Slowly, as I became more mature and see the world a bit differently, I now appreciate what non man made environment is all about. Trust me, I am still a city girl, but in this overly congested, overly fast paced world we live in today, a break back to basic can be awesome.
But for me to be really going back to basic, like no electricity, no hot water, no toilet, etc. ….arrrr…… not quite ready honestly, and may not ever be truly ready for that until… an article in LA Times inspired me to the alternative of real camping. Yes, glamping is in style now, glamping means glamorous camping. Depending on the amount of money you want to dish out, you can go to the very exotic and luxurious.
I supposed this isn’t the first time I glamp! A few years back when I went to Botswana with Jennifer on an African safari tour, we were camping. Of course, I forgot to mention the fact that our tent is permanently built on stilt with luxury linens and flushable toilet inside each tent! Yes, in the middle of the Okavango Delta. Well, that was a deal of a lifetime.
Back to today’s topic, after reading the LA Times article, I figure let’s give myself a try and also give this experience to the kiddies. You don’t know what you don’t know until you try; I think camping should be something in every kid’s memory bank.
Around December last year, I called up Lake Cachuma to book two yurts, one for Tom & me, and one for the Chows and mom. I did have a back up plan. At $60 per yurt per night, and with only a cancellation fee of $15, hey if we chickened out at last minute, it wouldn’t be too costly. Of course, my hubby laughs at me about this whole idea of camping. “What? This is not real man camping….” But he went along with it anyway.
We arrived on Friday mid day, with car full of stuff. Yes, I pretty much brought the household, ok, except the kitchen sink….well, the yurt has only bunk beds with vinyl mattress. Each yurt can accommodate up to 5 adults. We have to bring our own sheets, pillow, blankets, and towels, etc. There is an electrical outlet inside the yurt, but you are not allowed to cook inside. We brought extension cord, coffee maker, clip on lights, flash lights, and a bunch other stuffs. You should see the details in the excel spread sheet I provided to all three families.
Oh, at this point, I should add that the Tams were relocated here to CA now and decided to join us on this adventure. And mom did chicken out, saying something about not doing well with her legs, and bugs, and whatever…..
The yurts were basic, but it is clean. The location is perfect, right along the lake, so waterfront accommodation at such a bargain, wow. The yurt is on a platform with a wrap around wood deck so you can just sit back and relax if you don’t get blown away first. For whatever reason on this particular weekend, the location of the yurt seems to be in the middle of a hurricane wind path!!!
First priority is to check out the comfort station. The restrooms were clean, and the shower facility was decent. Coin operated hot shower. It cost me 50 cents for a quick hot shower, like 3 minutes each quarter. Remember, this is new to me….
I don’t think I did much the entire weekend, mainly just getting from one meal to another, breakfast, lunch, dinner, s’mores, building fire on the grill, fire in the fire pit, etc, going back and forth between the yurts, the comfort station, the lakes, tried to read a book but realized I brought one I already read. Figure. No TV, no raido, no computer, a bunch of kids screaming, running, laughing, making a mass. Maybe that is why I ended up with 600+ pictures.
Uncle Tom was most popular during Saturday afternoon as he got ready to show the kids how to fish. It was hilarious. It was better than we expected, about half hour of attention span is really a lot for 4 kids ranging from 2-6 years old.
I think the kids enjoyed most is playing in the grass and dirt, climbing along the wood fence between the yurts, hanging their feet along the deck, throwing rocks in the lake, making s’mores at night while wearing their sunglasses to stay away from the smoke.
Fence Walking, acrobats in training....
Earth Loving Children...including eating the dirt...
I had to take this picture. The kids were throwing rocks in the water. And here is Makayla butt crack shot...oh mine...wait until her wedding date....haha
Then Vanessa mommy had to rescue this little one as Duncan accidentally sent it into the water...thank goodness it was in shallow water...
Overall, it was an awesome weekend. Even my sister Brenda agrees. Now, we are looking forward to booking all 3 yurts for next year…..and we would have a better idea of what to expect too. Here is a perfect family picture for the Chows.
No comments:
Post a Comment