My kind of camping

As a kiddo, I was all about camping! I loved sleeping in a tent, being dirty, the camp fire, hiking, the adventure of it all. I used to make fun of the folks who considered a trailer "camping". Let's face the facts, for some people a trailer is home. It is most certainly not camping.

Funny how having little ones changes you. We've been camping with Aubrey before, and I remember just how exhausting it was. Not to mention the clean up required after we got home. Sigh...how I miss those days where someone cleaned up after me. Since then, I've been a bit of a scrooge and have been reluctant to tent camp again. I definitely plan on it when the girls are a bit older...like when Juliet is Aubrey's age, but until then, I had to figure out another plan.
We wanted to head to the central coast to escape the horrendous heat of the central valley. The last time we headed to the beach for a day trip, Justin got the number of Avila Hot Springs per my request. I thought their little cabins, nestled up on the hill, looked perfect for our next vacation. Not only did they look cute and cozy, but I also loved that they were across the street from Avila Valley Barn, a block away from the Bob Jones bike trail, centrally located near all our favorite beaches and bays, not to mention the awesome pool. I was sold! I booked our little cabin and it was basically the same price as a hotel room, so I was even more excited! Then I started to read some bad reviews online. I wasn't sure what to think. Basically, I think the people writing the reviews were expecting a resort, rather than camping. Instead of worrying, I decided to prepare. I took the advice of all the comments, and we were ready to go!

We arrived a few hours before check-in, so we headed to Morro Bay. We went to the aquarium to feed the seals and sea lions, the shell shop, and just did some sight seeing.




Then we went to check in to our cabin. It was a quaint little cabin with a full bed, bunk beds and a little living room and kitchen. I quickly regretted my judgement of "trailer campers" as a child. This was MY KIND OF CAMPING! All the comforts of home with the adventure of camping.

Aubrey's FAVORITE part of the whole trip was swimming in their big pool. She was too short to go down the water slide, but that didn't matter. Their shallow end was 2 1/2 feet so she was SOOO excited that she could touch the bottom. Her confidence as a swimmer really blossomed on this trip.
My favorite part of the trip was the beautiful weather and family bike rides. Aubrey rode 1.1 miles on our way to Avila before her little legs got tired, and we had to bungee her bike to the bike trailer. It was such a beautiful bike trail through lush trees, over covered bridges, with little benches and even a park along the way.
While at the beach, we played wave tag, soaked up the cooler weather, chased each other with seaweed snakes and climbed rocks.




It was a wonderful vacation that actually felt like vacation! Sometimes with little ones that's difficult to achieve.