The Heat Over?

I’m just back from my morning bike ride enjoying a big mound of cake, remnants from the yesterday’s garden party. You always get some leftovers in a ‘doggie bag’ to take with you while leaving a home party. It’s often dessert.
I would not call this an ‘American’ usage since there are actually no Americans at parties we usually attend.

Today it’s the first day in weeks when the temperature seems to stay below 90 °F.
I know people in Holland would probably not understand our complaining but the persistent heat for weeks is really tiring.
Maarten doesn’t get ill easily but now he has suffered an annoying cold for almost a week. Rob got a bad migraine attack; he even had to leave his office. We can’t get out of the house during the day. The water in the pool is hot like coffee.

Silly us, we thought to chill at the beach as normally but we forgot that September has already started, one of the most agreeable and also warm months at the Pacific coast.


PS: I should mention the Saturday night earthquake of 4.0 Magnitude. Since the epicenter was in the nearby Alamo we experienced it pretty intense. At 9 p.m. the house started to shake and crake and the dishes were clattering and clanging together in the cupboard.
Let’s hope it will always stay by that.

Poison Oak

Also this year we didn’t break our 'tradition' of forgetting the day we met.
10 years ago already!
We actually went out for dinner on that particular day, March 20th, but still without thinking to do so for some special reason.

~~~

Almost every morning Maarten wakes up before 5 o’clock.
I believe this has a lot to do with his ‘potty needs’. I actually do mind the consequences of this early morning waking more than the ‘potty matter’ itself.
I hope it will be resolved at least by this summer...

We still don’t know where the allergies on Maarten’s face are coming from.
A nice physician at his medical exams last week assured me this is not a kind of food allergy but rather an external one. I still hope it will go away within a couple of weeks like last spring.
Luckily it doesn’t seem to bother Maarten much.

Anyway Maarten is declared healthy and we can apply for an extension of his visa.
But also we need to be checked; and I hope we will pass as well.

~~~


Rob has had a pretty bad cold this week so we have to relax this weekend.
Though I’m really happy seeing him getting better and he even agrees to set off for a trip to the beach...

...Maarten falls asleep in the car which hopefully means that he will be fresh for the rest of the day. He wakes up while passing the Bolinas Lagoon, just on time to see the harbor seals sunbathing on the island of sediments in the middle of the lagoon.
We exit the highway right past the marsh. Despite the unsigned junction it’s quite easy to find the Palomarin Trailhead. (I understand the residents of Bolinas tear down the street signs leading to there.)
There are already so many cars at the trailhead and I have to admit I’m pretty disappointed by that.
Anyway Rob and Maarten head for the beach and I hope to reach the Alamere Falls.


In the nice-smelling eucalyptus woods I can’t help taking pictures of the blue flowering groundcover and the splendid cala lilies.


Also the path along the coast, with its amazing views, is fringed with all kinds of bushes. I recognize only the blue blossoming lupine. The wind is so strong here I understand some people wear a scarf and mittens.


The climbing is pretty gradual so far and I secretly hope it will stay so.
After a while the trail leaves the ocean and continues into the hills. I meet whole groups of backpackers and I guess that’s why there were so many cars at the trailhead.


The trail leads past the hidden and pristine Bass and Pelican lakes. I would love to enjoy the lakes for a while but I don’t feel like leaving the trail when I’m on my own.
There are not steep climbs at all and I reach the cutoff path to the falls pretty quickly.

Just before the junction I see a man coming from the bushes and wandering out of the trail. He looks a bit ‘different’ than the other hikers I meet but luckily he walks in a different direction.


I remember the advice of a local hiking expert S. and stay on the trail to the Wildcat Camp .
The path seems to get very little use and I don’t come across any hikers at all. I found this a bit strange somehow. But having strong belief in my adviser I hope to reach the beach soon and approach the falls from down there.
I feel still more uneasy and when I see the path is turning away from the coast again I decide to return.
I feel disappointed and chagrined at the same time.

And then I finally encounter someone again. It’s the same weird looking man I saw already before. He gives me a smile and greets me very politely. I try to stay calm but the urine odor while passing him doesn’t improve my dread. When I hope he can’t see me anymore I start to run ‘for my life’. At least this is how I feel at the moment. Now I have to think about my arrogance of hiking alone.
Not the cougar but the man is the biggest danger on the trail, that’s what all the locals would agree on. But why would someone like this wander in the middle of nowhere? I understand if I were to run into him on the Iron Horse Trail, but here?
Who knows, and I really hope, I’m just being hysterical and that he is nothing more than a common hiker. Sure he doesn’t follow me but I use a bunch of energy to run at least a mile back to the junction with the path to the falls.




There are hordes of people here and for the first time I don’t mind the crowds at all!





And the waterfalls (there are actually three of them) are beyond my expectations.









From the cliff the water plunges directly onto Wildcat Beach.
Too glorious to describe. I hope the pictures somehow help.


On my way back the trail is getting very busy. And every other group asks me how long it will take them to reach the falls. I’m really surprised what a huge attraction the falls are. Even a family with two small children struggles with a city stroller on this rough path!

I’m almost back at the trailhead and my poor hips hurt really badly.

I'm supposed to meet Rob and Maarten at the beach but I’m quite relieved seeing them coming up already. This saves me some additional 2 miles.
I feel a bit guilty having such an adventure on my own but they seemed to have had a wonderful time at their beloved beach as well.

PS: I've brought 'a souvenir' from this wonderful and adventurous hike.
Even though I’m always aware of the leaves of three I have got the poison oak rash at last!
What an itching nightmare!
Just hoping the boys will always be spared, especially Maarten!

Celebrating Easter

Despite my Czech roots, we do not practice the old Easter tradition of whipping girls and women with the pomlazka.
I know every foreigner I’ve ever told about it was completely shocked by this custom.
I usually try to explain to them that the whipping is only symbolic. However, I guess, they still find it pretty weird, something that would probably never be accepted by the Western culture.

The pomlazka is made of braided young willow twigs decorated with ribbons. The actual purpose of whipping is ‘to make younger’.
My boys probably still find me young enough since they don’t observe this tradition. And, by the way, it’s not a Dutch custom!


We just decorated some eggs with stickers. Already this was a challenging task for Maarten.

What is not a Czech tradition but what I like is hiding (and afterwards collecting)the eggs in the backyard.


The 'American way', the egg hunt where the whole community gathers in a park and the children have baskets and try to collect as many eggs as possible. This made for a fun Saturday.

Maarten liked the fluffy bunny so much that he had difficulties sharing him with other children.
He loves all the traditions of course but the chocolate eggs and bunnies are surely the best part. He actually doesn’t get sweets at all during the year (yet!) so I understand his excitement.


~~~



We hoped to leave the Easter crowds back in the town and head for a quiet trip into the woods. I really did my best to choose a ‘Maarten friendly’ path which means close to the water. It sounded so promising – a trail from Alpine Lake to Kent Lake along Lagunitas Creek through fine riparian woodlands. It really was beautiful and surprisingly pristine but...the creek was actually some 20 meters below the path!

So Maarten was bored, bored and bored! I understand he doesn’t appreciate the views of the hidden lake yet. Luckily some of the side streams were still flowing and crossing beneath the path so he could play with the water now and then. And there were a few banana slugs right on the trail which he loved.

You would expect him to sleep deeply for the whole night after such a demanding trip of more than 5 hours through the woods, right?!

It has actually been a few months since I've slept well. He comes to us several times during the night complaining about a nightmare, having an appetite of cookies or simply wanting to get up and play...
We've already been like a couple of dizzy zombies for weeks.



This week is spring break at Maarten’s school.

Monday we were supposed to meet our friends in San Jose's Happy Hollow Park but after such a sleepless night and getting up at 5:30 you would not think of having fun. The only thing I had on my mind this morning was how I could possibly get through the day.


It went surprisingly well. Maarten was obviously enjoying himself on all kind of attractions, fun rides and of course he loved the funny animals that were extremely active today.


Maarten had a little accident. Even though I’m not sure if this is really just ‘a little’ one. While climbing the fence at the Bug Ride he slipped and injured his mouth. It was bleeding and as usual he was not crying though he certainly hurt. I believe his front tooth was moving but he didn’t allow me to check it closely. Let’s hope it will heal soon.

Crow Canyon Gardens/Cataract Falls/Gina in SFO

Crow Canyon Gardens are within walking distance to our home.
I hoped to find gardens there like the ones at Heathers Farms in Walnut Creek but there are actually just small community garden plots here. And there is more behind the gardens. Here you can access the Crow Creek and its surrounding greenery. You could nearly forget you are still in the busy town.

I feel someone is watching us and then I see the big birds in the tree above us. I guess they are vultures. They are so close and, considering their size, they make me feel a bit uncomfortable.
They are not happy with our presence either and soon they take off.

The weather is still not stable yet. Sunshine changes with rainy and stormy days so you never know how the weather will be the next day.

I was planning a more challenging hike in the Santa Cruz Mountains for this Saturday.
I think Rob was relieved to hear my friends may join me. But the weather forecast was so bad we decided to cancel.

But Rob and Maarten would go for their Saturday ‘daddy’ hike rain or shine. And despite the heavy rain in the early morning we get plenty of sunshine later that day.

So while the ‘boys’ are enjoying the redwoods near Oakland I take the risk of possible rain and head to Marin again. This time to check out Cataract Falls.
We’ve been here before and it was very crowded then. This is an extremely popular trail. So it's best to come early in the morning to be sure to get a spot because of the very limited parking.
It looks like the bad forecast scared off most of the outdoor fans. I don’t meet any other cars all the way to Alpine Lake and there is also nobody at the trailhead!

Later I meet a few people when I’m returning down again. I’m delighted to enjoy all the beauty in complete solitude.
At first I have to think of the weather forecast and my waterproofs I forgot at home. But here also the sky clears up soon.
After the rainy days the falls are well filled and I find some new pools we had missed the last time. Maybe because especially the pools were occupied by picnicking crowds then.

Some claim this shaded and wooded canyon with its falls when the sun comes through the dense trees to have a Hawaii-like atmosphere. I can’t judge that but anyhow it is really beautiful here.

However there is a little disappointment that day.
The battery in my camera is low so I can’t take any pictures of the last part of the falls.
A good reason to come back again!

~~~

Despite living so close to ‘the city’ we visit San Francisco very rarely. Mostly only when there is a particular reason to do so, like having visitors or visiting someone.

This Sunday we meet there with my cousin from New York. It is already six (?) years ago when Gina visited us in Holland. Her business trip to San Francisco this week is a great opportunity to meet her and her boyfriend Ryan. Yet Maarten is behaving pretty weird. He is trying to get Gina’s attention all the time and I’m not sure if she appreciates his way of ‘flirting’ with her.

Well, I believe we should visit ‘the city’ more often. Considering his behavior today, Maarten has turned out to be a real country boy and his social development may use a bit of the ‘city’s culture’ as well.

Carson Falls

Maarten is three now and I can’t postpone his visit to the dentist any longer.
But there is no need for postponing. Concerning the dentist Maarten is not such a chicken like me. And he even claims that he likes the treatment!


He has started the new preschool class and I guess he is the youngest of all the children now. This is not a problem for him since he always prefers bigger children. And we both like the new teachers.
Though he was a little clingy the first morning, he was very enthusiastic about the new class when I picked him up.


Even though he is goes to school every weekday, it is only till the noon and then he is obviously tired and bored at home. So it’s up to me to either struggle with his tiredness at home or think of amusing trips for both of us.

We usually go for a stroll along a creek or take a winding path through the woods, observing the wildlife or something similar.


However, last weekend we made a mistake. Even though our trip to the waterfalls should have been a fun trail along a creek, I didn't realize we had to first walk a mile over the ridge. Despite the beautiful views of the bay, Maarten seemed to only pay attention to the boring, climbing dirt path with no fun puddles to jump in or trees to climb up.
His energy returned only at the twisting path down to the falls.


The series of the waterfalls falling into a rock canyon were very tempting to him and it took a big effort to keep him away from the rocks and bring him to one of the small streams feeding the falls. Here he could fully enjoy the water.


I went further down following the steep path along the creek.



When I returned Maarten’s pants were completely wet but this didn’t seem to bother him or disrupt in his serious water activities.


Unfortunately one climb to the canyon’s rocky walls, ended up with a small hole in Maarten’s palm.
As usual he wasn’t crying at all but this time you could see pain in his face.