Fall Camping in San Clemente

Well, we made it through our last and final camping adventure of the year. We returned to San Clemente, to the exact same spot we had earlier this spring. It was quite different this time, and not in a good way. We were debating asking other people to go with us, but I'm glad we didn't. I wouldn't have wanted to put anyone else through what happened to us.

The weather was very overcast on Friday afternoon. I didn't mind that too much, as I was glad that it wasn't the scorching heat we had not too long ago. It was kind of nice to return to the same spot, since we knew exactly what to expect. The only difference was the tree had a lot less leaves.


D has become a pro at setting up our tent, and had it up in no time flat.

It wasn't until we were going to start the stove for dinner that we realized we were missing one critical thing: a ligther. (We had assumed it was in the box with all our camping gear). D made a quick trip to Walmart, and picked up a couple of other things that we didn't bring. We decided to go simple for dinner and just had noodles. First, I tried a box of Trader Joe's "Tokyo-Style" soba.

Uh, not so good. I mean it was ok, but everyone preferred the regular Top Ramen that I had brought as back-up. (Added some frozen vegetables and ham for some color).

Afterward, we made s'mores over a campfire, always a hit, and got ready for bed. k and n had a difficult time falling asleep, however. While they were trying to fall asleep, a motley crew of young adults arrived at the campsite next to us. Oh, it was so awful...loud, drunk, swearing, etc. They were still up at 2:50 a.m. (and so was I, as I heard someone say what time it was). n fell asleep, but he kept on waking up and crying. One of our loud neighbors loudly complained about him, but I didn't feel too bad considering what they put us through. Two of them were walking towards out tent until they finally realized it wasn't theirs.

k had to go to the bathroom at 4:30 in the morning, and D kindly offered to take her. Must remember to bring shoes that are easy for her to put on/take off next time. D also made breakfast for us in the mist: eggs, hash brown patties and mango chicken sausage. After D cleaned up, we headed back to the tent to digest. After a while, D went outside and realized that the mist had turned into a light rain. We quickly packed up our tent and went home, getting somewhat muddy in the process.

I know I have made this trip sound awful. It just irks me that your neighbors, who you have no control over, can really ruin a trip. I think next time we need to find a place where the sites are not so squished together. However, there were definitely fun parts: k getting really excited about camping since she remembered out past trips, k and n running around the campsite, laughing at n in the tent when he pointed his fingers to the sky and bounced along to our rendition of Lady Gaga's Pokerface (neighbor's music choice), and the togetherness. When there was some quiet, it was nice being able to hear the crashing of the waves. Plus, when I was young, I used to always pretend with my sister that we were camping and it started to rain. Now I've experienced it in real life (not too fun in reality). Guess it is time to book our next trip, for next year.