San Diego Part I: the KOA.

KOA kabins are definitely my type of kamping.  why, you ask?  well, because our last tenting trip, roughing it out in the deep woods, was just plain awful to say the least.   

flash back to Labor Day weekend, 2001.  

we had four children, the oldest being, well, four.  we lived in Phoenix at the time, and had driven to Sheep Springs (near Flagstaff) to camp out with a few other families.  it sounded like a grand time.  needless to say, I didn't get a wink of sleep the entire weekend.  each night I was kept awake by a cacophony of sounds coming from within the tent.  one kid moaning because he had an earache, one whining because she was cold, another kept bumping into the wall of the tent and waking up, a sniffling baby wanting to nurse, and a husband tooting because he ate too many beanies with his wienies.  groan. 

and then there was the leaky air mattress.  every time Gary got up, I hit the ground with a thud.  and every time he laid back down, I sprang up into the air. certainly not fun at three in the morning.

and so each night played out something like this: whine, cry, sniffle, bump, moan, thud.  toot, sniffle, cry, whine, toot, bump, sproing!  definitely not a grand time.  all fondness for camping abruptly vanished after that weekend.  and I've been leery to "tent it" ever since.

and now back to the AOK, er KOA.               

anyway, we reserved one of those cute, two room kabins with a queen size bed in the back room and two sets of bunk beds in the other.  it's always a fight between the hubby and I over who gets the bottom bunk.  LOL.  kidding.     

clean restroom and shower facilities are always a plus as well--- no need to worry about having to find a tree that's wide enough to hide your backside from other random campers, or pass out while holding your breath in one of those nasty biffys.  ew.

this KOA had a heated pool.  and two playgrounds and a basketball court for the kiddos.

and, lots of grass and paved paths which equals less dirt and kids that aren't covered from head to toe in grimy filth.  swell.

and because of the holiday weekend, there were all sorts of activities going on: a lollipop hunt, water balloon toss, hayrides, a jumping castle, and tie dyeing, just to name a few.

yep, me and KOAs are like THIS. 

 
 

the kids have fun on the front porch swing and have contests to determine who can jump the farthest.

 
 

pretty flowers everywhere.

  

wienies and beanies are still a camping staple.

making faces while waiting for said wienies and beanies. 

a game of baseball ensued after dinner in the kabin courtyard.  looks like they're deciding teams.

 

Sawyer is up to bat.

 

here comes the pitch.

anyway you look at it, KOAs are a hit with every age, young and old alike.

up next, LegoLand.

-jessica