Avila Beach KOA has a special place in our heart - it's the first place we took Poppy (our pop-up tent trailer) and really jump started our love affair with RV camping.
A bit of background - Jan and I are veteran backpackers. The carry all of your possessions on your back, therm-a-rest sleeping, re-hydrating freeze-dried food kind of backpacking. Jan hiked the High Sierra Trail and countless other trails in the Sequoia National Park and Forest, and I used to teach teenagers how to backpack at Camp Tulequoia. In fact, the first time Jan and I really got to know each other, we went on a three night backpacking trip with a group of friends. I liked Jan immediately and Jan suffered from altitude sickness; so, great trip for me, not so great for him.
We want our girls to have a love and appreciation for the outdoors like Jan and I do, but with Lucy's early on medical limitations (cardio limitations, but maybe more influentially, reflux and projectile-vomitting), we weren't able to introduce our backyard Sequoia's to them until recently. In the meantime though, we really grew our love and appreciation for the beach and all things ocean.
About three years ago, my uncle sold us Poppy, our very first RV, and we hit the ground running. We were excited to be able to have some comforts of home with us, but still able to get outside to enjoy more of a 'camping' setting. We've spent several weekends at State Parks with Poppy, but surprisingly have really embraced 'glamping'. And let me tell you, the KOA is all about glamping. Full hookups, a store with cooking basics and plenty of booze, bbq pits, fire places, basketball courts, heated pools and spas, and the list goes on.
Back to our weekend... we pulled into the Avila Beach KOA Saturday early afternoon and began unloading. Our usual camping buddies, the Garcia family (Joe, Betsy, Olivia and Jacob), had gotten there first and were already swimming in the heated pool. I got the girls suited up and took them over while Jan set up camp.
We spent the evening catching up with old friends, enjoying hot dogs, chili, salad, and the girls favorite and any camping staple, s'mores. Lainey has declared that if she were on a deserted island, the one food she would have with her would be s'mores. Technically, s'mores are three foods, but we let it slide. She likes them that much.
The next morning, we woke up to some chilly weather. We bundled up and made our way over to pancake breakfast (did I mention that on weekends, KOA does pancake breakfast for $5?). Lucy's pancakes of course had chocolate chips in them. After breakfast it started to sprinkle. Then full on rain. So what did we decide to do? Go swimming, obviously. The kids splashed around in the pool, completely oblivious to the weather and the adults huddled under an umbrella drinking bloody marys with pickled asparagus. We go all out with camping beverages!
After a few hours, the girls turned pruny and the skies cleared up. Jan and I were getting restless so we decided to get out of camp in search of fancy coffee and sandy beaches, two of our favorite things. We headed south through Pismo Beach and ended up in Grover Beach. We stumbled across Red Bee Coffee and oh my, they make an excellent cappuccino. The girls picked out a piece of coffee cake to share and we sat in the outside patio playing the telephone game. It's always fun to hear the phrases the girls make up. Fully caffeinated and sugared, it was time to hit the beach.
We drove down the road and decided to explore the Oceano Dunes Nature Preserve. Some of our best weekend adventure memories come from places we happen to stumble upon. We saw trails up the dunes and decided to follow them. Sure glad we did! Talk about gorgeous - reminded us of the dunes on the Oregon Coast. The dunes were perfect for rolling, sliding and scooting.
We made it back to camp just in time for fiesta night - tacos, quesedillas, chile verde, beans, chips, salsa and guacamole. Ole!
Memorial Day was greeted with perfect beach weather - cool breeze and fluffy white clouds. Joe woke up early and drove into Pismo for cinnamon rolls - a Memorial Day tradition. We started packing up while the kids romped around, and got everything loaded into the truck before we hit Avila Beach to take advantage of the gorgeous weather.
The girls tried Betsy's paddle board and did a little boogie-boarding. Lucy chased sea gulls and Jan and I played a little beach soccer. After we were sufficiently sandy, we decided to pack it up, grab some tasty pizza, and head back to the KOA to eat lunch and hook up Poppy for the drive home.
Camping in Poppy has become one of our favorite things to do. It gets us outside, we get to spend quality time with friends, and the pace of life just tends to slow down. All things that we strive to make more room for in our busy lives!
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