HomeSweetRoam.com

So I still haven’t finished writing up everything I want to about the Cachuma trip we took a week and a half ago.  I blame work, but Gena would probably point at my procrastination skills being in full effect.  Either way, I’ve got more to write here about that trip we already took, and here we are setting off on another trip to another lake this weekend!

Lake Piru is our next stop. It gets pretty good reviews from people who’ve stayed there, and it’s also about 1/2 or less, the distance from home that Cachuma is. With gas being so pricey ($4.85 in our area as of this morning), we’re happy to make a shorter trip. In trade, we’ll be staying 4 nights, instead of 3.

We added a few things to our gear since we got home, such as a good set of wash basins for dishes, some dog tie down steaks, and other odds ends. We’ll be sure to post up about this trip alot sooner after we get back. And by that I mean Gena will be beating me over the head with a tent pole until I do.

So as I sit here at 0830 UTC, May 25th 2008, in the JPL Space Flight Operations Facility, preparing and triple checking everything on the Deep Space Network for the PHOENIX lander’s final hours of flight to the polar surface of Mars, I can’t help but wonder … where should we go camping and how soon can we get there?

A few weeks ago, we took a drive up the coast to Pismo Beach, and even without putting a lot of planning into it, ended up having a bucket-o-fun! Along the way we breezed through Solvang, and even passed by Lake Cachuma. Thats the lake that Gena’s uncle and the rest of her family used to camp at quite often, for months at a time apparently as well. Couldn’t see much from the car, but I’m told it’s amazing scenery.

So a lake with family history that I’ve never been to. Perfect.

Checking online, it seems it’s first come first serve for tent camping. I’m sure they won’t fill up 400+ campsites on my next weekend off but we’ll call to make sure next week and closer to going. We are well aware of our luck! Price seems right, and pics make me wish I was on my way there first thing in the morning.

So this will be it. Our first outing to test out all of the new gear we have, and the ability for us to no kill each other over the span of a few days out in the fresh air. I’ll be sure to post more here as we work up the final details, and of course we’ll put up some of the photos from the almost guaranteed chaos. Wish us luck!