the best:

-a lovely big 8-man tent for the 4 of us.... put up by dh while ky looked on.

-a nice spot with long grass to pitch our tent...and a break inbetween the rain.

-dh stayed overnight with us_finally!!!

-he was pleased to inform me that e police-post was just a few metres away :)

-after pitching e tent, he went home for a shower and a rest :)

-he gave me an ear-splitting electronic whistle to be used in an emergency... jic we were attacked by a wild dog or some other wild creature. :) 

-we had time to explore the park, spotting 2 squirrels, a whiptail lizard, a cat, some wild parakeets, and plenty of minorbirds looking for worms. 

-e kids also found some nice low trees  to climb...ant-free to boot!

-some special discoveries were a cluster of canon-ball trees, with large scented flowers and spiky branches..all making for eye-catching photographic splendour. some pinetrees had their fronds withing easy reach for plucking their fragrant needeles... likewise for a eucalyptus. the pods were too high, but e menthol-scented leaves were within reach. for e 1st time, i also noticed it's bark...wonderfully light and papery... the kids were perplexed and took some samples back to the tent with them.

-kayla got her "camping puddles" (she'd prayed for rain, and it miraculously came...after weeks and weeks of dry sunny weather!)

-friends came over, so e kids had some playmates...7 altogether. (kynan was esp pleased abt this!)

-best memory: kids running in e rain, faces bursting with smiles and laughter. little feet tottering, & testing damp sand. bigger feet charging and splashing through grassy puddles. 

-kids' happiness is contagious: inspite of being soaked in e rain, i felt young and carefree all over again!.i actually enjoyed the crunching gritty sand squished between my toes,  then rinsing them in puddles, and feeling the cold prickly grass make way beneath my feet.

the worst:

-we only stayed 2days and 1 nite

-it was only halfway through the nite that i discovered dh had the most comfy spot in the tent! (while i'd been trying to curve my spine in S-shapes around a small anthill and a knobbly root, lying otherwise hidden in long grass.)

-we were so near the main beach walkway that the daylight-bright-bulbs of the lamps caused it to be daybreak inside our tent all night long  (thank you darling dh ;))

-the roar of fishing boat engines resounding near shore at night...scarily similar sound to jets being fired up for battle. 

-on and off through e nite, i heard the resounding boom and echo of large metal coffins falling from e sky...they must have bn abt the size of our bedroom. and occassionally they set off alarms that broke the dawn air with a sound so shrill they cd hv been announcing a prisonbreak! not a good spot for a peaceful night, considering how near the shipyard is!

-discovering after a midday thunderstorm that our comfy new tent leaks....badly!

the future:

-we want to go camping again...but i'd prefer longer.

-never again at west coast park... too noisy at night!

-mb pasir ris, which is where the kids and i still enjoy. (nice n shady in e day, n peaceful at nite)

-we need to find a tent that doesn't leak (2 purchases returned and still no success)

-dh says taman negara mt be nice...mb before he retires :)