the campsite

Highlight reel: We camped, we wine-tasted, we froze, and I checked two things off my 25 before 25 list. The "learning how to use our DSLR" one will have to wait, as the battery died partway through our trip so only some of it was documented. :( HOWEVER! It was still a fabulous and memorable weekend.

Friday after work, we loaded up the car {phones and all other media devices switched off and stowed} and drove the 20 minutes to Lake Cachuma in Santa Ynez. #GORGEOUS.

Our campsite was at the end of a peninsula jutting out into the lake, so we had the most incredible view all weekend.  

When we arrived, we pitched the tent and unloaded everything out of the car. It was at this point that we realized we'd forgotten 1) matches/lighter/something with which to start a fire 2) cooking utensils{we did have pots/pans}, 3) warm enough clothes 4) firewood or kindling {Tim had remembered a bag of charcoal though}... You know, basic camping 101 (can you tell it'd been a REALLY LONG TIME since either of us had been camping?)! It was also at this point that the forecasted 30MPH winds began to kick up. #whatarewethinking

So while I snuck away to try to find any sort of combustible material {against the warning of the signs at the ranger station; I made sure to only grab stuff that had already fallen!}, Tim made friends with a neighboring campsite to borrow a lighter. We'd cook using our eating utensils and hope I had mastered the science of cooking on cast iron {nope}.
It was an adventure, but we made it work.

That night, we bundled up as best we could and prayed our tent wouldn't blow away.



By the morning the wind had died down and the sun was shining a balmy 46*. Holy crap. We'd discovered that the raccoon who'd been hanging out in the trees behind our tent all night had ventured into our campsite and discovered the one bit of food we hadn't locked in the car the night before. That was fun to clean up.

We jumped into the car at 8am to find a place, ANY PLACE to buy matches/lighter/something to start a blessed fire to feed us and keep us warm.

After a leisurely breakfast, coffee, and a couple games of backgammon, Tim and I ventured into Los Olivos to grab lunch and go wine tasting {We ended up doing beer and champagne tasting flights as well}. Perks of living in Wine Country :)

We met up with some friends and visited some dog-friendly wineries so their pup could join us. Because seriously look at that face!

Saturday night was a lot less windy than the night before, so we didn't freeze too bad that evening :)

Sunday after breakfasting, hiking, and packing up the campsite, we headed home. I swear, most of the work involved in camping happens AFTER you get back! We certainly earned our showers that day--everything needed to be scrubbed down, organized, repacked into bins, and put away so we can find it the next time we decide on a whim to go camping.

Since my media-freeze was still in effect, we spent the rest of the day finishing up half-finished projects and deep-cleaning the apartment before showering and hitting the evening Palm Sunday service at church. Phew! What a productive weekend! By the time the service was over, our exhaustion hit and we called it an early night.