Round 2! My reservation at Deception Pass unfortunately fell on the same weekend as Juliette’s first summer soccer tournament, but since Isaac and I had such a good time at this campground last year under the same circumstances, we decided to stay the course with our plans and cheer on sister from afar. I scooped up Isaac from daycare early on Friday afternoon and we hit the road, stopping just once to go to the bathroom and pick up a bag of gummy Smurfs.
Our little two-person tent is a breeze to set up and we were all settled within a half hour. Welcome to your weekend home, Bud!
Hot dogs for the win, every time.
After dinner, Isaac hopped on his scooter and we went down to the beach to do some exploring.
A lone crab claw! Total score.
This place has the best rocks for scampering.
We zipped ourselves into our tent much later than Isaac’s normal bedtime, and he still spent 45 minutes doing summersaults in our little tent, but finally darkness fell and he quieted.
Rise and shine! I warmed Isaac’s vanilla steamer, made myself a cup of coffee, and then we took our morning beverages back down to the beach.
Isaac found another crab claw and placed it in a shallow pool of water to see if it would come back to life.
(It didn’t, but I adore his curiosity!)
We sauntered for a couple of hours, drawing in the sand and throwing rocks and dipping our toes in freezing cold tide pools. I know I say this often, but ahhhh…the luxury of going slow. We don’t get to explore at Isaac’s pace often enough, so I really leaned in and let him take me along for the ride.
By the time we got back to camp, we were ready for a second round of warm drinks – three cheers for the coffee cart!
Isaac put out our morning fire while I cleaned up, and then we hopped in the car to explore a little further afield.
We started at Rosario Beach, to do some dock-walking and tide-pooling.
And then drove over to Bowman Bay for a quiet beach walk.
The sun felt so good after our gray morning on the beach; I found a cozy spot in the warm sand and kicked back while Isaac drove his Paw Patrol motorcycle up and down the driftwood logs.
Isaac challenged me to a race and I managed to stay ahead of him for about 15 seconds before he left me in his dust.
It’s so easy as an adult to lose sight of the joy that can be found in running. I remember now…
We grabbed lunch in Anacortes and then Isaac fell asleep on the short drive back to camp. I unbuckled him from his carseat and laid him down in the tent, his body limp as he slept off the prior night’s shenanigans.
If you can’t wake ’em, join ’em. This was a snooze.
Finally, though, he woke! In time for a golden hour walk to North Beach!
We spread out our towel and our array of snacks.
CHEERS, Buddy.
Gosh, that evening was one for the books. Warm and gorgeous. Isaac bounced between being so sweetly, independently absorbed in castle-building, and then wanting me to come along to find special rocks or grab another scoop of water for his sand mixture.
We went back to camp for dinner, but then soon bounced back to the beach to catch the sunset.
Late nap meant late s’mores. It’s rare in June for this kid to stay awake till dusk, but when at camp… Isaac graduated to roasting his own mallows and was very proud of his golden brown finish.
We wanted to get an early start back home on Sunday to catch Juliette’s final game, but first…one last little walk in the woods.
Since there wasn’t anyone at the bridge’s overlook parking lot when we crossed at 8am, I pulled over so Isaac could see “the big green bridge” up-close.
And then we walked across, because my kid not only has no fear of heights, but apparently loves them.
I mean, at least watch where you’re walking, Buddy!
We grabbed breakfast in La Conner and recapped our favorite parts of the weekend. I put beachfront happy hour on the top of my list while Isaac declared scootering his most favorite pastime. I don’t know that I’d ever felt closer to this boy, more certain that I was living into my deepest dreams. My dusty, tiring, sun-soaked dreams. This is the stuff.
Leave a Reply