Mt. Madonna with the Millers

Our friends Jason and Ginny invited us to go camping with them this weekend at Mt. Madonna, which is about forty-five minutes south of San Jose.  Paul packed everything on Friday while I was at work and we headed out as soon as I got home.  Friday night was foggy and chilly, but that only made it nicer for sitting around the campfire to stay warm.  (Okay, so I basically froze my tush off, but it was still wonderful).  Btw, I took these photos and am pretty proud of catching the sparks in this first one. 

Jason exhibited masterful fire-making skills, even if the fire didn't light with just one match. 

Paul and I pitched our tent under the stars, but Jason and Ginny set theirs up in a circle of redwood trees.  Because of the fog which condensed on the needles, their tent was dripped on all night long and it sounded like rain even from our tent.  Paul says that the redwood's ability to collect fog means that they have a steady source of water year-round which is why they grow so tall.

Paul and I made s'mores - a camping must for us.  Toasting the marshmallows is really my favorite part.  And yes, there are six squares of chocolate on this s'more.  I use half a Hershey bar for every s'more.  So I'm a glutton, but it's a rare treat, okay?  (Also, do you say schmore or suh-more or smore?) 

Paul and I made breakfast for the Millers on Saturday morning - pancakes, bacon, eggs, orange juice, milk, hot chocolate and fresh fruit.  In a lot of ways, camping is all about the food.

We played games like Mastermind, Scrabble and Password, and spent time just hanging out around camp chatting.

I made friends with this little guy who has one of the cutest voices ever.

This picture is for his mom - I think this was just after his nap.

We also went for a morning hike through the beautiful trees where we saw at least 20 banana slugs.  Everybody took turns carrying Ollie, but I'll admit that I would have carried him the whole way if he would have let me. 

We had to head out earlier than we would have liked on Saturday because I had work that needed to get done, otherwise we would have stayed another night.  But it was such a wonderful weekend break and a reminder about how much I enjoy the outdoors.