The HomeSchool Association of California (HSC) has a camping get-together group that does a half-dozen campouts each year in different places all over the state. Camp Krem is one of the staples, but the group also regularly visits Mono Hot Springs near Yosemite, Joshua Tree in the southern California desert, Pigeon Point way up north, and Refugio near Santa Barbara. They've also made visits to Agua Caliente, Pinnacles National Park, Patrick's Point, Pismo Beach, and several others since I joined the group last year. Sadly, the Camp Krem trip was the only one we made it to last year because we were busy every other weekend they held campouts, except for Mono Hot Springs, which was filled up exactly four days before I sent in my registration...
I met these camping families for the first time at Krem last year. Some of them are from farther north in the Bay Area, many are from southern California and the Los Angeles area, and a few are from the areas in between and around, reaching to just about every corner of the state. There are even a couple of outliers from Oregon that attend the campouts. The group has a pretty amazing dynamic, despite being virtual strangers, as most of them only see each other at these campouts. The girls and I really enjoyed ourselves there last year, leading to the virtual demand that we return again this year.
I'm not sure you can truly call this particular outing 'camping' since we all sleep on bunk-beds in cabins (although there's no windows - just mesh - and no electricity in the cabins), we cook our meals in an industrial-size kitchen in the mess hall, with a huge walk-in freezer and fridge downstairs, and we spend most of our time lounging in the meeting area indoors, protected from any possible rain or chill.
Our cabin in 2013 - a perfect location (directly across from the mess hall) that we missed out on this year. Our Cabin this year (A) was just a little ways down the hill to the right.
we use sheets or sleeping bags on these surprisingly comfortable vinyl-mattress bunk-beds. Not a lot of privacy in these cabins that are usually shared with another family as well. Last year we shared our cabin for only a few nights, but this year we had one all to ourselves.
The fire pit, a popular hangout spot during the day, but rarely used for actual fires here at Krem.
The newly remodeled kitchen this year with much more open space to move around and lots more counter space. I love being able to use the industrial griddle in the morning to cook pancakes or french toast for the entire family all in a few minutes. Although I do feel just a little bit like Spongebob when I use it.
The front entrance of the mess hall/meeting room
All of the HSC campouts have the same general premise and order of events. On the first day of camp, the families arrive, stake out their spots, and set up their kitchen areas. The kids and adults greet friends they haven't seen in a while and catch up on current events. On the first night, and every night of the campout after that, each family presents a dish to share for a potluck dinner. This is one of my favorite things about these campouts - sampling other families' dishes, making something simple or complicated depending on how I'm feeling, never having to stress about side dishes, and never worrying about my kids complaining about what I'm making for dinner because if they don't like mine, they can just eat someone else's. So, every night all the ladies shuffle around each other in the kitchen, sampling foods and sneaking peaks at what's being put together. We talk about ingredients, recipes, and methods, and then giggle as everyone switches into 'Master Chef' mode during the last 10 minutes as we all rush around the kitchen trying to finish our dishes and get them out to the table before the line led by teenagers and kids makes their way down the buffet table. Sometimes that line begins forming 20 or more minutes ahead of the dinner time in anticipation of something yummy materializing on the empty table. I thought I had a picture of the buffet table somewhere, but I can't find it. :(
After the first night, a huge sheet of paper is posted on the wall for people to schedule activities. Some of these have been scheduled ahead of time, so the host can plan and bring supplies. Some are regular events that happen at particular campouts each year. And some are added on the fly as interest and motivation provides. Krem's indoor environment rules out some activities like hiking, swimming, fishing, and the like, but allows for a completely different kind of activity list including sewing, board and card games, computer playing, and crafting. Sewing machines are plentiful at Krem, as are laptops and even desktops, and electrical outlets are often at a minimum with piles of cords streaming from every table. There is plenty of outdoor space to run and play on the grounds here, and most people move from indoors to outdoors and back continuously during the day. This unusual blend of indoor and outdoor activities means there's always a change of scenery waiting, and no one in the family has to compromise as they can be in whichever element they prefer, at any given moment. While we've been at Camp Krem the activity list has included yarn spinning (which included a look at hand-spun silk and silkworm cocoons), sewing classes, Magic card tournaments, and laser tag at the Santa Cruz boardwalk.
A with her quilting project in 2013. She made another one this year and the patterns clash just as much ;)
C with her sewing project in 2013. She made a dress and bag for Ginger, of course.
C with one of their friends from 2013, whom we missed this year at camp.
A in 2013
One of the activities I brought in 2013 - a giant puzzle. It took us several days to complete it. I brought another one this year, but the sewing area was too big and there were not enough free tables to set it up.
The general layout of the meeting room/mess hall with just about everyone in it.
Jessey playing Magic with the other teens in 2013. He found that purple acidwash denim robe in the swap-o-rama piles. It is definitely something to see. He still has it in his closet.
A with her friend Krisula in 2013, whom we also missed this year.
The swap-o-rama pile of clothing in 2013 for people to take or make something new out of. K made herself a skirt by cutting the legs off a pair of pajama pants and sewing the center seam.
Who needs to go outside to the campfire when you call pull out your songbooks and sing camp-songs around a folding table? These ladies love to sing together and usually sing at least a couple of nights during the campout.
K and A with their friends from this year. They were so glad to see their friends again from last year and became best buddies again on the very first day.
Playing Apples to Apples
Some sort of karate-ninja action going on to burn off some energy (notice their closed laptops along the empty length of the far table). The unfinished table in the foreground is the dinner buffet table.
A and K with their friends discovering new games together.
The sewing area. Couldn't believe how many machines they had going this year! With an entire table for cutting and half a table for ironing, as well. They were making jackets, skirts, quilts, and purses, and one girl even sewed herself a set of sheets after she realized she'd forgotten hers at home.
Tera piecing together her quilt project on a piece of felt. She moved and rearranged the pieces over and over until it looked just right. She managed to finish the entire quilt by the end of the week and had a potential buyer for it before we left. At $150 per quilt, it's not bad for a casual week's worth of work.
The kids in the costume room on the night of the dance party. They tried on all kinds of crazy costumes and danced next door in the too-dark-for-a-photo dance room.
One of the cats that lived on the campgrounds. Those beautiful eyes...
On the last day, K and I and some friends of each of ours went for a short hike in the mountains. These mountains are close enough that I hike them all the time and take for granted how beautiful the scenery is here and how unique it is for most of these people to see.
One of the clear little pools and waterfalls we encountered on our walk
A, C and K with three of their friends. These kids were at the campout last year, too, and the girls were happy to see them again this year. Most of their other friends had already gone home by this point, either because they had other plans for the weekend, or due to the dreaded "Krem Krud" stomach illness that seems to plague this campout. Two of these friends live in Hollywood and one lives in the middle of the high desert between Los Angeles and Arizona.
This picture is for Jaimee. Choco Zucaritas, anyone?
All of the adults still here on the last day after all the cleanup had been finished. Meg had taken full advantage of the Santa Cruz Maverick's waves driving her Vanagon with surfboards strapped on top into Santa Cruz several of the days we were there. She's from Huntington Beach but was so excited to surf up here.
The other thing that is unusual about Camp Krem is that we do a service project there. Part of the deal is that they'll let us use the property in return for helping them fix-up or tidy up the areas in the camp. Jobs this years included trail-clearing, sanding and re-finishing picnic tables, tidying up storage rooms, gardening, and some light repair work. It's usually pretty hard work and takes about 5 hours to finish a task, but it's nice to be able to help them out.
I'm sure we'll be headed back to Camp Krem next year, and I hope to be able to join this group at a couple of other campouts this year as well. I know I've already missed the Agua Caliente campout and I'll miss the Refugio one because of the the show, but I'm still holding out hope that I'll get into the Mono Hot Springs campout this year.
Actual Date: January 21-26
