This was our first attempt at beach camping. Well, our first attempt beach camping that did not take place lakeside and close to home. It was also my first attempt at a beach camping as a single parent. We had an amazing time and learned a lot. We had a few mishaps, a meltdown (mine), and had to revise our plans a couple of times.
Speaking of planning, I should mention that this was a last minute trip that I planned and packed for in less that 3 days. Crazy right? I was craving the beach, a road trip, and it just so happened that my 13 (turning 14)year old son had a break from his busy summer sports schedule.
Throwing together last minute vacation meant that our budget would be tiny. Which was the reason I opted for camping. The summer hotel rates in Galveston were way above my budget. I originally intended to stay 1 night in a hotel using the free night I had earned through hotels.com and then 2-3 nights camping at the Galveston Island state park. I had researched alternative camping options and it turned out to be a good thing that I had. The state park was completely booked. There were not any other tent camping options in Galveston so we ended up taking the (free) ferry over to the Boliver Peninsula and camping (for free!) on Crystal beach.
Speaking of planning, I should mention that this was a last minute trip that I planned and packed for in less that 3 days. Crazy right? I was craving the beach, a road trip, and it just so happened that my 13 (turning 14)year old son had a break from his busy summer sports schedule.
Throwing together last minute vacation meant that our budget would be tiny. Which was the reason I opted for camping. The summer hotel rates in Galveston were way above my budget. I originally intended to stay 1 night in a hotel using the free night I had earned through hotels.com and then 2-3 nights camping at the Galveston Island state park. I had researched alternative camping options and it turned out to be a good thing that I had. The state park was completely booked. There were not any other tent camping options in Galveston so we ended up taking the (free) ferry over to the Boliver Peninsula and camping (for free!) on Crystal beach.
Remember when I said I planned to camp out 2-3 nights? That did not happen. We only camped one night but I am still going to call it a success. Several things happened that derailed our plans. My 13 year old son began to get sick. We later found out he had strep throat. We spent our first day at stuart beach and the first night in our free hotel as planned.
I learned that the Galveston State Park campgrounds were fully booked but was told that I could call at 9 A.M. to see if there were any cancelations due to no shows. There were not. I asked the lady on the phone if there were any other campground in the area and was told there were none. Thankfully, because of my pre trip planning I knew that this was not entirely true. I had already considered the Crystal beach but it was not my first choice because it was primitive camping which means no showers, bathrooms, electricity, or camp fire rings. I was also a little nervous about the safety of the area due to some reviews I had read. The good news was that camping was free and you could drive right on the beach and camp. We drove our car fully packed with camping supplies to the ferry and headed over to the Bolivar Peninsula. The ferry is free. The wait can be anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour depending on the crowd level and time of day. Once the ferry leaves the dock, you can exit your vehicle and do a little dolphin and bird watching on the way over. Camping is free but you do have to buy a $10 beach access pass. The pass is good for a year.
I learned that the Galveston State Park campgrounds were fully booked but was told that I could call at 9 A.M. to see if there were any cancelations due to no shows. There were not. I asked the lady on the phone if there were any other campground in the area and was told there were none. Thankfully, because of my pre trip planning I knew that this was not entirely true. I had already considered the Crystal beach but it was not my first choice because it was primitive camping which means no showers, bathrooms, electricity, or camp fire rings. I was also a little nervous about the safety of the area due to some reviews I had read. The good news was that camping was free and you could drive right on the beach and camp. We drove our car fully packed with camping supplies to the ferry and headed over to the Bolivar Peninsula. The ferry is free. The wait can be anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour depending on the crowd level and time of day. Once the ferry leaves the dock, you can exit your vehicle and do a little dolphin and bird watching on the way over. Camping is free but you do have to buy a $10 beach access pass. The pass is good for a year.
Crystal Beach Camping: The Good, The Bad, And All Things Sandy
Crystal Beach exceeded my expectations in many ways. The beach was clean, uncrowded, easy to access and you could drive right on the beach. This was both awesome and awful at the same time. I mean, can it get any better than driving right to beach, picking a spot to park and not having to tote your beach and camping stuff? We really loved that. We picked a spot that someone had already built a fire pit and arranged three large driftwood logs around it it. No official fire places or grates but it was okay to build your own bond fire anywhere as long as there is no burn ban in effect. So, naturally we choose a spot with left over fire and firewood!
We made fairly quick work of pitching our tent and setting up our beach chairs. My little one went straight to work- playing with her sand toys- that is!
It was not long until we were splashing in the water. There were huge schools of fish knee deep in the water and this kept the boys entertained for hours. I parked our camp chairs in the shallow water and everything in the world felt perfect!
After swimming, sunning and my 13 year old's brief encounter with a jellyfish sting we were ready to start our campfire, shell and firewood collecting adventure. The princess and I combed the beach for shells and left over beach toys as the crowds began to thin. The boys gathered firewood, palm leaves and other things they found on the beach to build there own shelter.
We made fairly quick work of pitching our tent and setting up our beach chairs. My little one went straight to work- playing with her sand toys- that is!
It was not long until we were splashing in the water. There were huge schools of fish knee deep in the water and this kept the boys entertained for hours. I parked our camp chairs in the shallow water and everything in the world felt perfect!
After swimming, sunning and my 13 year old's brief encounter with a jellyfish sting we were ready to start our campfire, shell and firewood collecting adventure. The princess and I combed the beach for shells and left over beach toys as the crowds began to thin. The boys gathered firewood, palm leaves and other things they found on the beach to build there own shelter.
Now, the ugly. Remember how I said that it was awesome and awful that you could drive on the beach? The awful part is that OTHER people can drive on the beach. Which they did. All day. All night. Even at 2 in the morning when there was absolutely no one camping on the beach, cars were still driving up and down the beach. Shining their headlights right into our tent. This does not make for the best nights sleep. Now granted, some of those headlights belonged to the state police and for that I was very grateful. Because, it turns out that as far we could see in both directions, we were the only people actually camping all night. I never really felt unsafe that night, but It did dawn on me that it COULD have been unsafe.
Now, the other part of the drive on beach aspect that made me nervous was a safety issue. We placed our tent up against the dunes to avoid being caught in the ups and downs of the tide but that also meant that we had placed the "beach highway" between our campsite and the ocean. So the kids and I were constantly going from beach to camp and basically crossing nonexistent but heavily trafficked road. The drivers were pretty cautious. However, I was constantly having to remind the kids to watch for cars and look both ways. The distance between our tent and the beach was minimal and that made it even easier for the kids to forget to watch for cars. In retrospect, I would have kept the tent where it was but parked my car and our beach items right along the waters edge to avoid having to worry about the crossing the beach so much.
The other inconvenience was the lack of bathrooms and showers. Oddly enough the bathrooms were not as much as a problem as the showers. There were port a potties sparsely located on the beach. Most of the time, we would just jump in the car and drive down to one of local stores and use the restroom there. Not exactly convenient but much easier that getting my 4 year old princess to use a port a potty. Well, to be honest, this 30 something princess avoids port a potty at all costs.
The other inconvenience was the lack of bathrooms and showers. Oddly enough the bathrooms were not as much as a problem as the showers. There were port a potties sparsely located on the beach. Most of the time, we would just jump in the car and drive down to one of local stores and use the restroom there. Not exactly convenient but much easier that getting my 4 year old princess to use a port a potty. Well, to be honest, this 30 something princess avoids port a potty at all costs.
Now on to the SANDY! My mom had warned me that sand would be on everything. In everything. I was prepared for this reality. However, I did not prepare my children for it and it caused some discomfort and is one of the reasons we only camped one night.
To save money I had packed hot dogs, bologna sandwiches, PB&J, Chips and lunchables. I kept the cold items in our rolling cooler and the other items in small plastic tote bins with locking lids to help minimize sand exposure. I also kept those in the trunk of the car and we just popped the trunk when it was time to prep lunch. A great idea, except that I overlooked one important factor. I parked the car with the trunk facing the water. So essentially, each time we opened the trunk billions of tiny bits of sand were being blasted into the trunk from the ocean. I am still cleaning sand out of my trunk... over a month later!
So, getting to the point. There was sand in our food, on our food and quite possibly embedded in everything we touched. None of my children could deal with the sandy food. I ate my "sand"which without complaint to be a good example but seriously I could not blame them. I was really glad I packed lunchables because that was all the kids would eat. Except marshmallows... somehow the sandy marshmallows were okay.
To save money I had packed hot dogs, bologna sandwiches, PB&J, Chips and lunchables. I kept the cold items in our rolling cooler and the other items in small plastic tote bins with locking lids to help minimize sand exposure. I also kept those in the trunk of the car and we just popped the trunk when it was time to prep lunch. A great idea, except that I overlooked one important factor. I parked the car with the trunk facing the water. So essentially, each time we opened the trunk billions of tiny bits of sand were being blasted into the trunk from the ocean. I am still cleaning sand out of my trunk... over a month later!
So, getting to the point. There was sand in our food, on our food and quite possibly embedded in everything we touched. None of my children could deal with the sandy food. I ate my "sand"which without complaint to be a good example but seriously I could not blame them. I was really glad I packed lunchables because that was all the kids would eat. Except marshmallows... somehow the sandy marshmallows were okay.
In spite of the busy beach and never ending headlights, the two little ones and I fell fast asleep around 10:00. I awoke at 1:30 because I was being eaten alive by a Texas sized swarm of mosquitos. I quickly discover that this happened because the tent flap was unzipped and the teenager was not in the tent.
After spraying the tent down with repellent and having a mom heart attack, I grabbed the flashlight and went searching for the missing teen. I found him half sleep in the front seat of the car. He couldn't sleep because of the sand, bugs and his throat was hurting badly. I gave him throat drops, pain reliever, water, and pelted him with a stream of bug spray before crawled back into the tent. I spent the next few hours sleeping fitfully as I fought the mosquitos and bright headlights that beamed into the tent every 15 minutes. At one point I did take a moonlight stroll along the beach. That was pretty amazing and perhaps a little creepy.
Morning dawned and the children scuttled out of the tent at first light. I tried to at least pretend I was asleep a little longer. Until a random beachgoer biked up my tent window and screamed "WAKE UP!" at me. Needless to say after that, I gave up on my attempt to sleep and gathered my flock for for our healthy breakfast of granola bars, pop tarts and soda. At this point, It was about 6 in the morning. Way to early to be up on vacation.
After spraying the tent down with repellent and having a mom heart attack, I grabbed the flashlight and went searching for the missing teen. I found him half sleep in the front seat of the car. He couldn't sleep because of the sand, bugs and his throat was hurting badly. I gave him throat drops, pain reliever, water, and pelted him with a stream of bug spray before crawled back into the tent. I spent the next few hours sleeping fitfully as I fought the mosquitos and bright headlights that beamed into the tent every 15 minutes. At one point I did take a moonlight stroll along the beach. That was pretty amazing and perhaps a little creepy.
Morning dawned and the children scuttled out of the tent at first light. I tried to at least pretend I was asleep a little longer. Until a random beachgoer biked up my tent window and screamed "WAKE UP!" at me. Needless to say after that, I gave up on my attempt to sleep and gathered my flock for for our healthy breakfast of granola bars, pop tarts and soda. At this point, It was about 6 in the morning. Way to early to be up on vacation.
I asked my lovely children, including the sick one who had not slept a wink, if they wanted to camp another night or go to a hotel. I felt bad that he was feeling so awful. Now, my common sense told me the teen was not going to be up for another night but I listened instead to my little people as the assured me they wanted to camp another night.
By 10:15 A.M. the tune had changed. The teen was in a lot pain. They wanted to go to a hotel. They wanted a shower and a nap and food without sand. We started packing up the camp. By 10:45 I was in the midst of meltdown. It was hot. I was sweating. Bad words were pinging around in my head. I was biting my lip to keep them from coming out. All of the camping things that had COME out of the trunk the morning before had somehow doubled in size and would no longer fit in the trunk. The princess was whining. Did I mention I was dripping in sweat and covered in sand? It was not my finest moment. I contemplated stuffing all of our pillows and sleeping bags and possibly a suitcase in to the trash and leaving them behind. There may have been a moment of stomping. In the end, I simply stuffed my children, blankets and one suitcase in the back seat. It was a pretty crowded situation. However, I decided I could rearrange and repack later in the evening in the hotel parking lot. I did leave behind the pool noodles. I happy to report that as soon as we were in the car with the A/C my temper cooled, apologies were made and we were off the next part of our vacation.
Thanks for letting me share my beach camping adventure with you. All things aside, we had amazing trip. I would not hesitate to do it again but I would make sure we had access to showers. I loved being so close to the water, and falling asleep to the crashing waves can't be beat. The kids caught sand crabs,spent hours playing in the sand, build that amazing shelter, attempted to fish with a net and swam to their hearts content. As with all my adventures, things don't always go as planned but that it part of what makes it amazing. Meltdowns excluded.
By 10:15 A.M. the tune had changed. The teen was in a lot pain. They wanted to go to a hotel. They wanted a shower and a nap and food without sand. We started packing up the camp. By 10:45 I was in the midst of meltdown. It was hot. I was sweating. Bad words were pinging around in my head. I was biting my lip to keep them from coming out. All of the camping things that had COME out of the trunk the morning before had somehow doubled in size and would no longer fit in the trunk. The princess was whining. Did I mention I was dripping in sweat and covered in sand? It was not my finest moment. I contemplated stuffing all of our pillows and sleeping bags and possibly a suitcase in to the trash and leaving them behind. There may have been a moment of stomping. In the end, I simply stuffed my children, blankets and one suitcase in the back seat. It was a pretty crowded situation. However, I decided I could rearrange and repack later in the evening in the hotel parking lot. I did leave behind the pool noodles. I happy to report that as soon as we were in the car with the A/C my temper cooled, apologies were made and we were off the next part of our vacation.
Thanks for letting me share my beach camping adventure with you. All things aside, we had amazing trip. I would not hesitate to do it again but I would make sure we had access to showers. I loved being so close to the water, and falling asleep to the crashing waves can't be beat. The kids caught sand crabs,spent hours playing in the sand, build that amazing shelter, attempted to fish with a net and swam to their hearts content. As with all my adventures, things don't always go as planned but that it part of what makes it amazing. Meltdowns excluded.