A waterfall in the caves is fed by a small reservoir (Bear Gulch).

I am looking at my journals, which sport a gap longer than a month, and I am at a loss what we have done all this time. Most likely, we'd hibernated. The weather has been no good and so we got mostly stuck at home. We participated in another ice-skating expedition; this time juniors dared to plow unattended into the whirl of the arena; my legs somehow hurt more. Perhaps I was skating more and I was less standing around with my offspring.

The trail in Pinnacles leads under the boulders (left bottom).

Then one nice weekend popped out, and we drove out to Pinnacles, full of hope. We had an appointment with Radka and her boys (Radek was on a business trip to Florida). Kids were issued backpacks and head lamps, and we took a hiking trail over Bear Gulch in the eastern part of the park. The east and west ends of the park used to be, but no longer are, connected by a road passable by car, and that's why we typically visit the western side. I had been altogether twice to the east, and always for climbing, hence my knowledge of this area was quite limited. Radka became our guide in the end.

I must say that the trail turned up very good. Besides leading through a tunnel, with various climbing on rock steps, we have at one point reached a vertically oriented cave system, and we took stairs besides a waterfall. Kids with their head lamps were happy beyond hope. My hippo was huffing and puffing; in the final tunnel, we were in a serious risk in having to pull him through as he almost got stuck, for the natural egress from the cave would comfortably accommodate a five year old. Eventually he had managed to pass through, and we could continue.

There's an awesome landscape at Pinnacles National Park.

We declared a snack break at a reservoir. Adults ate and rested, juniors found a muddy ditch and were very captivated by building a miniature reservoir of their own. Lisa faded was a bit on our way back, but in the end walked the whole loop. Having enjoyed the whole thing, we invited Radka and her boys to our home and play some more there.

Spoilt by a few blossoms at Pinnacles, we had decided to visit Borel Hill on Sunday. We were picturing meadows with wildflowers. This was quite an illusion. Recent rains had turned everything green, but flowers did not show up yet. Moreover, confused by spring weather, I had packed the wrong set of clothes along in our bus. Thermometer declared that it was fifty degrees in the parking lot, but our sub-tropical sun was burning like hell, and we set out somewhat sparsely clad. I felt sorry on the first hill. If it was fifty in the gulch, then it must have been forty up on top, with a crazy wind blowing. I was wearing capris, t-shirt, regular shirt, and a fleece vest. In this fashion combo (white shirt and black vest) I kind-of looked like a runaway wedding party goer, and it did not feel warm at all! I thought that the kids would fare better in their double-layered trousers and fleece jackets (surely Lisa's hands were warmer than mine), but I was apparently wrong.

Four children is a pack; they conquer highs and lows, competing who's going to be first reaching the top.

Children liked this hike with the boys, and later we paid Tezaurs back by visiting at their home. While I was de-freezing with a cup of tea, children demolished the kids' room. Radka, who went up to assess the situation, brought back the news that Lisa had take off her trousers and crawled into Filip's bed. Well. I hope she drops the habit. (In her defense I would add that I urge kids at home to take off their dirty outdoors trousers and that Filip's double-decker bunk is a wonderfully interesting attraction, hence Lisa's behavior was actually quite logical and correct -- she did not spoil her friend's bedding with her dirty clothes.)

So far our weekend program turned out quite satisfactory, I even later -- on Wednesday -- boasted on a playground in front of my neighbor that my kids had not gotten ill (except a few sniffles) for the whole winter. When we came back home and I made the dinner ready, I could not find Tom. I realized that I have not heard him rummage around with his trains or bug Lisa for the whole half hour, I began to call out, and the boy was nowhere to be found. I discovered him fast asleep in his bed, with a fever, of course.

A regular picnic is a necessary component of every hike.

Lisa looked OK, and I sent her off to pre-school on Thursday. When both of my kids go, I would drive them there, since my car has two car seats installed; when Tom goes alone, my Hippo takes him. This time Hippo drove Lisa and she was feeling really important, since she normally does not go with daddy to preschool. Tom lay around watching movies and kept being sick throughout the day.

From the following night I vaguely remember Lisa going to the bathroom about five times, which stroke me as strange. She complained about her bottom hurting in the morning, and she wanted a cream applied; I was already on the phone to the doctors. Hippo stayed home with Tom and I rushed Lisa to a lab for urine test and to an exam, where the doctor has confirmed my home diagnosis: bladder infection. Lisa got antibiotics and we had two ill children at home. I was glad for going there with Lisa right away, for she felt much worse in the afternoon -- crying with every bathroom visit -- which lasted till Saturday, before the pills had an effect. I don't know if it all happened as a consequence of hypothermia on Borel Hill, or with my boasting in front of the neighbor; either way, we got sick during this winter after all.

Kids at preschool could observe this Australian Bearded Dragon (Pogona Viticeps).

In the context of coming up with a program for juniors bound to staying at home, we did various arts and crafts. Tom came with and idea one day that he would like to write. First he wrote LIDA, meaning one granny, then we together wrote JOŽINKA (the other granny). What should he write more? I had an idea to write a letter to granny, and went to find paper, wondering furiously how to arrange it so that it would not frustrate Tom too much, and perhaps he could use lines on the sheet, and so on. Before I could figure it all out, he said that he was done writing the letter and that he was going to go play with something else. He really did. There it was, on the sheet of paper, in big capitals: LETR. Have I told him to write a letter? I did. Has he written, "letter"? Indeed.

After weeks of being ill, children were besides themselves with glee to be able to play at the seaside.

Tom was rather sad for not being able to go to the preschool. They have currently learned a lot about animals and farming, in a very practical way. They had two chickens and a dog visiting at school; due to his illness, Tom missed lizards. Sid, who was taking Lisa to school on the lizards' day, could at least take pictures of the bearded dragon (yes that's the lizard scientific name). Another project I recall was boiling eggs -- then they made a edible spread from the eggs, and a mosaic from the egg shell pieces. They peeled and cleaned corn and peas, and churned milk into butter. Lately the teacher harrowed a garden patch, they removed all weeds and cleaned the soil, and are going to plant seeds and grow vegetables.

On the following Tuesday my head began to ache and on Wednesday I went down with a cold. Which, I think, was second-hand -- apparently some bug through the kids or from visiting the doctor's. Thus I had spent my birthday surrounded by tissue and endless cups of hot tea. I got better on Sunday; we drove out to the ocean. For the evening, we were invited to Tezaurs to a summary party (two birthdays and one name day), and we made a mutual promise not to give each other any presents. It was a very civilized occasion. No cooking: we ordered a pizza delivery, only Radka furnished a small chocolate cake. Hence I can, after many years, check off a SUCCESSFUL BIRTHDAY PARTY.

My birthday falls on the first day of spring, and it makes us expect the winter to end. After all, here in California we are used to eight months of summer; we don't thrive in cold. Last year, we swam in our pool in April!