The Team of Six, Together for the First Time

The Great Plotnik and The Great Ducknik really loved the weekend on the Southern California Coast -- dolphins playing in the surf, families with well-behaved children frolicking in the sand, polite campers in the beach campgrounds (where P-Dunk had reserved, six months in advance, a large campsite for two tents, one for him, 5-H and Baby I, and one for BZWZ) and equally helpful camp rangers in the upscale tent and cabin campsite a few hundred yards up the road (where Plot and Duck resided).



It felt like paradise to watch the sunset on the sea, strum the ukelele and play the Baby I repertoire ("Oh, Froggie Went a Courtin' and He Did Ride, Uh Huh! Uh Huh!"), body surf in fairly warm water and eat ice cold watermelon (cold, because the campsite with the coolers was only a hundred yards away from the water).





It's amazing that you can do so much in such a short time -- Friday dinner through Sunday breakfast. Of course, this is the Plotnik family, so meals were not your usual campfire fare. Saturday night, Ducknik fileted a whole Alaskan salmon that PD and Plot had pleaded with the rakish ship captain to please sell them in a small, exotic harbor outside of...oh, all right, they got it at Costco. But oh man, was it fantastic, bbq'd in Argentine chimichuri with whole scallions.

On Friday night, Chef Pierre Punqui/Dunqui created a one-pot Shrimp Creole that has forever defined what you're supposed to slather on top of grilled corn -- Shrimp Creole sauce, of course.



It must also be said that a Plotnik family tradition, when camping, always involves a nutritious and wholesome breakfast.



The six campers, five pedaling and one going 'ba ba ba ba' rode bikes from El Capitan State Beach to Refugio State Beach. The Great FiveHead was very happy to impersonate the last scene from 'Breaking Away.'



A few words about El Capitan Canyon: They rent cabins and safari tents. The Plotniks had a safari tent, which by the time you add in the tax comes to what feels like a whopping $160 per night. They also rent cabins for $100 or so more per night, which have somewhat more insulation and also their own bathroom.



That's a lot of money to go 'camping.' So, is it worth it? Hmmm. As always, it comes down to what you feel like spending. El Capitan Canyon appeared to have all its cabins sold out (and reserved many months in advance), while a few safari tents appeared to be vacant. Duck and Plot were very comfortable, in fact quite delighted with the tent, but it did mean you either had to hold it in all night or get up, slip on your jeans and walk 50 yards to the bathroom.



Still, $160 per night to have to get up and walk to the bathroom? versus $25 per night for a campsite 100 yards from the beach? After a three second poll of two participants, the answer is Yes Indeed. Here are the three major upgrades from camping on dirt: 1) No dirt. 2) Fluffy warm beds with sheets and blankets. 3) Electricity (for the coffee pot and battery charger and lights). There is also a swimming pool (though you might not want to use it, seeing as at least 100 toddlers were in it when Plot looked). And by the way, since the cabins all have their own bathroom, nobody seems to use the communal washrooms. The showers were great and all bugs had apparently been given the summer off.

Which is to say, lots of families seem to have the dough to fork over $250 per night with their kids to stay in a cabin. The Great Plotnik and Great Ducknik would never have done it when the kids were small, nor the $160 for the safari tent, they'd have paid $25 and stayed in a regular tent, and loved it. But now...well, it was worth every single penny. It was really, really sweet.









Word to all children: On Saturday Night, before facing down and obliterating the Chimichuri Salmon, the Plotnik Family of Six drank a toast (a 2001 Bennet Lane Cabernet blend - couldn't resist that). The toast was to being together for the very first time on what was once a Plotnik Family Tradition: the Summer Vacation. TGP and TGD are very proud of TGBZWZ, TGPD, TG5H and TGBI, and feel blessed that the kids seem to still love what the parents love best. We all need to do this again very soon.