We visited Long Beach, WA to see the Annual Kite Festival. We didn’t have any plans in August and when I saw that the Annual Kite Festival is going to happen this year, I figure that it is a good camping trip for the family.

We stayed 3 nights at The Lamp Camp, about 4 miles from the main town. It is a private camp site and has some amenities, including an outdoor kitchen, sink, shower and a clubhouse. The trail leading to the beach is wonderful. We also spent quite a bit of time inside the clubhouse. The kids love the board games and we were able to complete a 300 puzzle pieces. The hosts were wonderful. My kid broke one of the jar inside the clubhouse. I called the host and she was there right away. I offered to pay or replace it but they refuse.

For our first day, we just stayed in the campsite and went to the beach. There were very few people at the beach and we let Leela off leash. She was very popular and made some friends. We saw a lot of birds diving for food and some dead crabs on the shore. MBP also flew a kite. It was windy and I was afraid that it will break, but it made it. When we got back, we stayed in the clubhouse while my husband grilled some brats for dinner. We then just stayed in the clubhouse and played some board games. MBP learned to play Uno.

The next day, we went to town for the actual festival. The festival has some programs for kids but it was definitely weather dependent. They gave away 200 handmade kites for the kids, but they were not able to fly it. It was so windy. The sand was getting into AHP’s eye and he doesn’t like. The kids still got kites. I asked for a direction to the kite museum and one of the guys giving away the kites suggested to walk the boardwalk all the way to the kite museum. MBP walked all the way and I only have to carry AHP on a small section of the walk.

The kite museum cost $6 per adult and $4 for kids 3 and up. It was only one level. It was ok. I mean there were good kites, but there were very few of them. The kids did well on not touching anything, or perhaps we just told them not to touch anything 1000 times. Well, we took some pictures and my husband walked back to get our car. We just went back to the campsite for lunch and had a little bit of quiet time, before dinner. My husband grilled some burgers for dinner. We went to town after and the kids played some arcades. The boys had a lot of fun. It was basically bed time once we got back to our campsite. The kids had an “easier” time sleeping.

The next day, the kids were able to fly their kites. It was actually really cool to see all different kites up in the air. There were some big ones too. We had our picnic lunch in town and got some ice cream for the kids. The ice cream was delicious and I’m a big fan. We went back to the campsite for some down time and went back to town for dinner.

It drizzled a bit at night, so we put up the rainfly for our tent. Once the kids settled in, I put all our camp chairs, shoes and everything outside inside the car so it won’t get wet.

It was wet on our last day, so we decided to pack up and have breakfast at McDonalds.

Another successful camping trip and I was glad to see the Kite Festival!

We spent 3 nights, camping at KOA in Astoria/Warrenton/Seaside, OR. KOA stands for Kamp of America (KOA) Campgrounds and have numerous locations in the US and Canada. This is our second year camping here. Last year we stayed at the tent site. This year, we booked a rustic “camping cabin”. The cabin has 2 bunk beds. The cabin has no kitchen and no bathroom and we brought our own linens. There’s a cute rocking chair in the porch and a table and a fire pit outside. The campsites have two camping kitchens with grills and stove available to use. It also has a full size sink so it was easy to wash the dishes.

The campsites is across Fort Stevens State Park and about 20 minute drive to Seaside, OR and a 15 minute drive to Astoria.

Of all the campsites we visited last year, this one stand out to MBP and he was excited to go back. This is definitely glamping for us, having electric and a “kitchen” available. MBP remembers the area and know the “fun zone” in general. We got there in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day exploring the campsites. The fun zone has a mini golf, a jump pillow, basketball and volleyball courts and the lifesize chess and checker sets.

MBP’s favorite, however are the video games, which in all honesty is falling apart. Regardless, he likes playing his pac man. There were also movie nights every night and the kids even get to watch an entire movie, AHP included.

On our second day, the kids enjoyed the campgrounds until it got too hot for me. I was able to convince the kids to leave the campsite and go to the beach, at Fort Stevens. We’ve been here before. The breeze was a nice reprieve. Once we were beached out, we went back to the campsites. My husband grill some brats for dinner and we head out to watch the movie – “How to train a dragon”.

This year, we also drove a bit south to visit Seaside. It has a great small beach town vibe. We spent some time in the arcade, and had lunch at Mo’s. We hang out at the beach a bit, but it was so windy. We went ahead and walk around the town. The kids rode the carousel and had ice cream before we head back to the campsites. AHP was tired and slept on the ride back. For dinner, we ordered Pizza from Fultano’s and they delivered. Yes, we are definitely glamping. We had dinner inside the game room since it was drizzling outside. After dinner, the kids tried to watch Jumanji. AHP wasn’t able to seat still so we left and just hanged out in the fun zone.

Overall, it was a good trip. The kids definitely enjoyed the amenities. I prefer camping that has more nature activities like hiking or swimming. It is something that we could have done as well, but it’s hard to convince the kids to leave the campsite.