Is it too early to plan for Summer Vacation 2010?

We received an invitation to join Sarah's best friend Kelsey and her parents at their campsite at San Elijo which is a bit north of Del Mar on the beach in Cardiff. They and their friends were camping for a week and offered to share dinner with us. We had never been to San Elijo and all we can say is WOW! Beach camping is soooo cool!`

Kelsey's family had a site on the very end of the campgrounds on a cliff that overlooked the ocean (there was a fence there but...) The cool breezes, the beautiful beach only a few feet away....so wonderful. And if that's not enough.... the trains pass right behind it! :-) Amtrak, the Coaster and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe freights! Now some may see that as a drawback. But for the granddaughter of a freight train engineer (the KATY - aka Missouri Kansas Texas) who is married to the man who is recreating the Oregon line on a two-story layout in the shed, well it's waaay cool! :-) But lest those who are not fans of the train fret, Kelsey's family was making the whole thing fun by trying to be the first to call out "TRAIN" before they passed the site.

We typically camp in August. Yes, August. In the mountains. The ones that border the Anza Borego Desert. So we're typically lkooking at temperatures in the 80s and 90s. Beach camping = cooler temps. That's a no brainer for Miss Molly who does NOT like the heat! The only problem is that you have to book the site six months in advance and they typically are booked within minutes of being released. But come January 2, 2010 at 8:00 a.m. in the morning, when the summer schedule is released, I'll be on it like a duck on a Junebug!

Sarah and Kelsey

This is how close the train comes to the site. The water under the bridge (hmm...that's funny!) ebbs and flows with the tide.

Enjoying munchies with Mr. L.

Sabrina, Kelsey and Sarah.....

....and their footsies

A work of sand art!

The long shadows of summer

Bestest friends

The view before smores and after sunset!