Camping Southern California

Moms Talk: Summer is More Structured Nowadays, But the Kids Seem Happy Enough

Has summer vacation changed since you were a kid? 

When we asked our Moms Council this question, we expected to hear that life nowadays is faster-paced and more structured, and a little lamentation about the loss of open-ended playtime.

Sure enough, some moms pointed out that more women work full-time than when they were little, which increases the need for formal activities like day camps. But overall, it seems that the goodness of summer is still good, no matter the logistics.

Click on the links below to see a couple of time-honored summer traditions still going strong in Castro Valley:

Now let's hear from members of our Moms Council.

Summer vacation : What was yours like compared to your kids' now? What has changed? Is it a plus or a minus?

Dana Leipold  

When I was a kid, summer vacation meant freedom. We could sleep in, watch cartoons until noon, play until dark and go to the beach every day (I lived in Southern California, Huntington Beach). It was unstructured and free flowing and awesome ... mostly because my Mom was a stay-at-home-mom and so were a lot of my friends' mothers. 

My kids today go to camp and summer school because I work and need child care during the day. They get to do a lot of cool things like learn about sea creatures, do fun science projects, meet new friends, go hiking and nature exploring, etc., but they don't really have a lot of free time to just hang out like I did.

I worry that they will resent that fact later in life, but then I also think they don't really know any different. This summer my schedule was more flexible, so I did have a few weeks where we did nothing, and it pretty much drove me and my kids up the wall! Go figure! 

Amanda Sanders

When I was a kid summer vacation was a time of freedom. I had no scheduled activities. My time was spent playing outside with the neighborhood kids, playing tag, riding bikes, roller skating.

Best tent camping in Southern California during Jan/Feb ...

I’m looking to take a 2 or 3 day trip with the girlfriend and was looking to find a camping area that’s good for pitching a tent during January. I live in Orange County and was hoping to not go too far north. I’d say Santa Barbara and below. I hear Joshua Tree would probably be too cold at night. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Any of the coastal ranges are good this time of year, In the O. C. there is a nice hike in campsite in the crystal cove state park, few know about it it’s about a mile and a half into the back portion of the park. Up the coast is Malibu state there are many car camp sites and a couple of hike in campsites there as well. If your looking to car camp, Casper’s regional park on the ortega hwy in the OC has some great tent sites and Doheny beach is popular. Going south to San Diego county I like Rancho Cuyamaca state park they have hike in camp sites as well as car camp sites. Keep in mind jan/feb are the coldest months for camping in Kalifornistan and many campgrounds close for the winter definitely those above 5000ft. . here is couple of links to get you started

http://www . fs. fed. us/r5/cleveland/recreation/camping/index. shtml

http://www . parks. ca. gov/?page_id=614

http://www . crystalcovestatepark. com/

I just got home from a three night backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada Foothills, just about a mile outside of Yosemite. I was in the Toulumne River Canyon at about 3,000 feet, during the day temps. were in the mid 60’s, overnight mid 30’s, could not ask for better. That’s why we live here! As long as there is not a storm coming in any lower elevation destination is going to be nice.

Be sure to select a campsite that gets good sun exposure, critical this time of year. Make sure plenty of firewood is available, it is getting dark early and you’ll want to burn a fire longer than summer time. Have a good time.

Over 35 years backpacking experience, more than a 1,000 nights in the backcountry.

I would like to recommend to you Death Valley. This may be a little bit further of a drive than what you would like to do. But, its awesome there and it would be worth it. I usually go during the 3 day weekend that is in February. I live in San Diego and I leave real early on Saturday and come home real late on Monday. Death Valley has some camping areas you can reserve. They also have back country camping where you are seriously the only people around. No reservation needed for that at all. That is what I like to do. Just follow their rules. Check in at the ranger station first thing. As far as activities go. They have hiking trails. They have driving trails. They have a lot of cool sights to see. I like Titus Canyon, The Racetrack, The lowest point in the continental USA, picture taking of flowers, and Scotty’s Castle. Plus so much more. Yes it may be cold at night. But, its nothing a decent tent with they fly on, a good sleeping bag, and a cuddle buddy (girlfriend) can’t handle. Some tricks for keeping your tent a tad warmer at night is to layer up the flooring. Meaning before you put your tent down lay out a tarp or something (footprint). Place your tent on the tarp. THEN fold up another tarp to fit nicely on the floor INSIDE the tent. Use your sleeping pads too. . . . obviously. I do this for my girlfriend who gets cold really easy. She likes it. One last trick and I swear I am done. Stuff some of your warm cloths into your sleeping bag while you are trying to get to sleep. So that it replaces any cold air space that may be there. Have a good time no matter what you do.

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