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Spring has come and we kicked it off with a fun birthday party on board of the Star of India, an ancient ship, rebuilt and anchored in San Diego Bay.

Of course, the party had a pirate theme, and our own private pirate, Swordfish, entertained the kids with games, stories, a tour and sea chanties.

It was definitely a different kind of party, and not too painful to attend, even though, by the end, I felt a little sea sick.

We did our typical San Diego things, like picnics at the bay, and visits to the zoo. This time we had a chance to see two babies, a three weeks old gorilla, hanging, literally, on his mom and breastfeeding, and a new born hippo, well at least his legs and behind, under the water.

We also got the chance to see the youngest panda up close and personal.

Keegan posing on the lion at the entrance

We also planned a quick camping trip to Anza Borrego. No, we did not forget how painful our last camping experience was, but we are stubborn: Keegan will enjoy camping, like it or not. Well, he does love the tent part of camping, but he resents the hikes or anything else we want to do.

We arrived in the afternoon, and set up the tent in the midst of strong winds, which is always fun, but at least they were warm winds. I had basically lost my voice due to a cold, but I was still able to communicate somehow, and even reprimand Keegan with loud whispers if necessary. Once we were all set up, we went exploring for a few minutes. Check out this huge tree trunk. Someone decided to make a face out of this dry bush…

After dinner and s’mores, we went to the campfire. A park ranger talked about the nature and animals of Anza Borrego, and brought along many animals skins and fur to touch and explore: a bobcat,  a mountain lions, a badger, a racoon, etc. It was pretty interesting. By the then Keegan was running on fumes, and even if he tried to complain because Matt and I dared to stand outside the tent for a few minutes watching the stars, he collapsed promptly.

The next morning, bright and early, someone was up, and there was no way to keep him quiet and in the tent, so we went for our planned hike at Palm Canyon by 7am. It actually worked out well, because the trail was mainly in the shade, and so much more pleasant. There were plenty of rocks to climb, and at first Keegan really enjoyed himself; he admitted as much. But his enthusiasm only lasted about 20 minutes, replaced by whining till we reached the palm oasis. It was beautiful. Despite the drought, there was still some water flowing.

Keegan, mr antsy pants, did not want to rest or relaxed. He was determined to get down as fast as possible, so we could go home and he could watch TV. Oh, the youth today! We started our hike down, with him leading the way, and temperatures rising. We almost made it to the bottom, when all of the sudden, Keegan was nowhere to be found. We thought he would have been waiting for us at the car, but there was no trace of him in the parking lot. We had a few minutes of panic, till when Matt, tracing the path back, found him crying with another hiker that found him alone on the wrong path and very kindly stayed with him and waited for us. What a relief…see what happen when you rush to go watch TV instead of enjoying the nature?? I am kidding, we were all VERY happy to be reunited, and big hugs and cuddles made everyone feel better.

After packing up camp, we stopped at the Visitors’ Center, to learn more of the desert and check out other trails we can try next time…this was as much as we could push him. We got back to the truck, and headed back to San Diego. Keegan quickly fell asleep, and Matt and I enjoyed a quiet drive back — and no traffic — sipping our coffee and caffe moka. We were home in the early afternoon, in time for the adults nap.

All in all this trip went slightly better than previous, so we have hope. Baby steps…

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