One morning at the beach

I like the foggy mornings at the beach.
We are trying to get there as early as possible to explore the tide pools. Sometimes we are lucky to see the abundant marine life on the exposed rocks.
We did not managed to be there during the low tide at 6:30! this Sunday, but there is always enough to do and see on this beach anyway.


There are usually many sea lions resting on the reef at a safe distance.
But this time there were none.




We noticed some of them swimming curiously around and playing hide and seek with us.


Couple of death sea lions washed ashore may be the reason.
Did they die of natural causes?

Our little diver

Maarten used to refuse swimming with his head down when he was asked to do so by Mister Rob, the swimming instructor.
Naturally he could, but he simply didn't see any reason for doing it.
Why should I put my head down when I can keep it up!
Sooo stubborn!

One year later nothing is more fun to him than swimming underwater.
And he can swim all across the pool by himself!
What a relief.

Santa Barbara (7 - 9 August)

Many find Santa Barbara worth paying a visit for it's pleasant coastal climate, Spanish architecture and youthful vivacity.
This is a real holiday area.
With hills on the background and beaches lined by palm trees, the pretty town looks rich and prosperous.
Even though this first impression may change if you take a stroll outside the historic State Street area.
I haven't seen so many homeless together in a long time. Often accompanied by dogs they wander the streets pushing grocery carts loaded with junk.
So sad!


We enjoyed the beach and pool at our hotel
but we couldn't miss the old historical Mission.







It felt a little strange seeing historical buildings like those here in California.

Last weekend Santa Barbara was even more crowded because of it's Fiesta.
The original noble purpose of increasing presence of police to avoid incidents during the celebrations shifted obviously to hunting for confused tourists lost in the chaotic downtown's traffic. The unlucky ones had to add a traffic ticket to the price of their Santa Barbara stay.
The police beacons red and blue lights were flashing all over the place.

I'd rather not comment on that any further but it was quite a relief to leave Santa Barbara on Sunday morning.


We stopped in the kitschy Danish town of Solvang traditionally to buy European bread and pastry.

Our trip home went smoothly.
But then just past Fremont we got accompanied by this strange acting police car.
The car was being driven in an aggressive erratic manner across the freeway switching lanes continually.
The police behaviour in this country still puzzles me.

Wildfire along Crow Canyon Rd?

Last summer we had to spend many days inside the house.
Not because of the heat and burning sun but due to the omnipresence of smoke from the wildfires. Besides that the idea of quickly spreading fires was kind of scary and the grey smoke irritated your eyes and caused difficult breathing.

In the beginning of this week I thought this summer seemes to be not that bad.

Yet, today while driving Maarten to his swimming class we saw several fire trucks
with lights and sirens rushing through the traffic in our neighbourhood.

Later I heard on radio about a wildfire along the Crow Canyon Road.
'Only' a grassy area is burning and there are no constructions in danger.

I hope the fire is under control right now since this is really pretty close to our house.

Who is eating my tomatoes?!

This is how I keep finding my garden every morning!
The tomatoes, some still green when attacked, are carried off and then discarded after being nibbled on.

John Muir Wilderness (July 27 - 31)

It's supposed to be hot with temperatures above 100 °F in the Bishop Area. I must have missed that part announcing the afternoon thunderstorms.
Well, one should bear in mind that we were not camping down in the Owens Valley but above 8000 feet.
As the high-mountain weather is often unpredictable and can change quickly, our mornings started with sun and heat followed by thunderstorm in the late afternoon.

And yes, we got really soaked once which partly destroyed our trip to the falls in Big Pine Canyon.

On our way back to the campground we stopped in Bishop at the famous Erick Schat's Bakkerij to buy yummy 'Dutch' bread.

Thunderstorms used to frighten Maarten but now he has gotten used to it. He didn't have much choice.

After a day of hiking in the heat the showers brought a welcome relief as temperatures dropped as well when the rain began.


There is so much excellent hiking in the area. It was hard to choose where to go. But you have to be in the mood for hiking up if you want to experience this breathtaking alpine scenery. And all the suggested trips in our guide book were from 7 miles and up which might be too heavy for our little hiker.


We choose a loop trip leading along many rock-lined lakes. There are lakes everywhere! Starting the Bishop Pass Trail at South Lake, we hiked to the scenic Long Lake, then turned to Ruwau Lake, we climbed steep uphill to the ridgetop to overlook the Chocolate Lakes and after passing the round Bull Lake we rejoined the Bishop Pass Trail again.


We had to cross streams many times and after climbing the steep rocky sections of the trail, Maarten could swim in the ice cold water. And there was still some snow along the path at certain places.
Hence, the best way to keep Maarten going.



We couldn't miss the beautiful Sabrina Basin. But our trip to the Blue Lake was not that fortunate. The trail we took had a dead end by the waterfall that feeds Lake Sabrina and we almost got eaten alive by hungry mosquitoes.

The scenic Blue Lake surrounded by impressive granite peaks was worth the climb at last.


It got a little cloudy in the afternoon.
In an ideal world the clouds will shade the exposed steep and rocky switchbacks while climbing up and it will clear up again at the destination to take the perfect picture.




Well, this world is simply not ideal.

Is our stay in California coming to an end?

I really have to share this and I will do my best to keep this post short.

We are probably going to leave the States before the end of this year!

Even though all the years here we were never certain how long we are going to stay, this came as a shock to me.

Honestly I've never planned to die in California and I do miss our family and friends.
It can be a bit lonely over here...

Yet thinking of moving again and overseas with a 4 year old makes me feel nauseous.
O.K., let's start again in another country! But for how long for this once?!

Tae Kwon Do

Last Friday I enrolled Maarten in Tae Kwon Do. He is thrilled.
I know nearly nothing about karate and compared to his dad I would never even consider it for my child.
But already during the test we both got very enthusiastic and Maarten loves every minute of the training.

Originally I was looking for some kind of activity which would help Maarten to channel his abundant energy. He is probably still too young for tennis or soccer but here he can already start to train his physical skills.
I enjoyed watching the class and I'm pretty confident that Maarten's training will not result in violence and aggression.
What I really like that the training highly emphasizes good listening, respect, and good manners. We can truly use that lately!
In Maarten's case it's also a wonderful opportunity of socializing and interacting with others.
He has to answer in a strong clear voice when the instructor asks a question.
This is actually great for practicing his English. He is an excellent talker in Czech or Dutch but he is still kind of insecure when it comes to speaking English.

I only wish it wasn't so ridiculously expensive.
So far, the only real downer here is the fee.

"Koláč" or the language labyrint at the Kooij family

Maarten is busy with his elephant scissors cutting paper in pieces = slices of an imaginary pie.

Maarten: Pappa, wil je een stukje koláč.

Papa: Ja, dank je.

Mama: Weet papa dan wat koláč betekent?

Papa: Ja, collage, toch?

Mama: Nee, koláč is Tsjechisch voor vlaai.

Maarten: Nee, het is geen fly, maar een koláč!

Mama: Koláč betekent vlaai.

Papa: Ooh, ik kan dan beter taartje zeggen.

Roadkill

I remember my relatives in New York shaking their heads when they heard about my flight back to Europe on the 4th of July.
Then, I didn't understand.

Now I know better.
While living in this country we've learned that during this particular weekend our home is probably the best place to relax.
Unless you don't mind to deal with large crowds and heavy congestion of course.

Most of the people are out of town to celebrate this America's favorite holiday.
Compared to all campgrounds, hotels, beaches, parks and other popular places, our neighborhood looks rather abandoned.


Also today during my daily bike ride I don't encounter anyone.
I mean anyone alive.
Only dead animals along the road. Usually I see dead raccoons, squirrels or skunks. You probably know what happens when skunks are frightened or cornered. I've noticed they release the foul-smelling fluid also when they get killed!

Another 'strange' odor hit my nose early this week. This smell really made me gag. Poor little fawn.

About one mile further something pretty large wrapped in carpet lied right on the shoulder. There was a big threatening sign attached to it. I didn't feel like approaching it and I caughed only 'Whoever did this, you are...'.

On my way back someone couldn't restrain his curiosity and partly removed the carpet.
Awful sight!
Loads of predatory flies were surrounding the corpse.
Obviously someone hit this big deer and he or, maybe someone else driving by, chopped the deer's head right off!
Now the wrapping was removed, you couldn't help but notice, it had no head!
How gross!!!
Is this the way you claim a deers head?! Who would make a trophy of roadkill?

I've called the Animal Control and now the carcasses are removed.

The place stays haunted by the headless deer, but as for me, I'd better go now and join the partying folks!