Happy Earth Day! That picture is from Easter, on our stroll through Barnett. Yesterday, Jes had the day off and we wanted to do an all day adventure, before we met with my pastor; for coffee, at 6! We decided to venture to Julian and get pie. We didn't have much of a plan. We drove up and our first stop was in Santa Ysabel, at Dudley's Bakery. I grew up eating Dudley's bread and it always makes me feel warm inside when I go there. After a wonderful service at church, for Easter, these crosses really stood out to us both.. As this picture says, Dudley's was founded in 1963. Dudley Pratt was a middle aged expert baker who had previous bakeries and wanted to start one in Santa Ysabel. After receiving criticism on the bakery being "too far away" he soon had customers traveling from near and far to taste his delicious breads, fruit bars, and pastries. Every Summer, Mr. Dudley Pratt would close the store for two months, to travel to Europe and get inspiration. He would search long and far for delicious and unique breads, pastries, cafes and more to find the perfect flavors to adapt to his menu; to please his customers. Ten years after opening the bakery, Dudley Pratt passed away. The bakery still prides itself on doing things the Dudley way. Quality, taste, uniqueness and freshness is their hallmark. The bakery now produces thousands of loaves of bread a day, and provides deliciousness to many bakeries and grocers all over San Diego County. After visiting Dudley's, we trucked along and made our way to Julian. We took a few delightful pictures along the way. It really was a beautiful day! Our first stop, in Julian, was the Julian Jail. This used to be my favorite place to go and peek in to. Before, they had the door open and a gate, so people could peer in and imagine being a criminal back in 1914. They have since closed the door and blocked off the window. It's sad that others have to ruin it for people like us, who aren't planning on throwing our trash in there; but, simply enjoying history. We continued driving and saw a sign for Lake Cuyamaca. We both hadn't been in a long time, and decided to explore that area. I was amazed with how beautiful it is, once we started driving around to the other side of the lake. The sun glistening off the water, the clear blue skies and my best friend by my side..how could I feel any happier??! We both glanced into the water at the water toys we could rent, and we knew then what we were doing for the day! The winds were considered "strong", so we couldn't rent anything other than a motor boat. We were so excited, since neither of us had rented a motor boat before. With Jesse's military discount, it was only $25 for a half day! Not bad! We went into the restaurant next to the rental shop, bought a veggie sandwich and headed down to the dock. Say "hello" to our little blue boat! We both knew I didn't have a clue what I was doing, if I was captain; so, from then on, I referred to him as Captain Jesse. It was so lovely to just sit back, take pictures, and enjoy the beautiful day. Knowing at the beginning of the day we had no idea we would be doing this, made it even more fun! Being spontaneous and enjoying life, really is the way to live. We went around for a bit, docked the boat on an "island", and enjoyed our lunch. Please excuse my "candid" moments. I prefer to be behind the camera, not in front. ;) After eating, we started our hike, on the "island". And now for our jumpy pics! I apologize for mine being blurry. We returned the boat, and made it back to Julian in time for pie!! We ordered one slice of Dutch Apple with a scoop of cinnamon. We will definitely be back!! Picture of the day is of two huge frogs we saw while leaning over the edge of the wooden bridge. They were SO big. I think they were fake, but Jesse thinks they're real. Who knows... Thanks for reading! Until next time, Ciao
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HAPPY EASTER!!! We have been busy lately, so we haven't gotten to explore or blog as much. Today, we went to church and then had brunch with my mom and grandma, at my grandma's house. How adorable is my gram? She made my mom, Jesse and I Easter bags full of chocolates! Yum. But, OH MY! How adorable is my 1-month old niece in her Easter outfit! AHH! Can't handle it!!! Yesterday, Jesse and I got a booth at Kobey's Swap Meet, here in San Diego, and sold a bunch of our old stuff!! It was a long day! We came out of it with a decent amount of money, and almost 10 hours of selling. We both got so burnt! This Icee helped, though... Back to today. We had a very lovely morning with my family. We realized we could either: A. Take a nap and be lazy, or B. Hike and be productive. One severe food coma later, we chose to hike. We ventured to Barnett Ranch, in Ramona. It was more of a relaxed evening stroll, but we really enjoyed every minute of it! A bit of history (if you care): Augustus Barnett and his wife, Martha moved west, as he established himself as a pronounced businessman, in Cleveland, from around 1825-1840. The couple moved to San Diego in 1875. Barnett Ranch was built in 1877, in Ramona. The property was a working cattle ranch for over 100 years. Much of the vegetation is native and non-native grassland. The Preserve actually spans 728 acresThe Barnetts were important to the expanding of ramona; including gifting the Ramona Town Hall, on Main Street. There are two trails to choose from, but we started on the first trail we reached, on our left-hand side, and did the full loop. It is all flat, no steep hills, and I think it is 2.5 miles round trip. All of the beautiful greens and blues were overwhelming, yet calming. We fell in love with this spot to do our jump because of the greenery, the visual of the trail, and the picnic table on the other side! So peaceful!! We sat and enjoyed the view for a while and chatted. When we started walking over to this area, we heard a huge group of coyotes howling, not too far away. So many beautiful green hues!!! Jesse said this tree looked like alligator skin! Lol. Spike-y area of doom!!! Here's a coyote and his 4 friends waiting for him. He tried staring us down with intimidation. The trail was overall extremely peaceful. The weather was perfect and we ended up having a delightful day, all around! This is such a nice tranquil trail. It was also a bit romantic. Picture of the day is of my cat, Mr. Barnes. Thanks for reading! Until next time! Ciao
Yesterday, Jesse got off work at 4, so we decided to find adventure somewhere new. If you have ever driven south on the 5, in Encinitas, and looked right, you have probably noticed a lagoon. Also next to the lagoon are these cliffs. To me, these cliffs look nothing more than just boring old cliffs with tons of brush around them. Boy, was I wrong!!! This location is incredible, and nothing like what I ever expected! Lets start from the beginning. I Googled how to find the trail and where to park. I couldn't find the answer I was looking for. I found that the area is called San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve. So, naturally, I just mapped it on my phone. What came up was, to me, the place to go: San Elijo Lagoon County Park. We exited the freeway, drove to the end of the road and got out; so excited for our adventure. We found this trail, (AKA not the one we wanted) but still a cool trail. So, back on the road we went. We exited Manchester, turned left, and parked in Mira Costa College parking (after asking the police officer if that was alright). We crossed the street and were shocked to find... DEER!! Who would have thought?? Now, I'm trusting you with telling you these directions, in hopes that you will not disrespect nature, in ANY way!!! I want others to enjoy it, like Jesse and I did. Please don't litter, carve or destroy the nature. We continued on, until we found this fence. A jogger was coming toward the fence from the other side, so we crossed through. How pretty is that? I love hot air balloons! We passed parts of the lagoon and I am now convinced that the Loch Ness Monster lives in the lagoon!! (Ok, not really, but something creepy like it!) Not only did we see at least 3 snake-like creatures, but we saw, and mostly heard, more under the bridge. And, no, it wasn't our imagination, or ducks, ok?! We continued on the path, reached another fence, walked along the trail, and finally reached the bridge. You want to walk under the freeway bridge. My anxiety was pretty high, because it was nearing 7PM, so the sun wasn't going to be up much longer. We had a ways to go, and still wanted to enjoy it. So, we started jogging. There were two trail options, after the bridge. Take the right path. We did pass a few of these. Oops. Sorry mom. The true thrill, lay behind the yellow signs.. Of course, my monkey had to climb. :) Ah, my dangerous monkey scares me sometimes. I had to tell him to get down, 'cause he didn't realize how high he had climbed!! I considered doing some climbing of my own, but then I thought, mmm..better not! Lol Like I said, some parts get extremely narrow! I was beyond excited when I realized we had made it to the top in time to watch the sun set!! Sadly, we had problems taking motion shots :( But it was still fun. We do this jump everywhere. We were sad to leave this beautiful site, but it was getting so dark and creepy, we had to! Something you must know about me is that I am terrified of the dark!! Yes, I will openly admit that. Mind you, it was basically pitch black on our way back. We chose to take a different way back, due to the fact that it was a bit quicker, and the other way back didn't seem too appealing. At one point I was basically on Jesse's back as he macheted through "the forest", with his hands and body. We sometimes choose to make our own trail. (respecting the wildlife, obviously) Famished when we finally reached the car, we decided to stop and grab a bite at The Habit, off Lomas Santa Fe. This place is amazing! Awesomely delicious food, super cheap (like In-n-out) and unbelievable shakes and malts. The Habit Burger Grill was established in 1969, in Santa Barbara! They donate to various charities, schools, food banks, humane societies and more. I ordered the strawberry milkshake with a charburger + avocado. MMM! The best part? They have caramelized onions on their burgers!! Heaven! Jesse got the teriyaki charburger, which has pineapple; and he also got the chocolate malt. All in all, another amazing adventure. Now, here is my favorite picture of the day! Thanks for reading! Until next time! Ciao
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AuthorA passionate lover of food, adventure, traveling, and enjoying life! Archives
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