Bonita Falls

Bonita Falls, Ca
Thursday we were looking for adventure. We have been working our butts off trying to catch up from February's month-long vacation and we just couldn't take another minute of yard work or school work! Time to get in our PE credit! We decided to go hiking.
Jeff came up with the idea of Bonita Falls because he hiked this particular trail when he was a kid.
We loaded some lunch in our backpacks, filled them with water, and jumped in the car.
Bonita Falls is located in the Lytle Creek area off of Sierra Ave and is the second largest waterfall in Southern California. The entire trail is only somewhere between 2 and 3 miles, but consists of rough terrain including and dry and very rocky creekbed.
After following the road up to the Lytle Creek Ranger Station, we stopped in to get our Wilderness Adventure Pass. You must have a Wilderness Adventure Pass to park along the roads to hike or play in the water. Unfortunately, the ranger station is closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays so we took our chances and parked without a pass. (We are such rebels!) Armed with only Jeff's memory (I won't say how old it is) we navigated the trail. By the way, I am using the term trail VERY loosely! The only thing we had to follow was the creek and we ended up hiking through the extremely rocky wash.

Here you can see the rocky wash area leading up top the canyon. The falls are located up the canyon between these two hills.

The kids were real troopers as we guessed the direction and crossed the creek several times blazing our own trail. I would recommend staying close to the south edge of the wash as the trail curves to the left and sneaks up on you before you know it. We almost missed it and would have if it were not for other hikers coming down from the area.
We finally turned off the wash and headed up the mountain a bit. There were many steep slopes and trees that blocked the trail that we had to either climb over or under. Although there were these conditions, it was still a trail that we could navigate quite easily. The main disappoinntment of the day was the amount of graffiti and trash in the area. It was difficult to take pictures because I did not want to capture the ugliness of the spray painted rocks and signs. If we hike in this area again, we will definitely bring a trash bag with us to collect the rubbish along the route.
We came upon what we thought was the end of the trail and sat down to enjoy a small set of falls, blocked by a fallen tree. we pulled out our lunches and the girls played in the water and among the rocks. However, the whole time Jeff was nagged by the feeling that it wasn't quite as spectacular as he remembered.

Our first stop. We thought we were at the end of the trail.

The girls and I were equally unimpressed so Jeff decided to go scout a little further up. It looked pretty steep to me so I agreed to "wait with the children" hahahaha! He came back down yelling for us to follow. We packed up quickly and scrambled up the cliff to see what he was so excited about.

 Now that is a waterfall! Finally we understood what he was talking about. 

We have had phenomenal weather here as of late and we were pretty sweaty by the time we reached the actual waterfall. The water was cascading off a cliff with tremendous force, misting us with water and cooling us off! It reminded me of a smaller version of Yosemite's Bridal Veil Falls. 
We thoroughly explored the tiny canyon and had we been better equipped would have jumped in the small pond that rests at the foot of the falls. The steep cliffs that are home to the waterfall were dripping with moss and plants, and water sprays up to ten feet away from the base. The sound of the falls crashing into the water was deafening and we could barely hear each other talking! Jeff said, "Now this is what I remember!"
After quite a while of playing on the slippery rocks, we decided we'd better head back as it was probably an hour and a half hike back to the car through the rocky wash. Natalie was starting to look a little wilted so I knew we had limited time before her feet stopped moving.
We headed back, once again blazing our own trial through the desert habitat and sediment wash alternately, avoiding cactus, hopping rock to rock, crossing the creek several times, and examining the patterns, shapes, consistency, and colors of the sediment. (We had to squeeze in a little school! We're calling it Earth Science)
We did hit a point on the return where the kids had had it, especially Natalie. We had hiked for about 3 hours in all on rough terrain and she was starting to mutiny. When we reached the driveway for Green Mountain Ranch (we had parked at the closest turnout to the Ranger Station) Jeff suggested that he get the car and meet us at the driveway. I consented and the kids plopped to the ground. While Jeff jogged further down the creek bed to get the car I "mentioned" to the girls that I was disappointed to have started the hike, but not finish it....well that did it! They were back on their feet and running after Jeff shouting to him to wait for them! Man, I LOVE a good guilt trip! Well, say what you want, but it worked. The girls not only finished the hike, but shed their shoes and socks to play in the dam at the end. The water was freezing so I decided to forgo that experience, but we had some wonderful moments sitting at the edge throwing rocks into the water and seeing who could throw the farthest or make the biggest splash. I smiled to myself when Katie said on the way home, "I am happy that I finished the hike."
What a fantastic day it was, full of sweet family memories and teachable moments. We learned to persevere, be patient with each other, and follow dad's directions. Best thing....NO PARKING TICKET! Yay! It was a successful day and so enjoyable.

Some of my favorite memories from our hike.

Road Trip!

Just a few days after we returned from Switzerland, we packed up once again! Rubbing the jet lag from our eyes, we rooted out an empty suitcase, tuned up the Pilot, and started out on a girls' only road trip to Northern California.
Jeff had to work after almost a month of vacation so we left him behind (much to his dismay) and headed up north to see our good friends, the Carrs. It was Iris' second birthday and we couldn't bear to miss it!
I really, really, really love driving north...ordinarily. However, after so much travel in the last month, I decided to break up the trip into two pieces because I still wasn't feeling 100%. We left mid-morning and found ourselves in Fresno by late afternoon. We checked into the Holiday Inn and the kids enjoyed the Cartoon Network (a treat for the girls considering there is no cable at home!) while I kicked back with "Catching Fire," #2 of the Hunger Games Trilogy. ;) After a night of rest (and ardent page turning), we were ready to hit the trail once again. We took our time wandering through the agricultural areas on highway 99 and stopped at Bravo Farms to pick up some almond treats for our Swiss friends who showed us such kindness while we were there last month. I love driving this route this time of year because all of the almond and pistachio trees are starting to bloom and look so beautiful along the side of the road.
Finally, we arrived in Grass Valley and had a wonderful afternoon visiting with our friends Dick and Anita, whom we have not seen in almost a year. Dick and Anita have been like parents to me over the years and Dick still enjoys telling tales of my teenage exploits! Ahhhhh! I really love this family. Bob and Lisa were at a doctor appointment and they arrived home with the happy news that they are expecting baby number two!!! We are so excited for them and cannot wait to meet the little peanut sometime in October!
We had a great time planning and decorating for Iris' barnyard birthday party. Together Lisa and I made her a birthday cake in the shape of a cow! You better believe that halfway through we wanted to Skype our friend Nikki of Toute Sweet for a little advice!! However, Lisa saved it in the end and the cake turned out so awesome! So many people came out to celebrate Iris' momentous occasion.
Sunday came too quickly and we had to rush home for school on Monday. We miss our sweet Iris, but we are so happy and grateful to have had the opportunity to share her special day.
After spending 16 hours in the car traveling to and from NorCal, I have to say, I really, really love California. It is such a beautiful state and the landscape is so diverse. Switzerland is beautiful, France is charming, but California will always have my heart.

My New Favorite Place

Lucerne, Switzerland
We definitely saved the best for last! The last city we visited in Switzerland was pretty far from where we were staying so we needed some extra time to make the trek. Fortunately we had someone to let out the pups for us that day so we decided to make the drive. I had read so much about how great this city is and we wanted to check it out for ourselves. I must say, it did not disappoint!
The city of Lucerne sits at the edge of the Reuss River where it drains Lake Lucerne. The city is responsible for the water levels in the lake and you can see the dam from the bridges that link the old part of the city to the new.

Looking into the Chapel Bridge. Above the historical paintings are visible.

The most famous bridge being the Chapel Bridge, built in the 1300's is completely made of wood and over 600 feet long. The bridge is especially unique because it contains paintings of the city's history dating back to the 17th century. A fire in the early 90's ruined some of the paintings and now boats are restricted from the bridge and smoking is not allowed anywhere near it. The bridge runs by a stone tower that sits in the middle of the river and predates the bridge by about 100 years.

A view of the "old city" and the Chapel Bridge with stone tower

One unfortunate aspect of our trip to Lucerne was that by this time in our adventure we were quite travel weary. Although we were very tired and worn out, we still had the opportunity to see many of the most famous sights of this area. We immediately looked for St. Peter's Church (per Rick Steves) and rushed to the edge of the old part of the city to a beautiful church on a hill with twin towers. We soon realized that this church was not exactly the one that we were looking for, but we liked it so much we stayed and explored it a while anyway. We fell in love with this church and while Jeff and the girls explored the extensive cemetery portion of the church, I sat soaking in the sun by the water fountain out front. I really enjoyed this because not only was the sun warming, but the view of the city streets was laid out below me and two men stood at the fountain chatting in the sun while filling their watering cans. A cat played on the steps and wandered in and out of the legs of an older lady who stood in the sun on the steps as well. It was a picturesque moment in time and I really could have stayed there all day watching everything happen in the streets and listening to the men chat in French.

Two men chatting by the fountain

Alas, we had to move on. The next thing we went to see was the famous Lion Monument. This is a statuesque lion carved into a cliff at the upper edge of the old part of the city built a bit above a reflecting pool. The monument commemorates the Swiss guards who were killed during the French Revolution. The monument was a quiet, reflective location and we enjoyed sitting here taking in the sight and staring up into the intricate carving of the lion. We had a little bit of a strange experience here. After we had sat for a while taking in the monument a large tourist group came by. After photographing the lion and the group themselves, they started in on Natalie. Many of the people wanted to take pictures with her and I didn't really realize what was happening until I looked at the focus of their commotion, which was my daughter! After that, I got the strange feeling that they were trying to photograph us as well as they posed conspicuously in front of us. It was indeed a strange experience!

The famous family in front of the Lion Monument

We circled the upper portion of the city and walked along the old town walls left over from the Middle Ages, inspecting the watchtowers that hover above the city. From the top of the hill we took in the Reuss as it snaked through the city and the stunning snow-capped mountain backdrops behind the city. This place is truly picturesque! If I could have done this again, I would have started with this city instead of ending with it because we were genuinely way too tired and worn out to enjoy this area properly! We were travel weary and could not possibly take in any more.
The best thing about the day was the weather. It was a pristine day with temps in the 50's and the sun shining. It was the perfect day and the vibes here very much reminded me of Paris with people shopping along the riverfront and sunning themselves on benches and sipping espresso or wine at riverfront cafes. Tables were hard to come by!

You can see from the picture that people were enjoying the riverfront in droves. They placed pieces of faux fur on the chairs and blankets on benches so people can enjoy the cafe tables in comfort. It was the most beautiful day and Jeff and I dreamed of ditching the kids to enjoy a glass bottle of wine by the river! Instead we wandered through some shops in our travel weary fog and walked the bridge across the river back to the train station where we had parked that morning. We dragged our bodies into the car and headed home.
On the way back, we passed through a small city called Murten that we had stopped at earlier in the week. The city was quaint and mostly closed that previous day due to the fact that we went on a Sunday so we decided to stop there for dinner. While most restaurants were once again closed, we did find a small Italian restaurant where we were the only people dining! The waitress loved Natalie (our PR rep for the trip) and so we got lots of attention and some really delicious Italian food.
The day in Lucerne was amazing and someday I hope to return to that gorgeous city on the river. Please enjoy some of my favorite pictures of this place.

Where Am I?????

Last week I went to the grocery store. By myself. Go Me.

Actually I was pretty proud of myself. I didn't hit anyone. I think I obeyed most traffic laws. I survived all of the roundabouts and weird road triangle thingys. Plus I went to the big Migros...in another town. It was pretty fun to spend some time by myself, also there was not just a grocery store but it was more like a mall with clothing stores, jewelry stores, and restaurants.

Today I just needed to pick up a few things, but they were specific things and I needed to go to a specific store....one that I have never been to. The good news was, I had been to this town several times and it was across from a restaurant that I had also been to before. So why did I need the GPS? I didn't.

Then I got lost. :(

So, I turned on the GPS. The GPS took me to a large shopping center with various stores. It was probably two or three stories tall so I drove up the ramp to the parking structure and hopped out. I was feeling okay, that it hadn't been too bad. I had secured a good parking space, paid for my shopping cart, and walked into the mall. (Here in CH you pay 2CHF to use the cart and then you can take it all over the mall to as many stores as you like) The COOP (grocery) that I wanted was up the escalators so I took my cart up and walked in. One problem. It looked like Home Depot. There was paint, garden supplies, storage containers, appliances....but no groceries. I walked to the back end of the store thinking I would find food eventually. I did not. UGH. I was at the wrong store!! So I went back down the stairs, put away the cart, got back in the car and consulted the GPS again. It told me that I was in the right place! So I started the car and circled the block, looking for the COOP grocery. FINALLY, I found it on the ground level on the other side of the building!

Once again, parked the car, paid for a cart, and went into the store. YAY! FOOD! I spent quite some time gathering all of the things I needed with only a few difficulties (for example, meanwhile, I had lost my list). I got into line and watched as the woman checked out my items. All of a sudden she looked up and pointed a cucumber at me and started speaking to me. Uh-Oh. What is wrong? I looked at her blankly and told her in French that I don't understand French. (my one good phrase besides please and I'm sorry) Fortunately the woman in back of me in line knew English and translated for me. I had forgotten to weigh and label my cucumber! Here, you need to choose your produce, take it to the machine, weigh it, and label it with the sticker so the checker can charge you. Oh no! I had weighed and labeled my other veggies, but forgot this one cucumber! The woman in back of me said, "Go ahead and do it now, she will wait for you. I told her, "But I don't want to hold you up." She told me it was no problem and I ran off to put my little cuc on a scale and punch in #48. I ran back with the cucumber in my hand and was surprised to find everyone waiting there patiently for me. Both women smiled generously and we moved on with the items. I paid and off I went! Both women were so kind and generous with their time. I feel like at Ralphs at home, someone would have cut off my head for taking up their time like that!

Back in the car, I turned on the GPS and punched in the address for the Wick's home. I sighed a big sigh of relief that I was FINALLY going back home. Well, not so fast! As I followed the GPS directions I came to a intersection where I knew I should turn left. The GPS told me to go straight. Hmmm. Decisions. What to do? I followed the GPS remembering how I thought I knew how to get to the store in the first place.
Bad decision. It was taking me through some farm roads that were closed. Now I was lost again! Ugh after driving around for a few more minutes, I finally found the intersection I needed and began to recognize signs marked "Cugy" and "Morrens" YAY! Thank you Swiss people for your LOVE of road signs!
3 hours later, I had the few items that I needed, a headache, and a better knowledge of how to get to COOP Crissier.

Papiliorama

Papiliorama
So we were in search of Zermatt. Our plan was to pack up the pups, jump in the car, and drive there. After all, a trip to Switzerland isn't complete without a view of the Matterhorn, right?
Then we mapped it. Turns out, it is a little far from us. Also, a cable car ride is needed to get up into the town because cars are not allowed.
So we made other plans. :)
We decided to go to the rainforest instead!
Well, not really. But we did cruise on over to a place called Papiliorama, named for the genus of the butterfly. It's a pretty cool place: combination nature center and petting zoo. It is a hands on museum for kids where they have re-created a couple of different habitats around the world for kids to experience. My kids needed a kid-type experience.
We went on a dreary, cloudy, cold Sunday so it was the perfect indoor Sunday activity especially for my kids. (They had seen enough Medieval European villages for a little while) Of course, every other family in CH had that idea too so it was a little crowded!
The first part we checked out was the cafe....it was lunch time, okay? Super expensive food, but good and warm and it hit the spot. We paid about 50 CHF for four sandwiches and some pretzels. ;)
Next we went into the nocturnal animal zone. This was pretty cool. I have never seen anything like it before. We wandered through  a very large enclosure that is completely dark and lit only with black lights. I have to admit, most exhibits were hard to see but we did get a glimpse of several key animals. One of them was an Agouti. This is particularly advantageous because believe it or not, we just studied the Agouti after reading about it in The Swiss Family Robinson! We also saw an Anaconda, Owl Monkey, Armadillo, Spectacled Owl, and a tank FULL of huge Catfish! I really enjoyed the nocturnal habitat except for two things. One: it smelled very bad. Two: There were bats flying around! I mean freely flying around my head! Ahhhh! That was a little crazy.
After the nocturnal habitat we went into the rain forest habitat. There were fewer animals in there to view, but there were lots of plant specimens to look at and trails to follow, including one that takes you over the top of the rain forest up to the canopy. We saw a few really beautiful birds including a spoonbill and a Rainbow Toucan!

We found this guy wandering around...not sure what he is.

Spoonbill

The girls in the rainforest habitat. It was so humid in there that Natalie's hair began to curl. ;)

This Rainbow Toucan did a drive by right above Jeff's head!

There was one part of the rainforest habitat that I did not go into....the bat cave! Yuck! My family had a good time going in there though, and subsequently making fun of me for not partaking! Thanks anyway. Bats are NOT for me!
We left the rainforest habitat and went across the way to learn about Butterflies. It was a little hard, because it was in French but we could make most of it out. They had displays about the life cycle of the butterfly, its natural and man made enemies, and a large display of butterflies and their corresponding caterpillar bodies. We followed that display outside into the back area where there is a very large Butterfly house. Unfortunately, it was empty because it is the wrong time of year. I'm sure in the spring and warm summer weather, this place is hopping! Or buzzing, whatever the case may be!

All in all, it was a great day for the kids to kick back and have some fun. Katie really loved the nocturnal habitat. The bats flying around her head did not even bother her! Natalie, on the other hand, is like her mom and ran out screaming lol. They also have a small petting zoo outside with donkeys, peacocks, pot belly pigs, and small goats. I would recommend a visit here. Very fun!

Carnival!

Bern, Switzerland
Switzerland has four official languages: French, German, Italian, and Romansh. We are staying in the French speaking part of CH around the Lake Geneva area. Friday we traveled north to Bern, the capital of Switzerland, which also happens to be in the German speaking part of the country.
A while back I was reading about Carnival and saw that Bern, Switzerland was the number five place to celebrate. So when we found out we were going to Switzerland, of course, I wanted to make sure Bern was on our list!
Bern celebrates Carnival with a three-day party called Berner Fasnacht. It is full of bands, floats, utterly crazy costumes, food, parades, and tons and tons of confetti! Being that we have our children with us, I really love that they have a special time dedicated to kids; I wouldn't have to explain too many odd eccentricities to my kids. ;) We decided to go on this children's day. All of the bands march in a parade and costumed children are allowed in the parade as well. 
We arrived in the city a couple of hours before the parade was set to start so that we could take in a few city sights as well. The city, like many others in Switzerland was built during the Middle Ages and has an very famous clock tower, named Zytglogge, that is still in operating order. The tower used to be a prison tower and was built during the 13th century, but the clock was added later, during the 15th century, after the great fire of 1405. Miraculously, we found ourselves standing in front of the impressive monument ten minutes before noon so we were able to watch and hear the movements at the full hour! At noon, the small figurines danced around and the bell striker at the very top struck the bell. It was very exciting to watch as a small crowd gathers in anticipation of the event.

Katie took this picture of Jeff and I in front of the Bern Clock Tower

After being entertained by the clock tower, we walked down the main street in Bern to find Einstein's haus. Einstein famously lived in Bern during what he himself termed the happiest period of his life. It is here that he also penned his famous paper, Theory of Relativity. His home has been turned into a small museum.
When we found his house we found that it was closed due to water damage! I was so disappointed. Katie took an online class last year on Einstein and I thought visiting this museum would be the perfect compliment to that class. Oh well. We saw the outside! There is also a small adjoining cafe. 
By this time, it was getting close to parade time so we had a bite to eat and went in search of the parade route. Only problem: I don't know how to say "parade" in German and nobody really understood what we were talking about! There were hundreds of costumed people milling about and they all seemed to be heading in different directions! We went first to the old village, but they were setting up food carts and scaffolding so we concluded that would not be a good parade route. We consulted the map that we received from the TI agent, but that was wrong as well. We then found the main street and people were lining the street on steps, eating and talking. We grabbed a step and sat there in the sun for quite a while. We had purchased some decor for the kids to wear in celebration and Natalie took the opportunity to dance and dance and dance in the middle of the street! Nobody seemed to care and she moved out of the way every time a car wanted to pass. That kid cracks me up!!! Here are some pics of her antics:

While Natalie got her dance on, we watched people come and go and finally realized that nobody close to us was there for the children's parade! They were all working people sunning themselves, having lunch, and enjoying the gorgeous weather!
We asked several people to direct us to the parade route and finally a police officer was able to direct us. He asked us where we were from and when we told him California, he seemed very amused. 
We finally found the parade route and picked out our location. Within minutes we could hear the first notes of a band playing Proud Mary and could see the Bern Bear leading the procession!
The children's parade was awesome! After each band rolled by, costumed children (and often times their costumed parents) followed in procession behind. It was a little like Halloween in America but times ten! Many of the costumes were very elaborate and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Children were given large bags of confetti and they tossed it everywhere and at everyone! The music was amazing and for a few minutes, we even joined in the parade! (Much to the chagrin of my almost teenage daughter!)
Me: "Let's join the parade!"
Katie: "NO!!!"
Me: "Why not?"
Katie: "We don't have costumes!"
Me: "Who cares?! Let's go!"
So we went down the parade route a small ways, dancing as we went! It was so fun. Katie almost died of embarassment. hahahaha Many families had a theme going: there was the family dressed in Euros, the caveman family with dog bones in their hair, lots of Pippi Longstockings, and tons and tons of princesses. There were thousands of people in a never-ending sea of ogres, pirates, clowns, ninjas, knights, and bees (very popular). The massive amount of people passing by lasted for almost two hours!!! I had such an amazing time at this parade, I wanted to stay for the night time festivities very badly, but our pooches were at home with full bladders. So we packed it in and hit the road home. 
One interesting thing happened on the way home, we hit a lot of traffic on the autoroute. When we came up to the cause we found that it was a police checkpoint. We watched as several cars in front of us were pulled out of the line to the side as a police officer checked a list. It seemed like he was looking at license plates maybe? We got a little nervous with our language difficulties and all but thankfully we were let to go through! Whew!
All in all, we had such a great day in Bern. It is truly a fascinating city what with the Swiss National Bank, the Parliament building, the old village, the bear pits, I really can't wait to go back here someday and take in all that this amazing city has to offer! I hope you enjoy some of our pictures of the Children's Parade:

This band started the parade and they were so awesome! We later found them playing on a street corner and we stopped to dance and listen while they played YMCA

Tons and tons of confetti!

I LOVED this band!

Earlier in the day, this guy had given my kids a Canival pin on the street. They were such nice people.

This kid band ROCKED it! They had the beat and they were very impressive!

I loved this fish head guy

We captured a picture of this guy putting his hat on Natalie. Everyone was very friendly and out to have a good time.

American Food

Eating out in Switzerland is ultra expensive so we try to limit our meals to lunch out only, taking breakfast and dinner at the house. It works out well because then we are home by the time the pups need to go out. Well, yesterday was a day of rest. The kids had multiple breakdowns and attitude problems so we decided to have a day in where they could play and rest. Even Dad got a nap in and I got some laundry done. Well around dinner time we decided to go out to dinner! We hadn't done that yet, so I really didn't even know where to go but I was craving a nice solid cheeseburger.
I found a restaurant online that proclaimed to sell American food....it even sounded American, plus they had a play area for kids. So we hopped in the car and headed over to Buffalo Grille in a neighboring town, Crissier.
Oh my.
Walking in, I was heartened to see murals of the wild west, pictures of the Grand Canyon, cowboys, and covered wagons. WooHoo! I found some American food! Maybe the menu is in English too! YES!

NO.

The menu is not in English. The waitress DOES NOT speak English. At all. Not even a little.
Poor girl.
Let's just say we tipped her very well. ;)
She was so sweet, and genuinely felt badly that we could not communicate. I kept telling her that it was not her fault, but mine, not that she understood me hahaha. Anyhow, I did get a cheeseburger and it did not have fried potatoes in place of the bread like the picture I saw on the menu. It was, however, the rarest piece of meat I have ever had in my life. And after all the gesticulating I had done to get it, I was not going to bother that poor girl to send it back!
They do however, make a mean margarita. Thus the big tip lol.
Anyhow, the kids had a fun time and we got out for a night....plus I didn't have to cook. :)

An American Dinner!

 *o*

Natalie enjoying some Barbe a papa. (That is one of my new French words, along with pommes de terre)