Discover Abbott's Lagoon, the Bird Sanctuary of Point Reyes

Abbott's Lagoon. Photo by Frog Mom

A stone's throw away from the quaint town of Point Reyes Station, Abbott's Lagoon is Point Reyes' bucolic answer to the Pescadero Marsh or the Richardson Bay Audubon: a bird sanctuary. This flat 1.5 mile walk combines a lagoon where fresh waters meet the sea, green pasture hills and more birds than you've seen in a while - especially if you drop in during the winter migrations. We spent a day around the Point Reyes peninsula and Abbott's Lagoon was a spur of the moment pick for a sunny afternoon. I'm glad we went as it was way more than I expected.

Getting there
In itself, the drive from Point Reyes Station along Tomales Bay was a scenic delight. We drove past the small town of Inverness, the renowned rustic and romantic Manka's Inverness Lodge, and past the junction to the Drakes Bay Oyster Farm. On our way, I pointed out to the kids the Russian "Lipnosky's" dacha, an elaborate Russian-style wooden house perched above Tomales Bay on stilts - they loved it. At the split on Sir Francis Drake Hwy where signs point to the lighthouse or Pierce Point and Tomales Bay, I had a moment's hesitation and made a right towards Pierce Point. Fortunately, it was a good choice. Since I only navigate with paper maps and by memory, I could have made a wrong turn. I continued on Pierce Point Road and it took a while but finally I saw the sign for Abbott's Lagoon and pulled over in the parking lot.

Trailhead. Photo by Frog Mom

The hike
At the parking lot, our girls were excited. I went with my friend Becky and she had borrowed another little girl along her daughter so we had four girls with us ages 6 and 8 years.

Coming out of a post-lunch ice cream, the young ones clearly needed to shake their sillies out. Looking out west, we could see all the way to the lagoon and if we squinted, the golden hues of the sandy beach. I decided to quit the squinting and start walking.

Bird guide 101. Photo by Frog Mom

Within a quarter mile, the wide path led us to an oval pond where we saw our first birds. We had brought with us our Local Birds of Marin County laminated guide and the girls unfolded it hastily to identify the birds. They weren't ring-necked ducks, the beak color didn't match. They weren't mallards, the head and neck were off. They weren't red-throated loons either and as tempting as the pointy beak shape suggested, they weren't western grebes either. What then?

Gracefully gliding along the reeds was a pair of American Coots, one of the most common waterbirds and yet we felt it was an accomplishment.

Roughing around on the trail. Photo by Frog Mom

When you go on a wildlife hike and the wildlife is actually there for you to see (as in "howdy!" - right on cue), I can't tell you how great it feels.

Eventually the coots shied away from us and moved to thicker shores where we couldn't see them. Semi sad face. We moved away too and walked towards the beach.

What wasn't our surprise when we heard the deep mooing of a cow coming from across the pasture. A cow? Why of course, we were on the Point Reyes peninsula after all and there's all these A, B, C and so forth ranches.

Mule deer at Abbotts Lagoon. Photo by Frog Mom

Abbotts Lagoon elbows  Ranch H so I'm guessing the mooing cow was a Ranch H mooing cow. However it's not the Ranch H mooing cow that got our girls' attention, it's a handful of mule deer.

Deer was not on our birding program and came as a complete surprise. What were they doing there during the day anyway? They must feel pretty safe from predators to hang out in the open like that and they felt so sage that we were able to get just a few feet away. Unevenly scattered on a hill, five or six deer grazed and chewed and grazed some more. What a life.

Boardwalk. Photo by Frog Mom

Past the herd, the packed dirt trail gave way to a curving boardwalk a few feet off a marshy area. When in season, I bet you the marsh is all flooded but with our dry winter, the ground and the cattails crackling dry. The girls couldn't have cared less, boardwalks seem to trigger an irresistible urge to fool around. Which they did.

After the boardwalk the ground was visibly more sandy until we gradually reached enough sand that we knew we were at the beach. A small bridge crossed over the lagoon, a snowy white egret waddled in the distance, and after that the trail disappeared underground.

Buried in sand. Swept by the sand. Quietly swallowed by the sand dunes. What a startling change of scenery.

Before we could object, the three oldest girls ran up the sand dunes and took off their shoes and socks. If they could, they would have stayed a whole day playing in the sand.

I tend to forget how much children like to play in sand, what pleasure they get  just out of digging their toes deep in the fine grains and wiggling them free. It didn't take long for the youngest one to join the unruly ranks of girls gone wild in the dunes.

Yellow sand verbena. Photo by Frog Mom

Becky and I explored the area where the bright flowers of sand verbena brought color to the dunes otherwise crisscrossed by the long stringy runners of beach strawberries with their bright waxy leaves.

Above us a flock of brown pelicans flew low to the ground, barely a few feet above the lagoon and probably scanning for fish.

All good things have an end and we had to drag the girls out of the dunes, shake their sandy socks and put the shoes back on. Though they were disappointed they showed signs of weariness.

Turkey vulture in flight. Photo by Frog Mom

On the way back we observed a couple of turkey vultures circling above the northern end of the lagoon and I took several photographs of the birds in flight so I could blow them up on my camera and show them to the girls.

After checking the bird's red head and looking at the silhouette with the slightly raised wings and long "fingers", we all agreed it was indeed a turkey vulture flying way up there. Turkey vultures may be ugly as hell up close but in the sky they are the most graceful gliders.

As the after shadows grew longer and longer, we watched the hills around the lagoon don the warm colours of a late winter afternoon. It would be dark before we got back to the city but we were glad we had stopped by Abbotts Lagoon, a unique blend of coastal prairie and lagoon.

Practical Details

• Hike: 2 miles round trip
• Elevation: negligible
• Trail map: you can download one here.
• Trailhead: 49 miles north of San Francisco. Driving directions here.

Where to Eat

• At Point Reyes Station, we enjoyed a scrumptious lunch of fried calamari, clam chowder and hamburger with farmstead blue cheese at the Station House Cafe. We all sat around a large communal table in the back room where the kids could move around without bothering other diners.
• For a more casual setting, the wood-fired pizza at Cafe Reyes looked and smelled fantastic - the chocolate chip cookies on the counter too.

Meet Ronnie of the Awesome List

Ronnie Sharpe and her dog Munro. Photo by Frog Mom

A year ago, Ronnie Sharpe and her friend Marjorie got together over a cup of joe and created Marinhood, a website that lists kid activities from infancy through early grade school years (Ronnie's Awesome List) and for the tween and teenage years (Things To Do with Tweens and Teens in Marin). Ronnie describes the lists as "get in, get out," a no-thrills but carefully selected list of activities for local families. To find out about the great list, I met up with Ronnie in Mill Valley where she lives and we went on a hike at Camino Alto Open Space Preserve with her dog Munro.

I first met Ronnie (online) when she was editor of the newsletter of the Southern Marin Mothers Club and I was managing editor at the Golden Gate Mothers Group. We exchanged emails, traded publications and that was it until a year ago. Ronnie's name re-appeared on my digital screen when Ronnie's Awesome List was born and she emailed the link to a Yahoo! group I'm part of. Ronnie, as in Ronnie Sharpe? Clearly it was the same Ronnie and I decided to find out what Ronnie was up to.

On Being Adaptable
"I was an Air Force brat and moved nine times as a kid from base to base," explained Ronnie who added that moving often to places to all looked alike made her a very adaptable child. Later in life, adaptability helped her in a down economy when she worked at a pet clinic after a sculpting and art degree -though she still used her art degree doing textbook illustrations. Today, her ability to move on has turned into a professional photographer, grant writer for non-profits and Bay Area blogger.

Ameliasaurus. Photo by Ronnie
Sharpe

On Dinosaurs
Some parents say "yeah, my kid is into sharks" or "my kid is into forts" but generally these phases are short-lived. Ronnie's daughter Amelia is not just into dinosaurs, she's obsessed by them. At age eight, her goal is to be the youngest person ever to discover a dinosaur bone.

Her passion has led her to visit the museum of the paleontology department at UC Berkeley, look up the clam fossils on Mount Tamalpais and learn Latin words, prefixes and suffixes to understand the meaning of dinosaur names. When she watched the movie Jurassic Park, she critiqued that "these dinosaurs weren't even in the Jurassic era!"  Of course she's read pretty much any dinosaur book for kids out there and graduated to the adult stuff. Is that an obsession or what?

Ronnie pitches in the dinosaur obsession as well, looking for paleontology digs that will take a 3rd grader or researching summer trips with dinosaur stops. On the Halloween front, what did Amelia dress as last year? Why, a Stegosaurus of course. However instead of buying a cheapo dino-suit with the wrong dino features, Amelia designed it, she and her mom cut the plates and sewed it with the tail, and Ronnie dyed the fabric.

Our daughters at the Muir Woods Earth Day. Photo by
Ronnie Sharpe

On volunteering and nature
"Volunteering has given me so much," said Ronnie reflecting on her years with the Southern Marin Mothers Club and on her experience rescuing animals at local animal shelters. Meeting people, sharing knowledge, giving back to the community - those are words Ronnie believes in.

This past weekend we joined her at the Muir Woods Earth Day celebration where she volunteered with her daughter. Together my family and hers pulled forget-me-nots and cleaned the boardwalks of Muir Woods. On her nature agenda, Ronnie also volunteers at Muir Beach in the summer and plans Earth Day like others plan Superbowl Sunday - with glee and anticipation.

On dead sharks

Dead shark. Photo by Ronnie Sharpe

Her experience at animal shelters has also sharpened a wild animal rescue fiber in her and she told me this anecdote. "A few years back, I found an 8 ft nurse shark that came up the bay at Bayfront Dog Park. The Marin Humane Society would not remove it saying it will go back in with the tides but it was there for weeks and getting really smelly. The MHS argued they could only pick up dead animals if they were on the road so some folks dragged the shark into the road. The MHS dragged it back to the waters edge. =)) Ah well….eventually they had to remove it."

Apart from the dead-shark fun factor, who would care about a dead shark in a creek? Ronnie did and after some research, she found out that leopard sharks swim up creeks around the San Francisco Bay to give birth to their babies in as safe place, get disoriented and die. That's how she's found three dead sharks so far. Now she always keeps an eye out for sharks in distress in creeks.

Amelia with a friend and Munro.
Photo by Ronnie Sharpe

On Ronnie's favorite places for kids in Marin
In no particular order:

• Check the time of the low tide on the NOAA tide tables and go out to the tidepools at Muir Beach or the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
• Hike around Tomales Point and see herds of tule elk
• Enjoy the Chinese New Year parade in San Francisco

On Ronnie's Awesome List

Ronnie's list offers information for kids elementary age and under and features activities around the Bay Area. In her list this month (February 2012), you can find American hoop dancing at the San Anselmo library, a nature hike in the Presidio in San Francisco and a garden stroller meetup at the UC Botanical Gardens at Berkeley.

To read the list you can subscribe by email and to give Ronnie details of an upcoming event, you can email her.

What blogs does Ronnie read?
Besides Frog Mom of course:)

• Mill Valley Life - www.millvalleylife.com 
• James Gurney's blog - Amelia's favorite author/illustrator - www.gurneyjourney.blogspot.com 
• The Sharpes like tinkering and go to makezine.com for inspiration 
• Frisco Kids - www.friscokids.net 
• Skinny Scoop - www.skinnyscoop.com
• Fun food ideas: littlenummies.net, www.suburbanhomestead.typepad.com

On chocolate

The best way to end a profile, right? Ronnie raves about the artisan chocolates created by her friend Onie who was trained at Bernachon, one of the most prestigious chocolatiers in France. [I have his cookbook and it's chocolate and French cake overdose by reading.] However tempting that sounded, you don't need to fly to France to enjoy these chocolates. You can simply find them online at Alchemy Pastry. If you drool over the photos, it might be worth knowing that Ronnie took them (she does food as well as portrait photography). Now I'll dream of the chocolate fairy house or the Mexican chocolate and passion fruit marshmallow combo. They def look like they're worth a mile or two of swim in the bay:)

About the Meet Series: Know of a fab person you'd like to see featured on Frog Mom? Shoot me an email and tell me more.

Celebrate the Summer Solstice on Muir Beach

Summer solstice at Muir Beach. Photo by Frog Mom

"Celebrate the longest day of the year at the continent's edge, Muir Beach. Join us for storytelling and songs around a bonfire." Every year the rangers of Muir Woods organize two events to celebrate the passage of the shortest and the longest day of the year.

December 21st marks the winter solstice with a luminaria-lit redwood ceremony at Muir Woods National Monument. June 21st marks the summer solstice with a beach bonfire, stories and the sound of crashing waves on Muir Beach. They both have their particular charm but kids definitely prefer an evening at the beach where they can run and splash around before the ceremony starts.

In sharp contrast with the craze of Muir Woods, Muir Beach is a quiet beach with fine sand and trails that climb up the bluffs to lovely overlooks. When we arrived last year around 5pm, parking was easy. We gathered our beach toys and food, crossed the boardwalk on Redwood Creek and crossed the beach to reach the bonfire spot.

The rangers were busy like bees setting up their signs, blankets and boxes of props and music instruments. The bonfire was already on its way though its warmth was not needed yet. We were pretty much in the first dozen of participants and I feared - without reason as you will see - that we would be part of a very small crowd.

We lay our blanket on the sand facing north and broke the picnic dinner as our girls frolicked in the sand. Ironically we thought we were so sophisticated with our home-made sandwiches and fruit when in fact people bring full coolers of food, hot dogs to roast on sticks, wine and fancy stem glasses. All of a sudden we were apprentices in the world of beach bonfires!

Waiting for the evening to come, I walked up part of the trail and enjoyed the beach basking in the last golden rays of a sunny day. I could see myself waiting here a long time but advancing shadows told me I had better come down not to miss the show.

Mia Monroe, superintendant of Muir Woods National Monument, announced the official start of the ceremony. Our girls settled down next to us and converted their playful energy into storytime energy. They were about to learn about the sun and the moon and the longest day and shortest night of the year.

At the very beginning, we all took turns adding stems of wild mustard to the bonfire so they would burn later on. I forget the specs now but I think it's because it's an invasive plant and it was a symbol of native habitat restoration.

The first musical act consisted of the Marin band Orange Sherbet who led the crowd into hippie family songs. As I write this a year later, I wish I could find the song booklet they distributed to tell you which songs. All were familiar tunes and most people joined in the sing-along.

I was surprised to notice some in the audience had brought their own musical instruments - drums, guitar, ukulele. They even joined the Orange Sherbet lady duo on a few tunes. This was a community experience!

The evening unfolded with animal stories, a puppet show, nature songs accompanied on the guitar and poetry.

I talked with a couple behind us and the woman turned out to be a total francophile and a former French teacher in Latin America. Good for me! She was a friend of Ms Monroe and introduced me after the ceremony was over. I was thrilled.

As we were about to leave, a family behind us shared a coveted treasure with our girls which they could not refuse: marshmallows!

They each grabbed a handful, didn't even bother about sticks and gobbled them up like they hadn't eaten in a day. Guess the home-made sandwiches weren't enough after all!

Knowing we still had an hour of driving to head home, we packed our belongings and bade goodbye to the people we had gotten to know around us. For a bonfire with total strangers, I was surprised at how friendly it turned out to be.

In the fading evening, the hills of Marin were still sunny but by the time we reached the city, dark was upon us.

On our girls too. They were sound asleep. Dreaming of celestial coyotes, sneaky raccoons and mighty moons.

Family backpacking trip to the West Point Inn on Mount Tamalpais

A cabin with a view. Photo by Frog Mom

The Mount Tamalpais' West Point Inn was one of my dreams for a long time - the historic stopover for passengers on the gravity car that snaked on the trails of the crookedest railroad in the world to the top of Mt Tam is a must on every hiker's to-do list. It may be called an inn, but you have to backpack in. You can't drive up to the inn - it's part of the tradition. The 1904 lodging provides shelter to visitors either as tiny rooms in the main building or as rustic cabins with cold showers outside on the deck. You bring your sleeping bag, food, clothes, toiletries and good spirits.

Follow the signs. Photo by Frog Mom

Last Friday, I was floored to find we were outnumbered by kids. For a backpack-in lodge, it's amazingly kid-friendly. That night, 20 cub scouts, 7 9-year-old boys, and our 3 girls from age 5 to 7 were more than a match for the handful of adults trying to cope with the noise and testosterone level. What a scene!

It was my second backpacking experience with my girls, the first trip having been two years ago when they were 5 and 3. Let me tellya, the Mount Tam experience is indefinitely easier than the sierras - no bear containers to store food, no tent to carry, and if you forgot your goose down winter jacket, you can warm up by the fireplace. It's by far the gentlest way to backpack with kids in the Bay Area. Even the trail is easy: 2 straight miles on a wide fire road. My friend Becky, who swam from Alcatraz with me last year, joined me with her 7-year old daughter.

Gummy cougar! Photo by Frog Mom

The plan was to leave San Francisco around 4 pm and hope to be at the inn around 6pm. In reality we didn't reach the trailhead at Pantoll before 5pm and we got to the inn at 6.45pm. By then the sun was low on the horizon and the girls' stomach was grumbling. Almost.

To spice up the hike, Becky created a game to boost the  stamina of our girls. She called it the "gummy cougar" and before knowing the rules, the kids had her attention with the name.

She hid big star-shaped gummy stars along the trail and the girls went on a gummy scavenger hunt to find them. Rocks, stumps, trail posts, were all good hiding places. To be completely fair to the 5-year old who wasn't as fast as her 7-year old counterparts, I hid a couple in my pants' pocket so she could partake in the sugary revelries.

Kids hiking. Photo by Frog Mom

Realizing that the girls were slowing down to look for more candy, we stopped the gummy cougar game and let them take the lead on the trail. I always find that kids walk better if they're not trailing behind. Somehow they forget that they're with adults and engage in lively conversations, moving along without effort.

In terms of backpacks, here is how we had shared the load with my girls. I carried 2 sleeping bags, our clothes, food (we shared dinner and breakfast duties with Becky), two water bottles, 3 headlamps and 3 battery-operated glow sticks, a book and toiletries.

On the trail. Photo by my 2nd grader!

My 7-year old was carrying her sleeping bag, a thermos and her jacket. My 5-year old was carrying her jacket, a water bottle and snacks. It seemed to work pretty well for everybody. Since I knew the trail would be easy, the kids were just wearing good walking shoes but they didn't need hiking boots.

Once at the West Point Inn, Pat, the guardian of the inn, greeted us, led us to the cabin #4 and gave us the spiel. "The cabins get a little cold at night. Feel free to use the extra blankets." At this point, he opened the plain wood double doors opening on the deck.

West Point Inn. Photo by Frog Mom

The dark cabin welcomed some sun light in and I looked at the floor . "Look! A mouse!" The cutest field mouse was crossing the space between two beds and scurried away quickly. We tried to find it later but it was gone. My girls love little rodents.

Pat grabbed the opportunity of the mouse to switch to another topic. "Talking about wildlife, there are two local animals that are dangerous and that you should be aware of: rattlesnakes and scorpions."

Cabin #4. Photo by Frog Mom

Rattlesnakes, we weren't going to see because the temps were too cold. It had snowed on Mount Tam that afternoon. Scorpions too but Pat said something that stuck with the girls until the next day: scorpions like to hide in shoes because they're warm. "Shake your shoes in the morning," he said, adding that the only scorpion he had ever heard of was seen in cabin #4 last year. It was on the ground. It looked like a leaf. A lady bent over to pick it up and OUCH!

Right then, my girls looked like they were going to melt down or cry or both. My second grader got close to me, looking upset. I thought she just wanted to cuddle up. In fact, she was afraid. Pat admitted later he should have saved that information for us adults. I agree, that would have been better.

Waiting for dinner. Photo by Frog Mom

Needless to say, the girls were eager to leave the cabin so we could prepare dinner in the main building. I vaguely unpacked my backpack to get the food and headlamps out, and we all headed over. The inn's kitchen is not small but it's not big either. Built in 1904, it has remarkably resisted to the passage of time and the cream color of the walls, the wood cabinets, the wall sconces and the heavy six-fire stove flanked by giant griddles lend it a certain period charm.

However with 6 to 8 parents preparing dinner to feed armies of ravenous young boys, space to navigate was sparse and we had to wait for our turn. The only smart thing Becky and I could do was ... uncork a bottle of wine - which we did! While our girls watched the boys play a game of cards, we squeezed our way in the kitchen and managed to warm up our dinner of roasted chicken and Thai sticky rice in the giant oven, next to the boys' lasagnas and pizzas.

Dinner time! Photo by Frog Mom

Finally dinner was ready and we all sat down. With the fire crackling in the hearth against the back wall, the room felt terribly cozy and warm. We secretly wished we wouldn't have to get out to go sleep in probably cold and damp cabin but hey, that'll be for next time.

After dinner we brushed our teeth in the kitchen - the restrooms were outside and we felt entitled to more "warm" time before bedtime, and cleaned up the plates. Staying at the West Point Inn is like staying at a youth hostel - you need to clean up after yourself and do a share of the daily chores. It's only after one of the girls fell asleep in front of the fire that we realized it was time to head out. We dashed back to our cabin, quickly changed in our PJs and tucked ourselves tight in our sleeping bags. Of course, we hung all shoes 5 feet off the floor and the backpacks too. Pegs, hooks and nails sticking out of the walls - we used them all! That night we all slept like logs. All of us people and one extra item. The next morning my 5-year old's first words were: "Mom, why is the chocolate bar all squishy?" She had slept with it, holding it against her as her lovey.

To spend the night
You can reserve by emailing reservations@westpointinn.org or calling the reservation line 415-646-0702.

Rates:

• High season: Children: Age 2 to 18 - one half of the Adult Rate.   Babies under 2, Free.Non-Members : $50 per adult/night. ( Except Low Season  Tuesday-Thursday : $35 per person/night ). 
• Low Season ~ Tuesday-Thursday: Rates are $700 up to 20 persons. Member Whole Inn Rentals on Premium Holidays*: Rates are $1000.00 up to 20 persons. 

All details are on this page.

Kids' Birthday Party Idea: The Culinary Dude at In The Kitchen

Aspiring chefs get creative at ITK. Photo by C.G.

For kids who enjoy cooking up a storm, helping out for morning pancakes or evening pizzas, In The Kitchen (ITK) in Sausalito is a dream party place where freedom of cooking is unleashed in its full splendor - something that doesn't happen at home. In my kitchen, my little helpers pitch in but time constraints and an irrational fear of The Big Mess seriously restrict the range of what I let them do.


The Culinary Dude. Photo by C.G.



At ITK, kids prepare and cook a meal from scratch, then get to eat it. It's cooking heaven with a few guidelines. Get this: children even clean up so they can set the table to eat the fruit of their labor. Ever seen that happen at home? 

One of my best friends' 8-year old boy is seriously smitten with cooking and took cooking classses after school at ITK. So naturally for his 8 candles, he decided to celebrate there and threw a Mexican food party. Twelve kids from age 5 to 8 had a ball learning how to hold a knife, cut tomatoes, mash avocadoes, squeeze limes, and cry over the fate of onions. We, the adults, wished we were kids so we could steal some of their food. The cooking smells were taunting our noses but we were brave and watched stoically.

"Don't call me hey!" started Scott Davis a.k.a. The Culinary Dude. Scott is a great guy and knows how to talk to kids. He addresses them as real little people who understand instructions and who are about to become responsible of knives and food, not as nitwits in need of babysitting.

Ingredients on the counter. Photo by C.G.

Scott's philosophy is all about empowering kids in the kitchen and getting them to listen to the adult in charge. His remark had kids raise their brows and giggle but he had their attention all right. "You can call me Dude, the Culinary Dude, or Scott." Kids nodded. That was clear.

With that out of the way, Scott proceeded to explain safety measures for the day since the chosen meal involved a good deal of veggie cutting - hopefully not finger cutting. Mostly the instructions were about safety but since everybody sat in a professional kitchen with a professional chef, hygiene wasn't spared. The no-nos? Well, picking your nose, sneezing in your hands or brushing your hair with your fingers weren't going to work great with touching raw food. With some extreme booger examples, kids all got the idea and were sent off to clean their hands with soap.

Next started the actual cooking prep. The day's ingredients were described, as well as the fate they were going to meet: cutting, mashing, squeezing, baking and frying.


The bridge. Photo by C.G.



So, how you explain kids how to cut a tomato, the notoriously slippery veggie? Scott explained his great trick about forming bridges with your fingers and cutting inside the bridge, sharp blade down and tip pointing out. Even my five-year old got the knack of it and became a seasoned tomato slayer.

The operations involving knives were probably the trickiest of all but the saddest was by far the onion slicing. If you had seen all the kids rushing to the open window to wipe off their onion tears, you would know the sadness. Only my five-year old was beaming because she was the only cold-hearted onion slicer and watched big kids in tears with a slight grin.


Smashing avocados. Photo by C.G.

Next came the avocado smashing with a spatula, a simple task that all performed with great results. How was is that? Any kid likes smashing a soft squishy substance even if it's green, so that was easy. That was for the guacamole, as was the lime squeezing and onion slicing.


Adding herbs, the next logical guacamole step, had a few kids look worried. Greens? Why yes, said Scott, cilantro is part of the recipe and you don't have to like it but you'll need to taste it. There. Eat your greens, kids! And they did at the end, and they all took seconds.


Cooking corn tortillas. Photo by C.G.

To enjoy this, the young ones got to make their own corn tortillas from scratch. I kid you not. They made the dough, rolled balls in betwen their hands, flattened them with their hands and actually took turns frying them over the stove.
Oh the line to fry your own hand-squished tortilla was an impatient one, moving slowly and loaded with great expectations. Were they going to turn brown right away? When was I going to eat them? Frankly, I don't know how the kids refrained from eating while cooking.



Tacos ready to be baked. Photo by C.G.

This party was a real patience test for them because when they got to frying the tortillas, they were still 20 minutes away from eating. The table needed cleaning up and their hands too. Also the tacos needed to be baked crips in the oven.

Everybody took turns brushing their tacos triangles with oil and placing them (rather neatly I must admit) on baking trays. The oven had been pre-warmed and an adult helped put the loaded trays in the oven. Since the meat had been pre-cooked by Scott, all that remained to be done was the cleaning up and table setting.

I've never seen kids so eager to clean up. They must have been starving and drooling over their meal, all proud to have made everything from scratch. Both boys and girls picked up food scraps from the table and off the floor, sponged up the table and brought plates and cups to the table for the Mexican feast.


The Mexican feast. Photo by C.G.

Needless to say, they ate with gusto. Err, there must be a word for children wolfing down a meal. Tomato salsa, guacamole, tacos, tortillas and ground chicken and beef disappeared in their mouths without many words being exchanged. A long silence of satisfaction accompanied their meal, the only noises consisting of spoons clinking on bowls and dishes being passed around. These were happy kids.



The birthday cake! Photo by C.G.

This was not the end of their culinary delight that day, as my friend has skillfully crafted a birthday cake as a stovetop with spaghettis overflowing from a pot and eggs frying in a pan. She had even shaped knobs on the stovetop and surrounded the cake with tiny apples,, strawberries and grapes for good measure next to the sugar overdose. It was great!

When I was seven or eight, my first solo cooking experience was making crepes for my mom when she was visiting a neighbor. I made the dough, filled the pan with oil and right when I was going to fry (deep fry) the crepes, my wrist caught the pan's handle and it fell off the stovetop. I tried to catch it with my hands and fried my hands instead. This is how I learned that pan handles should not be facing towards me when cooking - and that having an adult nearby when using the stove is handy.

Clearly, learning cooking skills with a professional is a lot more fun when you're a kid - and a lot less painful. Hurray for The Culinary Dude and kids cooking their food, safely!

Night Hike and Family Campfire at the Headlands Institute

I want to eat some more s'mores! Photo by Frog Mom

As we dug with our fingers in the wet sand at night on Rodeo Beach, I didn't expect to feel quite that excited - and yet. After I raked out a handful of wet sand slowly, there it was in the shallow trench. A tiny speck of blue light that came on and off in the blink of an eye. I barely saw it before it disappeared. Bioluminescence it's called. I had never heard the term before but I'll never forget it. Glow-in-the-dark plankton - sort of.

Thanks to the clever family night hikes of the Headlands Insitute, I discovered new aspects of the Marin Headlands I had never thought about and I am so glad we went despite the early rain weather forecast. All it takes for a great night experience is a cool guide, kids willing to walk in the dark and the ability to use your senses against your better judgment.

Why the Headlands Institute?
I signed up for tonight's Headlands Institute program because my 2nd grader went to summer camp there last year and loved it. Impressed by the activities she told me about, I had no doubts an evening family program would be fun for our entire family. We pulled over in the parking lot of the Headlands Institute at 5.30pm and at the greeting table, Jen the naturalist looked at my daughter. She smiled and said, "I know you! Don't tell me your name." And sure enough she remembered her name. I was blown away. The naturalists sure get to know the kids during summer camps. My daughter was in heaven and this was the best start ever to an evening out.



Raccoon up in the tree. Photo by C.G.

 Creatures of the Night
Waiting for other families to trickle in, we had our first nocturnal animal encounter: a big fat bold raccoon. Aren't they all, though? Big and fat and bold. My husband pursued him around the building for a nice close-up portrait and eventually got what he wanted - up in a cypress tree.

All families checked in and at 5.45pm, we started heading out for our hike. The plan was to hike around the lagoon and be back for a roaring campfire and s'mores around 7.15pm.

The rules of the hike
It was dark by now and Steve, our naturalist, gave us one clear instruction. Tonight we would strive to complete the hike without any light. Of course, everybody had brought flashlights or headlamps or both. We put them away, switched them off and got accustomed to a limited nocturnal vision. Funny how we're so used to artificial light at night that we forget we don't necessarily need it. It was hard fighting our natural instinct to switch on a light - just any light.

Walking along Mitchell Road was challenging at first. When cars drove by, they blinded us temporarily and we had to wait for them to leave so we could find our bearings again. We heard fun stories about great barn owls nesting in cypress trees and about croaking frogs by the lagoon. We learned with mixed fascination and horror how female angler fish absorb their male mates after attaching them to their skin and slowly digesting them from the inside out. It was all fun and Steve knew how to explain difficult concepts to a young audience. Without us noticing, we finally descended the Coastal Trail down to Rodeo Beach. 

Rodeo Beach at night - really. Photo by Frog Mom

Noctiluca at Rodeo Beach
This was our bioluminescence experience. We asked Steve the optimum conditions to repeat the experience by ourselves and he said: low tide pulling out, no moon, preferably in the fall. Tonight we had the two first conditions checked and we weren't disappointed.

Twenty feet or so from the waves, we got on our knees and gently dug the sand. I took a photo of all of us, hoping that I'd be able to capture the white foam cresting the waves on the dark sand. I think the result is more of an "inspired by Soulages" photo as my husband says. If you look close enough, you'll see the shades of black I wanted to show and you may even discern the waves crashing hard closeby.



Dinoflagellate that exhibits bioluminescence.
Photo by Maria Antónia Sampayo, Instituto de Oceanografia,
Faculdade Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa

 However if you really want to know what we saw, I got this pretty photo of a photoluminescent plankton off Wikipedia. It was taken at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon in plankton-perfect conditions. Not at Rodeo Beach tonight. In the sand that's not what they looked like. I'll try to describe our experience.

Imagine being in a dark room and suddenly a tiny blue star flickers and goes off. Then another one. Then perhaps ten at once. You keep digging the wet sand, try your luck a foot closer to the edge of the water and several more appear, like a luminous curtain. It was just magical. My 5-year old was beyond herself. "Mom mom, it's like fairy dust." It was.

Adults and children had so much fun looking for the plankton that we reluctantly got up to continue the hike. Ah well, we'd be back another day. So we left and guided by Steve, avoided the decomposing carcass of a dead sea lion stranded on the shore. As soon as we were "in the wind", there was no mistaking the dead animal smell. "Eeuw!" went the kids. I took the opportunity to throw in a little life lesson to my 5-year old and explain this was the smell of dead animals. "It stinks" she said. Sure enough.



The second raccoon - or was it the same one?
Photo by Frog Mom

 Close to the Headlands Institute, we spotted two deer grazing on the grassy slopes between the buildings. "A mountain lion was seen reported last week on the ridge," said Steve. For being so close to a major metropolitan area, the Marin Headlands feels remarkably wild. We smelled the fire before we saw it and sat around the campfire to enjoy roasted marshmallows, Simon Says games and silly songs. Another raccoon came by, said hello and stayed in the bushes.

All in all, it was a great evening. Wish we could have stayed longer at the beach.

If you want to enjoy a fun family program out in nature, here are the details of the next family program at the Headlands Institute.

Life on the Edge at Point Bonita Lighthouse

• Date: Sunday, February 13, 2011
• Time: 9:30-11:30am
• Description: Gather your family for a one-of-a-kind experience touring the historic Point Bonita Lighthouse. The 1/2 mile hike to the lighthouse is filled with stunning views and fun adventures through a tunnel and along a footbridge. Keep your eye out for seals sunbathing on the rocks below. Learn what it takes to be a lighthouse keeper and the importance that the lighthouse still provides for navigating ships. Meet at the trail head to the lighthouse at 9:30 am.
• Cost: $10/person, pre-registration required
• Accessibility: This is a moderate hike along unpaved trails. Carriers are recommended for children 4 and under. No strollers. Sorry, no dogs on this hike.

Winter Solstice at Muir Woods National Monument

Luminarias illuminate Muir Woods paths after dark. Photo by Frog Mom



Free shuttle for those who park down the road.
Photo by Frog Mom



December 21st, 2010 was an auspicious and cold date. Combining the longest night of the year with a solar eclipse, a full moon and almost clear skies, it was a night to remember and Muir Woods National Monument put on a great program to welcome families under the redwoods after dark. Twenty-two years old, this Muir Woods tradition attracts people from all over the bay and this year saw over 700 people facing cold weather and tricky parking to join the celebration. Beyond the actual organized activities, it was a unique opportunity to stroll in the famous redwood groves after hours - Muir Woods usually closes at sunset. I took my brother's family (him, his wife, a 2.5-year old and a 10-month old), my own girls (5 and 7 years old) and off we went to discover Muir Woods after dark. By a happy coincidence, we met my friend Beth on the trails, the person who initially told me about this event three years ago. She's a veteran of Muir Wood winter solstices (6th consecutive year) and was accompanied by her 7-year old twins, her 11-year old and her mother. As you see, it's a celebration for all ages.



Entrance of Muir Woods. Photo by Frog Mom



Since the activities started at 3.30pm, we got there a half hour early, hoping to park without struggles. What do you know, the main parking lot was already full, the overflow lot too, so we parked further down the road. At the entrance, rangers were already busy engaging visitors in crafting solstice crowns with vines and branches. Druid solstice traditions were not far in the air!

This was my brother's family's first visit so we hit the trail and decided to make our way slowly on the main path until Bridge #4. That way, they'd get a visit of the woods and the winter solstice. With a 2.5-year old walking, I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of pace and I wanted to be back at 5.30 pm for the shadow puppet show. Well clearly, I didn't need to worry. My nephew was a trooper and thanks to my goofy brother who played tag with the kids most of the way, the little guy ran ahead of us the 4 miles (out and back). Not a single complaint. Not bad for a pint-size kid!



How tall the redwoods?

The woods were misty, fog was rolling in and the ground smelled of damp dirt - my favorite redwood weather, besides rain. Though the childen were more interested in running than admiring, us adults soaked in the meditative atmosphere of the redwoods - until my brother started goofing up again - next to the "Quiet zone"! Ach, having a goofball in the family sure isn't quiet. His wife shushed him immediately but lo and behold, the "Quiet zone" at Cathedral Grove resonated with the not-so-distant noise of an engine revving up on the hill. We looked at each lother and laughed. Someone else better be quiet!

Paper lanterns for night walks. Photo by Frog Mom



As we were approaching Bridge #4, I decided to trail off and explore the Alice Eastwood trail (for my family hiking guidebook - more on that in 2011) while the others went to Bridge #4. An hour and a good sweat later (I ran to catch up with them), I found them retracing their steps after Bridge #3. By then it was almost dusk and we crossed Redwood Creek to explore the trails west of the creek. In the distance, I saw some faint lights glowing on the ground. The luminarias were being installed! To guide visitors through the redwoods for the winter solstice, park rangers lay white paper bags with LED tea lights on the ground. Those create a magical glow at foot level as you progress through the forest and it's a lovely touch. That's when we crossed paths with my friend Beth. My girls were so happy to see their little friends that they took off on the spot! It was my first time meeting someone I know to the trails and I was elated. I also got to meet Beth's mom, a charming grandma who was discovering Muir Woods with her daughter and granddaughters. All of us walked back to the entrance where the real winter solstice action was about to begin.

The bookstore was stocked with solstice books and the gift
store with flashlights. Photo by Frog Mom

Now comes an interesting tidbit. Where most parks like Muir Woods would try to increase their parking capacity to accomodate more visitors, Muir Woods just reclaimed 2,000 feet off the main parking lot to restore a meadow by the creek. I can't say that it's going to help with transport but I love the idea of ripping off parking surfaces to give way to natural environments. "We are very progressive!" said the ranger who told me about the meadow project. Until the hard surface goes away, the area's being used for pedestrians and on Tuesday, that's where a stage and several fire pits were set up.

Realizing that dark was almost upon us, I rushed to the gift store to get flash lights for my junior troops ($8 each with a Muir Woods yellow pattern). To comply with the rangers' requirements not to use harsh lighting that night, the flashlights were already protected with a square of red cellophane. It's hard to believe but it's the first year the gift store was selling these little guys. To think of all the flashlights they could have sold in 22 years!



The Loosely Knits captivated audiences with strings, bells,
and winter tunes. Photo by Frog Mom



Back at the entrance, fires were going strong in the elevated pits and a the Loosely Knits, a group of musicians with a penchant for old world celtic-flavor music, were performing inside the visitor center. I saw moms bouncing their babies to the rhythm of the music, older kids completely in awe of the musicians, and people just content with standing around the little group to enjoy a nice musical moment.



Outside, I rejoined my group and we positioned ourselves for the shadow puppet show - at the last row. Unfortunately the amplification system was terrible and we couldn't hear much at the back (or just bits and pieces). After a few winter solstice songs (come on, you know "O Redwood Tree" and "I'm dreaming of a winter solstice", right?), Ane Carla Rovetta told a story she wrote about the creation of the mountain behind Muir Woods. Ane is a naturalist and artist who specializes in teaching about nature through storytelling and art. Sadly I couldn't hear everything at the back but I loved what I heard about the role of native wildlife in the creation of the landscape.



Shadow puppets tell stories at Muir Woods.
Photo by Frog Mom



As the shadow puppet show was next, I crawled to the front with the two youngest so they would have a chance to fully enjoy the show. The ground was wet, dirty and cold but who cared? There were at least a dozen kids and caregivers waiting for the show. The puppets didn't disappoint and included the local animals: moth, mountain lion, bat, snake, owl - oh yes, and a park ranger. Now the story itself could have used some Ann Carla Rovetta pixie dust. It went on and on about how the Muir Woods now served healthy food, and how its carbon footprint was reduced because the employees carpooled and trash was composted or reycled. I mean, come on.



Bring on the marshmallows!
Photo by Frog Mom



If you're going to perform a puppet show at 6pm in front of a family audience, don't give them the cafe's menu. Kids want a real story! With all the nice shadow animals and the great voices that were animating them, there was so much potential for a good story. Why talk about visitor facts only adults care about? Though I loved everything else, that story about the cafe (it came back twice at least) just didn't have its place there.

We had reached the limits of our little ones' attention at the end of the show when a few drops started falling. It wasn't really raining but it felt a bit colder and the kids were hungry for dinner. We cleared the way and the kids rejoiced in using their flashlights to come back to the car. Now that's an investment I know will come in handy when we go camping next week!