It seemed that most everyday of our visit to Hemet involved a little excursion somewhere. We like to call it moseying, and Debbie thinks I'm doing a much better job this year than last. No visit to Hemet wold be complete without a trip up the mountain to about 7000 feet, and a visit to the hamlet of Idyllwild. Those of you who knew us in Campo, and those of you who have been forced to listen to my endless stories, probably had to endure some of our camping adventures to Idyllwild. Back in the day when we had nothing, we managed to find a used cab-over camper for our old Chevy truck that I purchased new in NY in 1978 and drove with my brother Jim out to CA.
In those days I only had a camper shell on the back which worked out pretty well I might add. But Debbie and I scraped a few pennies together and upgraded to a cab-over camper, and on most days off we would travel up to the Thousand Trails campsite in Idyllwild to escape the summer heat. Anyway....we headed up the San Jacinto Mountains to revisit some of our old stomping grounds.
Our first stop was a visit to Thousand Trails campground, which graciously allowed us to drive through after I explained to the gate guard that we used to come here quite regularly.....30 years ago. It really hadn't changed much. It still had the beautiful pine trees that provided us with plenty of cooling shade in years past. The sites were still unimproved, all dirt, and a little small by today's standards.
We were surprised to see a few RV's of pretty good size parked around the park, and we secretly wished we had been there when they arrived. It's always a treat watching them squeeze through and around the trees that surround each site. On our way up the hill, we passed this sign, and I just had to go back and take this shot. Only in California do they try and teach the snakes to sit up, roll over, and get their belly's scratched.
Over in Idyllwild proper, we found another "artsy-fartsy" town, with lost of charming little shops with merchandise from China for the tourists. But we did find a great little restaurant with a sunny spot out on the front porch, and we enjoyed a great lunch while watching the tourists walk by. Unfortunately I didn't write down the name of the place, and right now I can't come up with it.
There was also an interesting brew pub close by, that seemed to have quite an assortment of craft beer on hand. If we were staying longer, that may have been a location to investigate a little closer. Also throughout the downtown area, there were 22 of those uniquely painted deer scattered around. Not quite sure what the purpose of them were, but they did add to the unique ambiance of this mountain top village. Thirty years ago we enjoyed coming up here, and it was very enjoyable to experience a return visit.
On Wednesday we returned to the Chula Vista RV Park, and gave Ben and Joanne a call to see what their plans were for dinner. Ben was cooking a nice steak, and we hustled up to their place to see if we could get a cocktail out of Ben. Debbie gently knocked on the front door, not wanting to get Jamo too excited, and suddenly the door pops open.
Suddenly, Debbie's screaming..."Princess!!..." To our complete surprise, MaryAnne had flown in from Syracuse the day before, to surprise her mother for Easter. We had tried to talk her into coming out, but she lied to us, saying she had a trial in Utica. Seems that the cold was just enough incentive for the Princess to work the deals and get a flight to San Diego. We had offered to fly her out, but she stuck with the trial story, saying she couldn't come out. Needless to say, we're both pretty excited to see her, and this Easter will be a special memory. Today she is over at the pool, enjoying the wonderful 85 degree weather. I don't think she's missing the snow and ice and 30 degree weather in Syracuse.
Yesterday, Ben took his sister down to to San Ysidro and a viewing of the POE area where he works. Traffic was backed up as far as we could see, which made Ben smile since he wasn't working. And of course, I started telling war stories about the border 30 years ago without a 20 foot fence.
But then it was time to start the BABY SHOPPING! As you can imagine, the girls hit the store with tons of enthusiasm.
Ben and I found a couple of rocking chairs that needed thorough testing, as the girls worked their way through the largest conglomeration of baby paraphernalia I had ever experienced. Kinda like going to a Super Walmart of baby accessories. It really is quite exciting watching Joanne and Debbie trying to figure out how to open and close the various strollers. Finally MaryAnne stepped in and showed them how to get it done. Seems that she has several friends with new babies, and finally her babysitting experience is paying off. Looks like everyone survived Day 1 of Baby Shopping. I'm quite confident there will be a few more.
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