Kickass Adventuring with Kids

AJ and I always have, and probably always will, argue about packing.  He is a minimalist and I like to be prepared for contingencies.  I’ve felt like the asshole parent one too many times, when we stay at the beach long enough for the air to get cold and my boys are shivering their butts off while the other kids in our party are snuggled into their nice warm hoodies and parkas that their parents were smart enough to bring.  I have to admit however, that when going on long trips, I’ll often suggest that we bring the DVD player in case the kids get bored or we just want a little time to distract them so we can have some peace, but 8 times out of 10 it never gets used.  We even have chains in the back of the Element, because who knows when a snow storm may hit Los Angeles, right?

We planned a camping trip to Malibu Canyon State Park for 7 days.  Each morning we were planning to spend on the beach in Santa Monica while Sebastian participated in his week-long surf camp.  In addition, we would be kicking off the week by spending the evening in Pasadena with friends to picnic and watch the fireworks show at the Rose Bowl.  So here was my packing list, including AJ’s crossing off of items he’d rather not have to carry down to the car.  Following the list is a rundown of things we used, things we didn’t use, and things we would have used if we had them.

1. Clothing for 7 days for each family member (except AJ who prides himself on bringing as few clothes as possible), including

• bathing suits, rash guards
• shorts (4 pair)
• long pants (2 pair)
• shirts (5 short sleeve, 2 long sleeve)
• PJs (3 pair)
• Underwear (7 pair) and socks (2 pair)
• hoodie sweatshirt or fleece
• hats
• week’s worth of diapers and wipes for the baby
• footed PJ’s for the baby

1. Phil & Ted T2 portable crib, including sheet and warm fleece blanket
2. Portable high chair
3. Airbed
4. Portable air pump charger
5. Sheets for airbed
6. Sleeping pads (2)
7. Sleeping bags (4)
8. Camping pillows (4)
9. Camping lantern and flashlights
10. Camping stove
11. Spare propane tanks
12. Iron skillet, sauce pan, colander, cutting board
13. Pre-packed bag of camping plates, cups, bowls, utensils, serrated knife, roasting sticks, and can opener
14. Dishwashing soap and sponge (didn’t actually find this until unpacking once we returned home)
15. Plastic tub for washing dishes (never used)
16. Camping chairs (4)
17. Cooler (2)
18. Dry Ice
19. Gel Ice packs
20. Beach towels (5)
21. Beach umbrella (never used, because it was so overcast on the beach all week)
22. Beach toys, including frisbee, volleyball, boomerang, football, and frisbee disc
23. Portable DVD player (never used)
24. DVDs (never used)
25. Watergun
26. Water balloons
27. Pre-packed toiletry bag that includes trial sized versions of the products we normally use
28. Cell phone chargers

Wish list of things we would have used:

1. Slack line to play on back at the campsite
2. Hammock to relax on back at the campsite
3. Ear plugs to drown out the whining
4. Dustbuster to clean the dirt out of the tent
5. Extra hoodie or sweatshirt for each of the kids
6. Extra pair of underwear and toilet paper in the car
7. Can of whupass
8. Fishing line to play pranks on neighboring campers (pity the fool that camps next to us).

What say you?  If your were camping by the beach for a week would you pack less than this?  About like this?  More than this?

Let us know and settle the Great Debate!

*Photo credit:  pixdaus(dot)com

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~ by Mickie on July 27, 2010.