Julian-Sandiego-Julian

JULIAN ---SAN DIEGO----JULIAN !!

Winding down a bit now we spent two nights in Julian area not doing much, coffee and apple pie or cider doughnuts and the like. A pleasant small town Julian, originally a town formed for gold mining with all that entailed but now dedicated to apples, apple pies etc.

Forward down the 79, pleasing but not spectacular to the interstate 8 and then 22 miles to it's end about 2miles from our campsite destination. Following desert driving, mountain passes and many many hairpin bends you would think a straight road would be welcome, no, it was diabolical I've come to hate interstate roads only the 5 to contend with in the near future, one of the worst!!

30th JUNE to 4th JULY

San Diego Mission Bay RV Resort a big seaside, well harbour lagoon side site full of vans, people and children just what we like. I have never seen so many skate boards used by ages 3 to 15 and all very skillful. Noisy yes but by ten o'clock dead quite on the first two nights bit noisier on the second two nights , adults not children.

Explored a bit of the city by both van and bus. Balboa Park in the centre of the town is a vast park that houses all the towns 15 museums, art galleries, Old Globe Theatre etc. An extremely good layout, lovely grounds and the opportunity to pop into any museum,some free, that you wished to investigate. A great idea to put all such amenities in one walkable area all relatively modern buildings by our standards built from 1915 onwards and spurred o by two international fairs and an Orsen Wells film Xanadu which incorporated settings of the park. The buildings range from Spanish Mexican, Victorian, Old Globe to modern Californian, quite a mixture but all fitting well together.

The Old Town situated well north of the modern town is, I think, the original old buildings and town square, altered, renovated and updated but still in their original position and layout. A tourist attraction now with most of the buildings given over to small shops and eateries but nevertheless giving some idea of layout and spaces involved. It is all sanitised now though no mud and dust and dirt around but to a jaded eye looking much more peaceful and satisfying than any modern town scape. Mind you we could not do without, water, gas, electricity, phones, transport etc. etc it just shows how times have changed and one cannot go back.

Downtown was much like any other city except being America the old buildings are venerated though I have to admit 1850 to 1920 property wherever built does not particularly set my mind on fire, I've certainly surveyed more buildings of this age than any of these cities can produce. Still for a young country they have to have something to call , their history !!

A modern mall in the centre appeared to be Disneyesqe rather than Malls as we and most others know. May levels and half levels flowing into each other gave it a different feel and certainly enlivened and in fact breathed new life into the city centre when built 1985, raised city prices and started a trend in other cities for the neon bedecked pop art style not that I've seen anything similar elsewhere.

Various other districts of the town claim their own idiosyncrasies in trying to get your attention and monies but nothing really stands out.

The American Navy is big round here and takes up large sections of the harbour and beach front which is a pity as there is no particularly pleasant property on the front anywhere near the town itself.

The beaches and sea front areas are some 3miles or further from the city and out the other side of the harbour, rather obvious really. We took the bus to La Jolla an upmarketish beach resort to the north of the well known major beaches of Ocean, Mission and Pacific. La Jolla was a seaside town with limited access to the sea but probably quite pleasing to live in. Fully developed with thousands of houses.

With the sun at last coming out 12 noon we strolled down Pacific and Mission Beach boulevard, called a boardwalk made of concrete and strolled was not quite correct either. I reckon we were , that is walkers were outnumbered by skate boarders and cyclists by at least three to one so one had to be aware all the time. The "boardwalk was only 6ft wide so chaos regularly ensued and this was a cloudy coldish Tuesday.

I've said before that I have been misled by the Beachboys records, I still like the records but you can keep Californian Beaches or the ones I have seen to date, boring, tacky in the extreme and cold water few swimmers and those mostly in wet suits. A dream destroyed.

We got vaguely caught up in 4th July Independence Day in that we had to leave San Diego as all sites were booked and we thought we might never find a site for the night, but we did. The RV and Caravan owners on the San Diego site along with the hundreds of little holiday home owners in the area certainly bedecked everything with American flags, bunting, tablecloths clothes etc intensely patriotic and I suppose way over the top to our eyes. Gosh I do lay it on a bit thick but everyone had American flag table cloths, chair backs and goodness knows how many flags flying from there vans quite amazing. I realise we are being accused, probably correctly, of having little or no patriotism in the UK but this appeared to be the other extreme.

We left on the morning of the 4th and went back to Julian as we knew they had a big celebration and parade through the town. Sitting on our chairs in the high street we watched a procession for about three hours, a bit stop start and all local with a tiny bit of military and many fire engines. Three distinct fire commands, local Julian District, county Californian Fire Service and the National Forestry Fire Service. Different job to UK Firefighters, all are paramedics and all at some time or other fight forest fires. Mention over the Tannoy and in museums in the area the fire of 2003 which would have destroyed Julian if all three brigades had not fought for days on end around the outskirts of the town. Fire Fire Fire something we know little about, Scott and Karen excepted, but a huge reality here never very far away and in the back of a lot of minds with fire warning levels at extreme virtually everywhere.

We enjoyed the morning which the whole town seemed to be enjoying too, even got given free refreshments from the estate agents outside whose shop we were sitting. Called Realtors here not estate agents.

Down in the afternoon along the 78 to Ramona where we are in Dos Pines County Park pitch 41, an extremely quiet position after San Diego.