Saturday was Family Day This Week - July 30, 2011

Saturday was Family Day this week – July 30, 2011

Our adventure today began by picking Mom and Dad up and getting everyone settled in the car for our adventure about 11:30 a.m. We headed out East of San Diego towards Lake Cuyamaca. This is an area where Mom and Dad spent a lot of time as teenagers with Dad’s Boy Scout Troup #67 and both of them with their youth group at Asbury Methodist Church.

The temperature was about 85° and the humidity was high with the tropical storm clouds gathering above us from the Southeast. We drove out Interstate 8 and almost immediately Mom and Dad started reminiscing about things that they remembered. There was talk about Old Highway 80 and how it paralleled what is now Interstate 8.

One of the things I remembered from our travels to San Diego from Tucson, was traveling along Highway 80 and in the desert, being able to see the remnants of what was once the wooden plank wagon wheel road that crossed the desert. I read an article in a magazine within the past few months that mentioned those wooden planks; and from what I understand, there are still signs of that when you cross the desert today – even though there is now a freeway. Back in the 1950’s and 1960’s when we crossed the desert, we came across at night because of the heat. We did not have air conditioning in our car back then. We did have burlap bags that hung in front of the radiator on the car to keep the engine from overheating. And, if the unfortunate did happen, you would have the water in the burlap bag to help cool down the engine! I remember Mom always used to pack our dinner for the road – peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on rye bread (because that would not get soggy), Fritos and Kool Aid to drink. And, of course, NeccoWafers! They would not melt!

When we turned on to the road for lake Cuyamaca the topic of conversation turned to all of us wondering if there would still be any evidence of the Cedar fire that burned through this area four years ago damaging so much. As we continued past Descanzo Junction and on out the windy road, evidence of the fire was still around. There were groves of burned trees in many areas. But, what was so nice to see was that tough they were charred, many of them had new growth coming from within. They were not dead as one would imagine. They were still full of life and proudly sporting their new growth. The ground was now covered with green underbrush and the once burned and devastated area was alive and thriving. There were bushes of wild yellow daises along the side of the road along with patches of what looked like wild alyssum blooming as well. The valleys off both sides of the road were green from our winter of plentiful rain. The campgrounds were full of tents. People were riding bikes along the paths and we could see others in groups hiking. There were turn-outs full of trucks pulling horse trailers behind them – so we knew there were others out horseback riding.

It was a beautiful day. The blue skies were scattered with the huge, white billowing clouds. We pulled in to Lake Cuyamaca Restaurant and parked the car. Somehow the building was miraculously saved in the Cedar Fire. The wooden structure remains as it always has, with an uneven concrete sidewalk in the front where you enter the building through the wooden screen door that of course, squeaks when you open it. It just had to be! We got a table right next to the window overlooking the huge oak trees lining the lake. There were a few small skiffs on the lake with fishermen out trying their luck at making the catch of the day. Some people were enjoyed the ambience out on the deck outside.

Lake Cuyamaca Restaurant is owned by Franz from Austria. There are several Austrian pictures, posters and other memorabilia around the restaurant indicating the Austrian heritage. There is even Schnitzel on the menu and potato pancakes if you like. We all enjoyed our meal and talked more about other memories Mom and Dad had – then we got back in the car and headed to Julian for a little dessert.

Julian is a quaint community in the foothills that is known for their delicious apple pies. We parked in front of the Julian Pie Company and found a nice table out on the front patio under the trees. Mom, Dad and I enjoyed a warm piece of Dutch Apple pie and Jim had caramel apple pie. We also got Mom and Dad a scoop of cinnamon ice cream to go with their pie and coffee. It was just delicious! The apples were a bit bitter but the sweetness from the crumb topping gave it a perfect balance and just melted in my mouth! On the sidewalk next to us there seemed to be a parade of big and little dogs out enjoying the day with their owners. Down the center of the street passed a couple of horse-drawn carriages taking people through the middle of town and pointing out interesting sights. It was just so enjoyable and relaxing.

From Julian we headed south and took the Sunrise Highway through Mount Laguna. We passed more areas that had been burned in the Cedar Fire; but once again, the new growth made me smile. The wildflowers added a bit of color along the way. Dad talked about when he and Bob Sexton (his best friend growing up and Best Man at their wedding) used to come up to a cabin that Bob’s family owned and they would hike around the area. They both talked about how they used to take Sunday drives with Aunt Mary (Mom’s sister) and Uncle Eugene and would drive up to Descanzo Junction, Pine Valley or Lake Cuyamaca for dinner on occasion. They pointed out the area that is good for sledding when the snow falls in the mountains. And, Dad talked more about when they would go exploring all around the area. It was just a nice trip for all of us down memory lane.

As we traveled further down the mountain and out towards Interstate 8, we saw lightening strike once and we got a few big rain drops on our windshield. The ground was wet, so we knew that the rain had come through there before we got did. But we really did not get “rained on” much at all. In the back seat, Mom dozed off and Dad sat there looking out the window talking with Jim about different things he remembered and places could see out the window. They talked about the various lakes and reservoirs we passed and a little more about Old Highway 80. Part of the old highway is still visible off to the right of the Interstate.

Five hours later our adventure came to an end. It was just a great day on many different levels.