Aloha everyone,

We just got back from a nice relaxing family camping trip with a bunch of friends. It sure rained hard and often on us, but our spirits were not dampened. There were periods of nice weather as well.

The good part is everyone had a good time, no one got hurt, we made new friends, and of course, we ate pretty well, as usual.

Since I had a lot of pictures, I figured I would try something different and post a link instead of individual pictures. Here it is:

Kahua Nui

There was supposed to have been a large group of medieval people there but we never saw them. I only saw a large bonfire in the distance on our last night and I assume it might have been them, but didn't head over to check it out. It was bedtime for my kids. And while the huge bonfire was impressive, I really saw no need for a fire that large.

We kept a fire going almost around the clock. But we used it for cooking as well as our night time camp fire, so its configuration changed quite a bit depending on our need. I don't think our fire ever got more than about a foot high as opposed to the bonfire that looked like it was blazing at least ten feet plus high.

Bad news is my wife lost the Surefire I let her use. She loses so much stuff. D'oh!

Once again it looks like a great time!

The slideshow seemed to work pretty well, but you might want to do a shorter version. LOL j/k

Thanks for sharing!

Great pics as usual ('cept for that plumber shot). Been a long time since I saw people "camping" with a towel over their shoulders or around their necks...

I REALLY like that fire pit!! Its almost like being able to build the fire on the ground. Around here we tend to have fire pits made that are deep concrete or metal tubes that can restrict airflow from the sides, especially when the warmth of the fire drives air upward. Some of the Scout camps around here have 3 foot deep fire pits, which in my view is kind of nuts - waaaay too deep.

When it started raining did you just stay out and get wet? - it looks like that. Is the humidity low enough that you dry out fairly quickly (never been there) or do you just deal with being wet?

Ken

I don't know about Aloha, but when I was in the tropics, you just got wet, then within minutes you were as dry as you ever were. The wet season sucks. 100 degree heat, 100% humidity, all the time...

Nice photos Aloha.

Any tips for camping with little kids? I wanted to try some car camping with the family this year before the weather gets too cold but our youngest is 10 months old and is always looking for something to pull on (like the walls of the tent) so he can stand up. Also not sure how to keep him out of trouble (ie. the fire pit).

Aloha,

That's because we told her to do it. We wouldn't want all your trips to be perfect given the surroundings!

Looks like a great time. Can we trade places one time? My wife and I will take your family's place in Hawaii and you can camp near Dallas. The highest point here in Denton county is the local landfill.

Best regards,

Brian

Aloha everyone. Glad you liked it. Yeah I should have put a warning that it was long. But I did say I had a lot of pictures. Anyway, it was made to share with the other campers too.

Thanks for asking my wife to lose my Surefire. I gave it to her to use because she was complaining about her Maglite not always staying on. From now on I will only give her the $1 Countycomm fauxtons.

And why do I need to trade places? There is room enough at our campsite if you guys want to join us. We'll be there early October. This is a different campsite than the one we have been going to and it is pretty good.

Sorry about the wise crack OBG.

The towels were the sweat and rain wiper uppers.

Overall, it was really nice. Even though it rained very hard. There was a cool breeze in the shade. And we set up a couple of canopies so that we could keep our little camp kitchen dry and the kids could scamper under when the rains came.

One afternoon, my daughter was a little clingy so I was holding her. I felt a slight change in the wind and looked around and noticed that the clouds were descending down the mountains and blowing towards us. So I yelled that I thought rain was coming. They trusted me enough that they stopped what they were doing and gathered the kids and zipped up the tents. And even before they were done, the heavy rain hit. But we were pretty dry. Every time I felt rain was coming I we had to gather the kids because they were ranging pretty far. But it rained every time so when they get called, they run.

The first really heavy rain of our trip was Friday afternoon. I stayed out in the rain because I had just started our dinner fire and I wanted to make sure we had our bed of coals. I didn't dry off and ended up taking my wet shirt off and putting on a jacket. The wind was actually pretty cold.

One of the moms kept calling me the "fire god" and I had to keep telling her I am just a fire guy. Alan Halcon's nickname is the fire god. One of these days, I gotta see him make a fire in with a hand drill. He gets a coal in .6 seconds it seems.

Aloha Tom,

Tips for young kids...

Let em play outside. Tell them to stay away from the fire pit, give them boundaries and keep a close eye on them. Especially when they are that young. The babies, we just let them play in the grass. They love it. The older kids will also play with the little ones. The little ones play with each other too, but they like just hanging out. It's relaxing and helps to get them tired at the same time. Then when they go in the tent, they sleep.

Oh, try to keep their routine. That's why we pack books and pads and pencils and such. Stuff to keep them busy if it storms and they have to stay in, just like home. The great thing is the kids don't need TV!!

I sunscreen my kids first thing in the morning and touch up a couple of times during the day. If there are a lot of bugs, I will bug spray them a little.

Other tips...

Keep them watered a lot and fed a little. They will munch on stuff on their own constantly anyway. I monitor their bathroom activities to make sure they are drinking enough and every hour I call them to come and drink water.

Have other kids there. They are happy in their own little worlds playing with their friends. We stop their play to impose discipline when needed. I always tell them to make sure they can see us and we can see them.

Finally let them go and play. Sometime parents worry too much. On another trip, one of the moms that I invited brought her special needs child. Neither had ever gone camping before and mom was really worried especially about her daughter's behavior situation. I told her she is just another kid and will be treated the same as all the rest. The daughter had a great time and so did the mom. And not only that, her behavior was great. The daughter's was too.