School starts this week in California so we decided to take one last awesome adventure in what was already a pretty epic summer. We spent two nights camping in Jug Handle Creek. We booked a campsite using Hipcamp.com, a very cool website that allows you to camp on people's private properties much like Airbnb but for camping. If you are interested in using Hipcamp please follow this link. It will give you money towards free camping and it gives us money too!
We decided to use this trip as a double whammy, not only would we use this as a way to relax and de-stress before the 2017-2018 school year begins but we also decided to use this trip as a way for us to practice blogging and documenting our trips. Ryan bought a new DJI Mavic Pro drone and took some amazing overhead shots and video footage that can be seen throughout this post.
We loaded up Woody and Susie and left the house early Friday morning to drive North. Traffic took us about 45 minutes to even get through the city and over the Golden Gate Bridge. But once we made it over we were on our way! First stop: Bodega Bay, a city made famous when a crazy film director named Alfred Hitchcock decided to use this town to film the movie which haunts Danielle's dreams... The Birds.
We continued up the coastal highway through some of the most dramatic and breathtaking scenery in the world. We stopped for a picnic lunch along the way and arrived at Jug Handle Creek Farm around 2:00 in the afternoon. The weather was misty and cool with a few surprise appearances from the sun.
Setting up Camp
The first thing we do when we arrive at any new campsite is looking for a level/flat area to set up Woody. This will be where we sleep, so we want it to be somewhat shaded but with easy access to the bathrooms and a good arrangement in the back of the trailer to function as the galley it is meant to be.
After setting up Woody, the next step to a successful camping adventure is getting to know your surroundings. This includes venturing to the nearest bathroom and meeting your neighbors. We were fortunate enough to also have Ryan's drone to help with the exploration. We got some great bird's-eye view shots of our campsite, we got to see what is out there beyond the trees and we got to entertain the congress of children who were camping with their families next to us.
After sending up the drone to scout out the view, we decided to pause our usual camp set-up process and go see the beauty surrounding us for ourselves. Our campsite was less than half a mile to the beach. And what a beautiful beach it was. We explored the Highlands and then we went down to the beach, passing berry bushes along the way.
Stay tuned for the drone video at the end for even more AMAZING shots of the beach!
Now that we had explored, it was time to return to camp and get back to business.
Next step
, Fire! Of course we need to get the campfire area set up and ready to go. Jug Handle Creek Farm is a non-profit organization that teaches youth in the area about nature and its wonders. Buying firewood from them helps to donate to their cause. We bought a lot of firewood.
After the campfire set up, next is food! We have found that people have very different ideas of what camp cooking can be. "There are hamburger people and there are steak people...we are steak people."
This trip was our first trip with our new camp stove, a wonderful wedding present from Roman and Nikki Paine. This thing is bad-ass. It is a Ecozoom Rocket Stove - Versa.
Our new stove allowed us to make the many amazing campfire meals that we love. Steaks for the first night, bacon, hash browns and eggs for breakfast, chips and queso for snacks and then Trader Joe's Korean BBQ Beef and stir fry veggies for dinner the second night.
Night time brings star gazing, campfire time and of course, the best part about camping, S'mores! Danni likes to think of herself as a bit of a S'mores Master. The best enhancement so far has been adding Speculoos Cookie Butter to the graham crackers before putting on the chocolate and marshmallow. Its spectacular! You have to try it!
Our new fishing pole roaster, a wedding gift from Katie Ogden!
It is amazing how entrancing campfires can be!
After a wonderful night's sleep in our Teardrop, we were refreshed and ready to explore the rest of the area. We hiked through the meadow and woods to the farm's orchard and explored the coastal forests. The weather was crisp and misty, the perfect end of a Northern California summer!
Drone Selfie!
With each trip we take we always try to reflect on what we have learned during the trip and think of ways we can make the next adventure be even better...
Things we learned on this trip:
- The drone is really freaking cool
- We will be adding some extra lighting features to the inside of Woody
- We take a lot of pictures of our food
- There are so many beautiful places in this world and many of them are so close to us... And we are going to see as many as we can together!
We hope you enjoy the short film that Ryan made with his drone footage!
(click below)