Almost back to normal from our camping adventure last week with my sisters and their families, still a little sunburned and tired after living in the elements for 4 nights. I was truthfully dreading and looking forward to this trip, I haven’t been tent camping in years and wasn’t sure what to expect. And I like having hot showers and clean toilets nearby! But it was an opportunity to spend time with family and leave our comfort zone that I wouldn’t miss.
I was amazed at how much stuff we packed, we didn’t load the car up with that much when we evacuated for hurricanes while living in Florida! Next time I’ll know more of what to pack and what not to!
Bodega Dunes Campgrounds is a great campground because it’s still near convenient grocery shopping, dining out, great trails for hikes, running, and biking, easy foot access to beautiful beaches, and fun activities like wine and beer tasting. It also has public bathrooms, showers, clean water, dish washing stations, and regular trash pickups and park ranger patrols. There are also a lot of skunks living on the campgrounds that like to scavenge for food as soon as you step away from your camp site in the evening, we learned they love the gummy snacks and Puffins cereal left under the picnic tables by my nieces and nephew so don’t keep anything edible in or near your tent!
My sisters and I came up with an impressive meal plan and divided the shopping lists which worked, except we didn’t follow the plan exactly since cravings and moods changed in the group and could have packed a lot less and simpler. Heck, I’m was happy cooking everything in foil packets or on a stick over the fire, no pots and pans needed for a camp stove and will probably pack that way next time.
I kept things simple for breakfast, almond milk with Garden of Life’s Vanilla Chai Raw Meal smoothie powder in a Blender Bottle with fresh fruit, simple and light before a run.
For the first evening, we had simple taco salads for dinner with heated vegan chili, tortilla chips, fresh veggies, and salsa.
And had s’mores for dessert which I packed Dandies Vegan Marshmallows for.
Problem was I was unable to find vegan graham crackers and ended up just having toasted marshmallows which was fine too, lighter. But I searched every isle at Whole Foods and there were no vegan graham crackers which was really disappointing! I read later that a vegan friend on Facebook could only find cheap vegan graham crackers at Walmart and I was not about to make a trip there.
Good thing toasted vegan marshmallows are gooey and tasty by themselves.
And my nieces and nephews actually preferred Dandies Vegan Marshmallows because they were “thicker and more gooey.”
The first night there was a wild one, temps were in the 50s and it was so misty and foggy it sounded like it was raining on the tent most of the night from mist dripping from the trees. Getting to see these views on a early morning run made it worth it.
The trail to the beach was foggy and so peaceful, just beautiful.
Later we explored the trails in the Horseshoe Cove area and took in beautiful ocean views.
The next day the guys stepped out to Russian River Brew Pub where hubby had a hearty vegan pizza and beer.
Nice to see vegan options at local breweries, the Santa Rosa area in general seems very vegan friendly.
And we tried cooking everything on a stick over the camp fire for dinner that night. I picked up Mori-Nu Shelf Stable Tofu for the trip, but found it does not stay on a stick when chopped into cubes!
Luckily zucchini and tomatoes do and the tofu was great cooked in a foil packets with more veggies and Lawry’s Seasoned Salt.
We also cooked instant rice and seasoned Indian bean packs with veggies and chopped tempeh for dinner another night.
Simple and hearty for a camp fire meal.
Overall it was a great and successful camping trip that I enjoyed a lot and looking forward to our next trip already! And I literally had to disconnect for most of it since cell signal was spotty at best at the campsite, not a bad thing for a few days!
It’s strange but while reading this I jotted down notes to make sure I included them in my comments so I didn’t forget about anything! LOL
Camping is fun! Glad you went! The tent looks like a good one!
I grabbed GoL Protein last week for Fair Week, too, just in case AND my blender bottle! I had some Cashew Milk with me and it worked out well – I think I only used it 2 days, tho – I threw in some nut butter too! YUM!
The food looks and sounds wonderful as always!
The ocean and tree photos are gorgeous! Ahhhhhh! Wish I would have been there with you!
And that menu! WOW! Nice! PS: My sister’s name is Megan teehee – She’s not vegan tho.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Too funny on the notes, I do that too. :-)
Raw Meal is great for traveling with the nutrient profile too, that’s the only time I really buy it and stick with Raw Protein for everyday smoothies.
Thanks on the pics, the coast is gorgeous and so nice to spend a few days in that scenery.
I’m an outdoor girl for the day, but then I need a comfy bed and a private bathroom for the night. I’ve camped in my backyard with the kids when they were little, as soon as they were asleep I made my husband stay with them and I ditched the tent for my bed.
Your pictures are beautiful, I might sleep in a tent for a few night if I woke up to that kind of scenery.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Too funny on camping and I hear ya, a tent was not that appealing to me either. But it wasn’t bad with a decent sleeping bag and air mattress, the cool air was refreshing.
The beaches were amazing, the morning runs on the trails and beach was one of the highlights of the trip for sure.
I always think food is the hardest part about camping. That and not having a good mattress and the beds in the showers. We camped in the Virgin Islands once when it was 90’s, even at night. But it was the only way we could afford it! Looks like a great trip =)
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
True on food, we over packed and probably had too many snack foods on hand for the kids. Next time simple foods for foil pouches and cooking on a stick. Agreed on the mattress, thankfully we had decent air mattresses, but I found the air in them could get chilly at nigh and a good layer of insulation is needed between me and the mattress.
That would be tough camping in the heat, it was in the 50s at night for us which worked out well, kind of refreshing compared to the heat here.