Idyllwild park

California continues to showcase its diverse landscapes with our latest camping trip to Idyllwild. Nestled in the San Jacinto mountains and referred to as "Mile-high Idyllwild" is a charming small town and of course another camping opportunity for us. For this trip we were fortunate to be joined by our friend Martin and his daughter in their awesome teardrop trailer making this a "Fathers and daughters" trip.

After a scenic drive up the mountain we arrived at our campsite and quickly set up.

The campground has many tall pines and cedars for shade along with clean bathrooms and friendly staff. We shared our large site which was $25 for the night and included a fire pit and picnic table.

Here you can see our friend's teardrop trailer showing off their new 200 watts of solar power. They are now totally self sufficient unlike a few of our neighbors that had their generators running for most of the day.

Idyllwild is known for it's hiking, rock climbing and legendary boulders. Many boulders are scattered about the campground so we had to explore.

I think this was also a fun experience for Catherine as she did a great job of exploring on her own.

After a quick nap, we all had dinner in the van.

Camping with young kids means early to sleep and of course early to rise so we took the opportunity to tour the rest of the campground on our bike the following morning. Catherine is still getting used to the trailer...…

Our short and enjoyable trip was over quickly but I managed to take some shots as we drove home.

Hesperia Lake

Just when I thought we had experienced all campgrounds within a two hour radius of our Los Angeles, I discovered Hesperia Lake Park. Located on the Southeastern edge of Hesperia, California in the Mojave Desert is a manmade lake where various town activities are held and includes fishing and camping. With everything packed and ready, we set off on a foggy morning.

Catherine wasn't too happy to be stuck in her seat.

But got over it quickly when she saw our spot for the day.....

We brought our bikes on this trip so we could easily explore this scenic lake and park. This is also the first time Catherine has been able to ride in the trailer. She was skeptical at first.

Of course she quickly warmed up to the fun with help from Mom and her sister.

Hesperia Lake Park certainly has plenty to offer including a stream running through the shady trees and green grass.

Swings and sliding fun.

Plenty of water for fishing and feeding the ducks.

Hanging out in the van continues to be a fun place.

We even were able to go for one more ride around the lake before sunset and then it was off to sleep.

Another short but sweet trip in the books but hopefully we can return to this park for some more family fun.

El Prado and Blackstar campout.

It's been a while since we have had the opportunity to camp so our most recent outings filled the void. El Prado is one of the largest VW shows of the year in Southern California and I have tried to make this an annual event. Even though I was still recovering from a cold, I managed to pack up the van for an overnight with Brooke and Catherine (sans wife!!). After circling the campground a few times our friends Pam and Andi offered a perfect spot on the grass with a great vantage point of the lake that was also close to the show the next morning.

After an early night, we were woken up before sunrise to the familiar sound of air-cooled engines passing by as they set up for the show.

It seems like this show just gets bigger and bigger every year and we saw the nicest collections of Type 3 and VW Things I have ever seen in one place.

I consider myself a VW fanatic so it is always a joy for me to see not only the sheer number of vehicles that gathered but also the passion that others have for the brand. Knowing the day's forecast was going to be a hot one, we left quite early but not before seeing a very rare VW Kubelwagen - the original light military vehicle designed by Ferdinand Porsche.

Dana Point

Living in the Los Angeles area does have it's benefits and our proximity to the ocean and beachfront camping is a major plus. When the forecast called for temps in the 90's, we decided it would be a good idea to cool off at Doheny State Beach campground for the night. As with all our trips, getting the van prepared is a task by itself but it's a good thing I have a helper.

One of the aspects we enjoy about this park is it's proximity and that it is at ocean level so you can simply walk out to the beach. We arrived at 2pm and quickly set up.

Then we took advantage of some beach activities.

As this campground is almost always full, the girls did some people watching.

Then we all did some exploring before dinner.

The van is always a fun place to both relax and play.

Camping with both girls is definitely a more difficult activity so we have been trying to shorten our outings to simple overnighters. With that said, the trip was quickly over and we headed back home.