Life with Lena: Big Sur

Friday, April 18th through Sunday, April 20th, a large group of us went camping at Pfeiffer Big Sur. With over 20 people camping, we took over three campsites. It was fun for me to have some of my high school, college, and work friends all hang out in a beautiful spot for the weekend. It only took three rounds of reservations to get us there (long, anxiety-producing story), but we made it!

Our campsites were large and completely shaded by giant redwoods. Each campsite had its own fire pit and picnic table and offered plenty of personal space.

Steph and I left Morro Bay around 3:30 pm. on Friday. Having just left Palmdale that morning, it was a busy day, but I was prepared, having packed the weekend before (thanks to good genes for inspiring me to pack ahead of time!). Steph's dad was nice enough to let us use his big truck - we used every square inch of it. Bear, Puck, and Nugget were loaded into the camper shell (left) while Steph and I enjoyed the comfy cab. The drive from SLO to Big Sur is one of my favorites, it is so BEAUTIFUL. We reached the campground around 5:30, just about 15 minutes before Nikki and crew showed up - Good timing!

Since I was busy on travel for work that week, Nikki and Ryan (left) did all the grocery shopping - such a huge help! We hate so well that weekend, especially with all the treats (80 cupcakes - chocolate, vanilla, strawberry with add your own frosting - brownies, muffins, and cookies). That night we settled in and tried to get comfortable, though it was a bit cold (around 40 degrees F at night and only in the 50s during the days).

The next morning we had a family breakfast, with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and potatoes (our baked potatoes took to long to cook the night before but Ted had the great idea to fry them up in the bacon grease - so good and totally allowable while camping!). It was fun to all share food and help with the cooking. Then, we went on a short, easy hike to the waterfall near the entrance to the campground.

The waterfall

Christy, Michelle, Ryan, Zandra, and Nikki pose in front of the waterfall

There were so many of these beautiful irises popping up along the trail.

That afternoon we went for a longer, more strenuous hike along the Ridge Trail in the National Forest. It quickly warmed us up! Steph and I were desperately searching for a condor sighting, but alas... no condors :(

No blog of mine would be complete without a weird wildlife picture. Here's a cool banana slug that Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay are so famous for

Below are pictures of Steph, Bear, Nikki, Ryan, Zandra, and Michelle hiking.

After the hike we returned and started making our family dinner, which included chicken and steak fajitas with all the fixin's. It was so nice for everyone to only have one thing to cook and yet still have a big meal. Thanks to Ted for the family dinner suggestion, it was a hit! The next morning we packed up and went for one last hike. It was an overlook hike that ended up being a lot longer than we thought it would be, but it was worth it. Here's a group shot:

Some more fun pics: