray cats.) I rather like my hair style n this shot - nice texture, don't you think? It's a new product - called "mallow"...not really. It's bits of marshmellow mixed with salty air. It's a priceless look you just can't bottle :) I wear basically the same clothes for three days when camping - sleep in them and everything. When you're camping with a toddler, you really don't have time for niceties. I DID floss, though, and I did take my contacts out. You gotta have some priorities :)
imgp2243  Sam loves to dunk in the honey. He learned about honey from Winnie the Pooh. Now he always wants it. IMGP2245 IMGP2252 imgp2254  Making things "jump" on mom's cot.
imgp2256 IMGP2257  Mommy makes Sammy "jump"! P4190031  Our camping neighbors are from Canada and the two couples had a total of 3 boys ages 5-7. They also brought a huge supply of bubbles for the boys to chase. Sam loved playing with the big boys! P4190034  I got in on the act, too!
IMGP2259  This is too funny...a guy rode by on the beach so we all scurried to go check it out. We noticed he was on his CELL PHONE while riding. I know this may not surprise some of you, but to me it seemed anachronistic. P4190042  This horse missed his buddy and was galloping around the field watching his friend walk down the beach. Very cool seeing a white horse among a sea of green. p4190054  We went into Haleiwa for late lunch/early dinner and explored around this quaint surf town. We had a great time poking our heads into lots of places we'd only driven by previously. We met local artist Ron Artis and his family - he paints murals and has done a huge array of surf boards which adorn his home and shop. He and his wife have 11 children who are talented artists and musicians themselves. They put on an impromptu show for us, singing and playing the piano, drums, keyboards. For more about this family and their faith, visit www.ronartis.com. P4190055
P4190060  This "lodge" is available for $250/night. When I heard about it at first, I was thinking "how cool!" because it sleeps 20. Then I saw the condition...wow. No way. Nice location, but seriously... p4190061 P4190062 p4190063  Sam calls this the "tree tunnel."
p4190065  I grew very fond of my little Weber grill - that charcoal is easy to light in the high winds and we enjoyed s'mores both nights. (No alcohol allowed, but ah-hem...what is a camping trip without a little...um...it is bourbon in there, if you must know.) P4190066 P4190068 P4190071  Sticky sticky!
P4190074 P4190077 P4190078  "Mommy eat it!" P4190080
P4190083 p4190086 p4190091  Nice sunset... IMGP2268  The last morning...Sam is so cute in the morning, so I sneaked a few shots of his wake-up :)
IMGP2269  Taking pictures of his "friends" who came camping with him. imgp2274 IMGP2279  It was a tight fit in this 2-person JUNIOR tent that I got at Wal-Mart. It has served us very well, though. Yes, it's small but it fits anywhere, even in the guest room of my brother's small apartment in NYC. It was the best $12 I spent on camping gear so far :) imgp2284
imgp2285  What's that on my head? IMGP2292  It was gramma's hand! IMGP2293 imgp2287
imgp2295  Very busy in the morning. He wakes up so chipper and sweet. It looks like he's serving Gramma some coffee here... :) Our plan was to take our time packing, then head out for coffee and breakfast (I was craving a latte!). imgp2298  I brought other toys for Sam but never took them out, wondering just how much mileage he'd get out of these two - his red car (that we found on a camping trip in WA with Ang and Becca last July) and a matchbox truck. He kept track of these two, taking them everywhere. IMGP2300  Naughty Gramma!!!! It's 6am and she's already chatting it up! (Actually, her neighbor in CA called.) IMGP2302  See those LONG shadows...yeah, it's early. The rooster starts crowing at 4am.
IMGP2313  More bubbles! Vicky's husband, Keith, is furnishing the bubbles. They were so nice to share with Sam and have fun with him! IMGP2317 IMGP2318 IMGP2320  We were just about to lose this little morsel to the wind...
p4200096  That's Vicky and Terry. We didn't get a picture of Terry's wife, Susan, but they were all so nice. P4200097  Mom's chicken friends! p4200100  Trying on a new hat while mommy packed up. "I put it on my head." P4200103
P4200104 P4200105 P4200107  A pilates move! p4190049  Graham cracker while mommy loads the truck.
p4190050 p4190052  Must be nice to relax while mommy works! IMGP2321  So - our expedition to find a latte was noteworthy. We didn't see anywhere to get a latte ALL the way back down the coast, 29 miles, to Kailua. We grabbed a McD's egg mcmuffin (YUM! I have not had one in a long time and after camping it was so delicious! There is precedent for this in the Krug family - Dave and Dan hustled out of camp to make it back to McD's in time for breakfast!) IMGP2323  Oh yeah! Then home to unpack, pick up Caff from Laurie's home (she kindly took care of Caff and even took her on long walks on the beach while we were gone), and give everyone a good bath. I even vacuumed out the truck. We managed to get all that done in about 2 hrs. Not bad!