Bootjack Campin' & a beach day in Bolinas

We decided to do a last minute camp trip a few weekends ago.  This is always a bad idea in the Bay Area as folks are so on top of it, and campground are so limited in the greater bay area.

We tried our luck at Pantoll on Mt. Tam looking for any walk-in sites at Pantoll or Bootjack.  The ranger told us that these sites were all gone by 8 am.  So as we sat there giving some snacks to the kiddos a couple walked by and told us that the site next to them is saved, but won't be occupied until tomorrow.... so we decided to stay for the night and got a free site.  Turned out to be a beautiful day.  Went on a few short hikes, got Kai on his Strider on the fire roads, and had a nice campfire for the night.

The next morning after breakfast we drove down the hill to Bolinas for a beach day.

The mountain theater.  Haven't seen a play here, but what a beautiful place.  

Nikko didn't want to nap in the tent.  

West Point Inn and the summit.  

Kimbo deep in conversation with Nikko...

Hey!  That's not a chair!

Hey!  That's not a hat... 

Kai is basically a nudist.  

Nikko crying... still cute

the guys fishing pulled up a bunch of leopard sharks.  These guys told us they are pretty tasty.... I was skeptical, but turns out folks do eat them.  I guess you gotta gut them right away.  http://honest-food.net/2010/08/02/shark-fishing-in-san-francisco-bay/

In any case, catching them looked like a lot of fun.  

Hey!  That's not a horse...

I've started taking some parkour and acrobatics classes at Athletic Playground in Emeryville.  Loads of fun.  More practice needed.  

Gotta work on my timelapses... this one caught my eye the other day.  

https://vimeo.com/133202655

Summit Rides: a X-ride up Tam.

Did a beautiful solo ride up Mt. Tam a while back.  I decided earlier this year that I need to ride up Tam, Hamilton, or Diablo every month.  So this was my summit ride for May.  And it was a good one.  Left my house at 5 am, hopped on BART, caught the sunrise while riding the Embarcadero, and rode through some foggy, serene hills to the top... only passing a handful of hikers the whole route.  

obligatory GG Bridge shot

Headlands

grey fox = big cat food...

fireroads forever.  Perfect X-riding territory.

Muir Beach

Some fun singletrack sections...

Chased a wild turkey through a herd of deer.

One of the reasons why Mt. Tam is so special.  

Looking back at Karl & the bay...

Only if this trail was waiting for me at the top... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=225&v=5ud5T5I4XcA

Father's Campin' at Kirby Cove...

now you know where those lips have been...

That's right... our ladies figured Father's Day would be a great time to leave us dads behind with the kiddos and go up to Jenner for a Lady's weekend for Elena's baby shower por numero tres.  Somehow, Kevin managed to secure a site at Kirby Cove for the weekend so we decided it'd be a good time to see which of our kids gets injured the least... the Smiths, the Hoefts, the Dufours and the Kuwabaras all spent the night... and Dylan joined in at night as well.  On Sunday, the Metres fam showed up to enjoy a day at the beach!

carpool!  4 kiddo seats in action!

Alexis the gatekeeper for this holy campsite. 

The kids were racing around in no time... didn't take too many pics.  Basically set up camp, ate dinner, got the kids ready, and had a beer.  

Kai in his basejumping rig.  

team huddle before the day

We drove up to go explore the batteries...

We played soccer in the tunnels... which was awesome. 

Next we piled in the car as it was quite freezing up at the Battery at the top of Hawk Hill, and cruised down to Rodeo Beach.  We thought it'd be cold and windy here too... it was a bit cold, but Kai didn't mind. 

what a stinker...

... not sure what these two were doing... 

found a nice picnic table by the cars for lunch time!

back at Kirby for naptime.  Nikko happily playing in the sand box

time for a beer...

after naptime, Dylan biked over for the day.  He quickly cruised out on Alexis' SUP.

young bum and the the sea...

Dinner time!

Dylan took off on his bike soon after this.

The next morning, I tried to sneak off for my morning poo... but woke Nikko up.  Nikko did NOT like the outhouse...

We debated what to do, as the fog was pretty thick, some of the kids were whining... and Kevin & Hoeft were ready to leave.  Then we heard from Metres that he was on his way.  So Alexis and I decided to stay, while they left.  As soon as they left, the fog disappeared and we had another amazing day on the beach.

This guy was killing it surf fishing.  he was catching a fish a minute.  The kids loved it.  

Kai did not want to touch the fish.... let alone kiss it.  

The swing was a nice touch.  

Kai swinging high!

Logs, swings, beach... endless kid fun.  

Nikko decided he's ready.  

Beautiful day...

Weekly Pano: Kirby Cove

Kevin somehow managed to secure a site at the ever elusive Kirby Cove over Father's Day.  The mom's were all up at Elena's baby shower, so we were quite out numbered but we had a fantastic time at the beach.  The kid to parent ratio becomes smaller when the beach multiplier is factored into the equation.