San Diego IV

We decided to visit the Tijuana River Preserve, which hugs the US/Mexico border just south of San Diego. We grabbled some caches, and also took in the unique terrain of the Preserve. Of course, being on the border, there is a zone of no-mans-land on the US side, but dense buildings and residential areas running all the way to the border line on the Mexican side – a bit surreal.

On one of the weekends we headed up into the Laguna Mountains to do some hiking with Nick and Valerie. We also planned a visit to the mining town of Julian so that the Woman, Nick and Valerie could get some apple pie with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream. It’s a delicacy that Julian is known for, and can be found at pretty much any dining establishment in town. We were surprised by the fall colors that were blanketed all over the Mountain – a pleasant, unexpected reward.

And the Woman was in ecstasy! The Pacific Crest Trail wanders through the Laguna Mountain Park, and many years ago we had hiked a part of it. Along a portion of the PCT we discovered a spontaneous memorial. Some biker’s loved ones brought his ashes to this overlook that was his favorite place to bike to. Other bikers’ loved ones started creating memorials to their families as well. Now there may easily be more than 100 plaques, urns, pictures and other types of memorials for all kinds of bikers.

But we managed to find a stretch of the PCT that the Woman had not been on before. Nick and Valerie were more than willing to hike into the hills, experience a piece of the PCT, and take in the glorious fall colors. All in all, it was a wonderful day with the family!

Talk to you soon!