Memorial Day Camping Trip - the Sequel

Camping over Memorial Day weekend seems to be becoming the new tradition with us. Last year, Matt and I went on a group camping trip with our 4 other friends. It ended up going badly when our friend Amanda dislocated her finger and had to be brought to the hospital that night, basically ending the camping trip right then and there. This Memorial Day, we had a slightly better turn-out as we made the trek all the way up to Hedo where we had visited for the first time just a couple weeks earlier. The plan was to camp on the beach for 2 nights and do 3 dives. The reality was we camped for 1 night, and did 1 dive and some snorkeling.

We had a really nice drive up the coast once again, where we were able to make some little detours up into the mountains to check out the views. After getting to Hedo Point, we quickly checked out a few *muddier* spots before selecting the beach we had snorkeled at the other weekend to set up camp. Because it was a holiday weekend, there were a few other campers set up along the beach there, however, the beach is pretty long, and we drove to the furthest end and ended up feeling pretty secluded. We set up our tent, built a pretty much professional fire pit, and had a snack before venturing out for our first dive.  



The thing about Hedo Beach is that there is a large reef leading out to the ocean that, during low tide, has a series of large tide pools where water gets pushed and pulled through the rocks. This push and pull is quite strong, and the dive books all say to never dive Hedo Beach on an outgoing tide. This meant that Matt and I had to wait until4:30 in the afternoon to even do our dive. We walked out onto the exposed reef and hopped into the water at one of the tide pools that seemed decently calm. The dive itself wasn't the best, only because the visibility wasn't great in the water, and there was a consistent push and pull. Even on the bottom we were being swayed from side to side, back and forth, back and forth, the whole time. It was a little nauseating to be honest. The great part about the dive was that we saw 3 sea turtles - and one was huge! If you remember from my last post, Hedo is turtle country:)



Me about to enter the water...you can see our truck and tent in the background.



Lots of crevices

The best picture we could get of the turtles... I told you the visibility wasn't great this day:(

The rest of the trip was great - we got some sun, grilled kabobs and brats, made s'mores, and walked along the beach under the amazing starry sky. The only problem with camping during the summer is the heat - not outside, but inside the tent. We really had no problem staying out there for another night, but after sleeping and waking up in a "tent sauna", we were good to go after the first night! We attempted to do our second dive the next morning, but ultimately, the conditions were a little rougher than I preferred, and we simply ended up going snorkeling around the large outcrops of rock along the cape. There were so many little caves along the coast, and fun places to explore - we ended up having a great time:)



Sunset



That is Matt starting our campfire with FLINT

Our kabob & bratwurst dinner



The night sky (the photo does not do it justice!)

The following morning - Matt swimming in the large tide pools at low tide



The reef here is insane during low-tide... check out the following video to see it in action...



 

 

I hope everyone had a happy Memorial Day, and thank you to all those who serve and have served our country!

-C