On our final day in San Diego unfortunately Sandy had to work. Bo and I rented a car and split the day doing things we each wanted to do; the first stop was a trip to Mission Bay to go stand up paddle boarding. Since arriving in SD, Bo couldn't stop talking about wanting to try paddle boarding. Not being a beach person, I was reluctant to go. However, by the end of the trip she had convinced me to give it a whirl. It was easier than it looked, and since it is not an extremely fast sport, it was very peaceful and felt graceful standing atop the water's surface. The best part was
not falling into the chilly, salty water!
This excursion was followed by a trip to Santa Ysabel/Julian, about 1 hr 20 min outside San Diego. Here we visited my family ranch, sitting on 200 acres of beautiful,
dusty, rocky, desert hillside. Bo fell in love with the Ranch like I had
many years ago. While still a quiet, meditative place, unfortunately
now the only inhabitants are memories and ghosts. Well, according to Uncle Steve, a pair of mountain lions moved in about 4 or 5 years ago, so it isn't completely unoccupied.
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| Bo's first time driving in CA! She actually wanted to rent a convertible, but thank god the top didn't work so we went with the tried and true Camry! |
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| Gourmet picnic on the porch |
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| Uncle Steve took us on a tour of the property in the old red truck |
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| Picnic hill |
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| Front of the house |
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| Me and Uncle Steve (Mom's cousin) |
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| Grandpa, RE White, was a genius tinkerer, antique collector, and business man |
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| The house was built in the 1920s, purchased by Grandpa in 1964, and has remained largely unchanged since. |
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| Grandpa was great friends with many well-known artists. He would challenge them to create works of art out of found objects. James Hubbell was one of his closest friends. Here is the fold-up easel of his friend, Ralph Hulett, one of the original Disney Animators. Several paintings by him hang in the house. |
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| Uncle Steve's friend, Andy, made the chairs and tables. We are lucky to have Andy down the road to help keep an eye on the house! He goes by the "shoot first, ask questions later" motto. |
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| Grandpa had an awesome garage. He had so many gadgets that he just ended up labeling all the drawers in the bench "stuff" :P |
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| One of my most vivid memories of the ranch is the loop swing. We each had a turn! |
After enjoying the house for a couple hours, Uncle Steve took us into Julian to visit Grandpa and Grandma Lois.
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| One of Julian's claim to fame is its apple pies. Sharing a couple slices was a great end to the day. |
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| Driving back into San Diego via the scenic Cuyamaca Rancho Sate Park. |
Actually, this wasn't the end to the day. When we returned to SD I made sure to visit Grandma again to tell her all about the ranch. She moved out of the ranch after Grandpa passed away about 12 years ago. Although she does not wish to visit the ranch herself anymore, she was happy Bo and I were able to see it and enjoy it. I hope to make it back again soon to visit.
