Draining the swamp at Deception Pass aka campsite 214

Goodbye WETcoast - Good Morning Lake Chelan

I clearly made the right choice for Memorial Day weekend. As soon as we hit Leavenworth the rain stopped and the sun was shining. I wonder if it's still raining on the coast? Actually it's 9am, hot, and the kids are making sandcastles, I don't think I care!

Cabins on Camano

Really I had very little hope of that any cabins at Cama Beach State park would be available.  You can’t book them online and calling the park has been on my to-do list for months.  Yet here it is days before the ‘summer’ starts and they had a night available in July – yipee!

Cama Beach State Park is a restored family fishing resort with rustic cabins right on the beach and it’s only 25 miles from Seattle.  I can’t wait until July! Can you see the huge smile on my face? Trust me it’s there.  

Camp Kitchen Envy

Earlier this month I was marching my 5 year old through REI in an attempt to exchange the rain jacket I had purchased for him.  Apparently, red is no longer an acceptable color as it denotes one as a “bad guy” (such as Darth Vader).  Luckily blue and green were also available and a suitable swap could be made. 

Unlike my son, who really just wanted to get in and out of the store as quickly as possible, I am easily sidetracked and REI has done their seasonal re-jig so their store layout has all the camping gear front and centre.  I did get out of there without buying anything but the piece of gear that had my mouth watering was the collapsible, aluminum kitchen table.  All that extra space….and not having to co-opt the picnic table for the Coleman stove.  

Hmmmm….necessary absolutely not….but do i still want it? Absolutely!

Almost too late for planning ahead

Forget black Friday sales, I was up at 6:45 this morning to reserve what I’m guessing must be the the most popular campsite in the state – and didn’t get it!  Booking started at 7AM and it was reserved 7:01. I guess I just didn’t hit send quite fast enough.

Washington State Parks allow you to reserve many of their sites exactly 9 months ahead, so if you book this week you can get (or try to get) popular sites for the end of August 2010.  (and last year I thought I was so on the ball by booking before Memorial Day). 

OK so I did get an adjacent site but it’s not as big or as private as the one I wanted.  Sayonara Southend Site 8 at Moran State Park on Orcas Island – maybe next year . 

Falling into Autumn

You may have noticed I’ve been on something of a hiatus since our camping season ended.  September was spent preparing me for the start of kindergarten.  The five year old, you understand has taken to school like a duck to water – the adjustment has been mostly on my part.  Here in Seattle kindergarteners attend a full day 9:30-3:30.  It leaves a paltry amount of time after school for hanging out.  Still, it makes me remember why spending time together when we can is so important. 

Muffin or Cupcake?

I know. I’ve been awful. Is it really the middle of September already?

Although our planned camping trips for the year are over, I seem to still have camping on the brain. Like today – I was packing lunch for my new kindergartener and I thought – these muffins would be delicious on a hike (and there is nothing like chocolate to motivate my little slowpokes).

The five year old was a little dubious of the green flecks of zucchini but was brought over when I split the muffin open and pointed out the hunks of chocolate in the middle. Of course if you have a ‘will not eat green stuff even if it’s dipped in chocolate’ kind of kid you could peel the zukes first. I replaced 1/2 cup of white with whole wheat pastry flour and added a couple of tablespoons of wheat germ too - ‘cause that’s just the kind of sneaky mom i am.

Thanks Epicurious for this surprisingly easy recipe!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes