Fridays with Jim and Ginger

We finally had a semi-cool day and we decided if we were going to experience autumn we would have to go to it - it wasn't coming to us. So we embarked on a fun day trip to Julian.


Our first stop was at the Tenaja rest stop for a quick hike and our first look and feel of mountains. No fall color, but lots of pines and oaks and fresh air.

We continued on through Julian up to Cuyamaca. There is a ranch I have always loved. It has a beautiful meadow and is surrounded with pine trees. It also had a beautiful ranch house that had a fire going in the winter with smoke climbing out the chimney. Imagine my surprise when this is what we found.

Amazing isn't it! It was gone, burned to the ground! The entire Julian/Cuyamaca area is burned out; nothing but dead trees and stumps. Very ugly, and sad.

We were happy to see the lake was still pretty and we even saw a flock of Canadian geese on the shores. (If the pictures are too small - click on them to enlarge - they are fun.)


No fall color; not this year!


Onward and upward to the best part of the day! Shopping in Julian and apple pie. They have the very best apple pie in the world. It was hot out of the oven, smelled as good as it tasted. Yes, we brought a pie home. I was sorry we didn't buy two! We then went shopping and I hit the jackpot with a fabulous store 'The warm hearth', that went on forever, upstairs, downstairs, basement, back room, on and on, filled with wonderful treasures. It was such a temptation not to go crazy and buy it all. I had great self control.

Overall - a really fun day! We'll go again when the snow comes!