Julian

OK, I dropped off my camper for repair on Monday. The folks at Giant RV are doing their best to get me back on the road by this weekend. In the meantime, I am staying at a little inn in Julian – Julian Country Inn. I spent the afternoon exploring the town. It reminded me of a small New England town

Main Street Julian

in early fall. Lot’s of small stores with cute stuff mostly tourists would buy. They also have a handful of bakeries / pastry shops. I had a great piece of apple cherry pie with hot chocolate at Mom’s Pie. Yes, hot chocolate.

Highway 101

Despite this being southern California temperatures are only in the 50s; at least here in the mountains. I have to confess that I was wearing shorts yesterday on my drive down the coast.

Oceanside - ocean front homes

Oceanside - ocean front homes

I really liked the stretch of coast between Oceanside and Del Mar (just north of San Diego) much better than the drive south from Los Angeles to Laguna Niguel. The later had only little views of the Pacific at around Huntington Beach. Most parts of highway 1 lead through towns with narrow roads, and tons of traffic lights.

Joshua Tree Park - Queen Valley

In my last e-mail I mentioned that I spent a few days in the Palm Springs area. I forgot to mention that I made a little side trip to Joshua Tree National Park. It was nice to be away from all this brick and asphalt for a bit. I hadn’t planned on going to the park and by the time I got there it was already afternoon. Not too much time for exploring before it would get dark. I am not a fan of driving in the dark in unfamiliar territory. A ranger suggested a three mile round trip hike up Ryan Mountain. This would give me a 360 degree view of the area.

Joshua tree and the Pleasant Valley

According to the trail information the hike should take between two and three hours, there was a 900’ elevation change. The views were spectacular, piles of rock formations and just wide open space. Stupid me was only wearing shorts and a warm sweater. The only way to stay warm was to speed walk up the mountain and that’s what I did and I ran back down. I have no idea where all this energy came from. I was back in the truck in less than an hour! And back at the campground in time to make some Thanksgiving dinner, sweet mashed potatoes and string beans. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving.