I find it ironic that the simplest times spent with family and friends are often the richest experiences we have in life. In a world full of expensive curated experiences at lavish places to visit, we find ourselves drawn to intimate settings with loved ones. My family had a good taste of that this weekend. After weeks of heavy rain, flooding, and road washouts that kept us indoors, we finally got our beautiful California sunshine back and we took advantage of it.
No Plans and Nothing to Do
On Saturday morning we woke up and had a slow start. We sat on the couch and watched a cool motocross documentary about Brian Deegan’s life. By the time that was over the boys were bouncing off the walls so it was clearly time to get out of the house and burn some energy. We decided to head over to Papa and Gigi’s house to play in the yard.
With a stroke of luck, and maybe some good planning on Gigi’s part, a perfect game developed. As we piled out of the truck the boys instinctively ran behind the house and pulled out the wagons. Luckily, we had the perfect game for them. A half cord of wood had just been delivered and was stacked out back. But the wood needed to be on the porch so the kids were in business. Log after log they stacked their wagons full of wood. Then with every muscle in their little bodies, they pulled the wagon over to the porch to unload the wood. Then again, one by one, log by log, they would haul the wood up the stairs and stack it. This lasted close to an hour until the kids turned on me and decided I should be pulling them around the neighborhood in the wagon. Who was I to say no after all their hard work?
Lake San Antonio – Water and Wildflowers
That afternoon after picking up some tacos at La Reyna’s Market in Paso we headed out to Lake San Antonio to scout campground sites. The plan is to tent camp next weekend and have an Easter Egg hunt at the campground so we wanted to find a good spot. If you have never been to Lake San Antonio, it is a beautiful lake just north of Lake Nacimiento in Monterey County accessible from Hwy 1 or Hwy 101. Our drive out to the lake took us across the dam at Lake Nacimiento which is currently spilling over. As we drove across the dam we could see the massive overflow pouring out of the lake. My boys were impressed. Nevertheless, our destination was Lake San Antonio so we pressed on.
The last time we visited Lake San Antonio was before the rains and it was basically a big mud puddle. But now, after three atmospheric rivers the lake is replenished and wildflowers are everywhere.
When we arrived it was uncrowded and we explored the huge recreation area. The boys spent some time driving RC cars and playing at a playground before jumping on their bikes to explore the lake. Lake San Antonio doesn’t have many large beaches but what it lacks in waterfront access it makes up for in hiking trails and flora and fauna to look at. After the boys were sufficiently worn out, we headed down to the docks to enjoy the view and the cool breeze coming off the lake. A handful of fishermen dotted an otherwise completely empty shoreline.
Leaving the docks behind, we stumbled across a cool set of stairs with plaques commemorating the previous winners of the Wildflower Triathalon held at the lake going all the way back to the early 1980s. It is interesting to see how the winning times have improved over the years. If I ever decide to do a triathlon, this would be the one.
As the day wrapped up and we drove out of the gates I looked at my wife and kids and couldn’t help but think, these are the days! A day spent moving wood and hanging out at the lake with my family is all I’ll ever need.
If you have any good local camping suggestions I would love to hear about them. If you’re looking for other fun activities to do with kids on the Central Coast check out my previous post on Things to do with Kids in Central Californias Wine Country. Please come on this journey with me by subscribing to my newsletter.
I hope you’ve found some useful tips here. I’d love to hear from you about ways that you experience life with your little ones. Thanks for reading. If you made it this far please follow me on Youtube, Facebook, or Instagram.
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