Several of the camping trips were great times. And some not so great. But every time gave you memories. Either memories you want to remake with your own family, or memories that you have as lessons not to do with your kids.

A couple of the camping trips, I remember with my mom and siblings, was going to the giant sequoias. That was a great trip. I don’t remember the trees being giant, but they were big enough that we didn’t attempt to climb them. Or at least I didn’t. I was my brother’s spotters. I walked across a fallen one. I remember because I was wearing my vest hoodie shirt with shorts and knee length neon orange and brown socks. I was probably thirteen, fourteen at the time. (I still have those socks!)

We went camping in Lake Arrowhead. I don’t really remember the camping part. But we spent one afternoon in the little town. I remember my younger brother and myself walking around. We stopped into a gallery. And I bought 2 postcards. One was an owl with its head tilted and looked wired. The other was a big chubby bear just sitting looking so relaxed. Just chillin. Which I don’t know why but these two cards made me think of my mama. She was either wired on coffee or she was so relaxed and comfortable like the bear. I gave them both to her as a present that year. I was sixteen-ish.

Another time we went somewhere with fishing. I can’t remember where. But I have a picture of my younger brother standing in front of the stream. He’s got his natural platinum blond hair, black skinny jeans, and a black T -shirt, with a coke in his hand. My nephew is behind him fishing with his Spider-Man fishing pole. That trip was so long ago. Because that nephew is now going to college in September. I feel so old. So that trip I think my nephew was three maybe. So…14 years ago…I was eighteen. I thought I was younger that trip.

But the bad camping trip was when I was eight I think. It was one of the last times our dad was allowed to take us camping unsupervised.

Almost every summer we would go to Jalama beach. Which I loved the beach. I still do. But I’ve been spoiled with Hawaii’s beaches from our honeymoon. But back to the trip. We would go every summer. So that trip my dad decided we would go on the hike to a lighthouse. It was on the end of the beach on a cliff. So far away! W started out for our trip at nine in the morning. Me and all my siblings. Me at eight. My younger brother at five. Older brother twelve. One sister sixteen. The oldest sister seventeen. And my dad.

The trip out was interesting to say the least. We saw so many things we’ve never seen before. We saw the large crabs inside the rocks. One was about the size of my younger brother. We saw many abalone shells. We kept several. (In hindsight not smart to make your bag heavy at the beginning of your trip.) We walked on beaches that we had never ventured on. We saw so many creatures in shallow pools of water. I loved the sea anemones! We walked by tall sand dunes. My older brother ran up the hill and slid down. He regretted instantly for all the sand was everywhere. Haha!

But we walked for hours until we made it to the lighthouse. Turned out to be any army base. And the security asked us to leave or we would be charged for trespassing. That didn’t stop my dad he made us take his picture before climbing back down the cliff.

Next came the hike back. We did eat our lunch finally before we started again. It was only around 4pm…I was starving.

This hike made me realize at the young age, don’t go too far because you still have to hike back. So the once amazing first hike, was now treacherous. Because the tide came in. So the beaches we first walked across was now submerged in deep dark water. Remember I’m eight. My brother is five. It was terrifying! One wrong step and you would be gone. And we were all in sandals.

Remember those dunes. Yeah those became the “stinging sands of doom.” The back of our legs were on fire with sand stinging your legs. The rocks with crabs were now submerged underwater. So not only was the water over six feet deep it was full of large crabs. At one point a wild hog ran across our path and my first thought was dinner. But then I thought I could ride it. No such luck on either.

By the time we got back my feet were all torn up. I had blisters, scratches, cuts, bruises. My legs could barely hold me. My arms were still attached even though I could not feel them. I was so exhausted. But that wasn’t the worst part. Our neighboring campsites had called search and rescue. And they were about to depart in search of us as we walked up. They had been worried since we looked like we were going on a hike, had little kids, and had been gone for almost twelve hours. Yeah. We got back around 9pm. If we hadn’t walked up at that moment, my dad probably would have been arrested for child endangerment. Because at this point my younger brother was passed out in my sister’s arms. And I didn’t know how long he had been like that. So she had been walking that treacherous hike with her arms full.

Safe to say, that was the last time my mom let my dad go camping with us alone. For good reason. Now as a mama I would be pissed, and would be a worried sick every time my babies went anywhere. But my husband knows the limits. He is more cautious than I am about some things.

So that trip gave me more lessons than good memories. There is such a thing as too much. And I have more sympathy for my mama.