Sculptures on Rte 79

A few miles from our campground, on Rte 79, is a metal sculpture of a stagecoach and four horses. The details on this sculpture are amazing...the horses have wire manes, the driver is cracking his whip, and the passengers are dressed in period garb.

The artist, Ricardo Bredeca, has been creating large metal sculptures for the last 15 years, and several of them are on the side of this road outside Temecula, CA. Other works of art here include a T-Rex, a giant rattlesnake, and an Indian on a rearing horse. On other sections of this road as you drive along you can spy two mountain goats battling, a single rearing horse high on a hill, and four horses leaping across the highway. Amazing work.

Well, it's time for us to be moving on. We studied the signpost at the entrance to Jojoba Hills, and decided....

...to go to Disneyland! We are on our way! 

Apple Pie

So far this week we have been enjoying a little downtime, but on Tuesday we took a drive to the town of Julian for a slice of apple pie.  Julian is the home of the Julian Pie Company, known for having the best apple pie anywhere.

The Pie Company is about 30 miles from Jojoba Hills, and it was a pleasant drive along a winding Rte 79 with great views of the Paloma Mountains and the valleys that run between them. There are pretty much only ranches and the occasional house on that stretch of California backroads. I have tasted a lot of pies in my life and these are great pies.  The JPC also features cider doughnuts and cookies, but Bob and I will have to return to sample those. Maybe next trip out here.

I had a piece of apple pie with caramel on top and whipped cream, and Bob sampled the Apple Mountainberry Pie Crisp, with apples, raspberries, and boysenberries.  "Mighty fine," declared Bob, and I concurred.  It was good pie. We ate our slices with a cup of coffee and reluctantly moved on.

Once you come to the Julian Pie Company you can turn left and go another 7 miles into the town of Julian. Julian is at the top of a mountain, and is an Old West kind of town with classic shopfronts.

We stopped in to the Julian Cider Mill where we found honey, nuts, candy, jam, and all kinds of treats.

After heading back to the campground we had a relacing afternoon and Bob smoked some pork butt with rib rub.  MMMMMMmmmm. Good.

Anthony's Story

After writing yesterday's blog post I contacted my son in law, Anthony to see if I could share his history with PTSD. It is a powerful story.  He graciously agreed to be today's guest blogger, and here his story.

During my first tour of overseas service with the US Army in 2006, the armored Humvee that I was operating was struck by an improvised exploding device.  The vehicle was nearly destroyed and luckily no one was killed.  I walked away from that experience with a mild herniated disc, and a mild concussion.Towards the end of that 12 month tour, my unit was extended for an additional 4 months and sent into one of the worst parts of the country where we were in constant danger.  I was officially treated for my back injury once I returned to the States and was diagnosed with mild depression.  Between my first and second tour of overseas duty I met my wife and married her just 6 months before re-deployment.  

During my second tour I saw increased combat.  In 2009 two of my best friends were killed in a baited ambush.  Injuries sustained during that time left me with 2 more concussions as well as a second back injury.  I was diagnosed upon my return with severe post-traumatic stress disorder with severe depression and anxiety as well as degenerative disc disease. I transferred into a Wounded Warrior Transition Unit where I began my process of being medically retired, and after seven years of service and two years of treatment and rehabilitation, I was finally retired from the military. 

Transitioning out of the military was far more difficult than I could have imagined.  I was 60 pounds overweight, unmotivated, and depressed, and now had to provide for my family with no “real world” skills.   I began to look at my future and focused on going to school for paramedic training.  Since I was in the infantry and knew first aid, it was a logical decision.  I excelled in my EMT program but my PTSD reared its head and I found that the stress of emergency situations aggravated it.  I left the program.

The rehabilitation of my spirit, mind, and body began when my second child was about to be born.  I lost 60 pounds, put my faith back into God and began to train my brain and body to learn and be healthy again.           

During my first summer session at Camden County College, my will to learn and to better myself started to excite me.  I enjoyed the class work.  The hard part in getting my life on track was learning to juggle family and schoolwork.  My wife works full-time so my job became school plus doing everything around the house; cleaning, cooking, food shopping, childcare, etc. 

While at first I found myself very stressed, that feeling soon passed as I began to get good grades.  There is no greater feeling than trying hard and getting an “A.” Hard work really does pay off.  The “C’s” that I had received when I first returned to school were due to not being able to balance home life and school life, before I had honed my time management skills.  As my children grow older, they allow me time to study more which certainly helps, because my classes are getting more difficult as I progress through my curriculum.  I am motivated to do well and it is exciting to move toward my goals.

My children are now 2 and 4 years old and I get to lead by example and show my oldest daughter the importance of studying.  My children observe me working hard at my school work and that will motivate them to do the same.  My life goal is to help people by providing purpose, direction and motivation when it comes to healing body, mind, and spirit.  I am a better person because of my struggles with PTSD.  I am motivated to finish school, to change people’s lives, to make a difference in my community, and to help people recover from whatever physical or mental illness they might have.  

I have an advantage over most people, and that advantage is that I know how to get out of the deep pit that life can toss you into.  I know the value of hard work and dedication.  I know that the only thing standing in a person’s way is themselves and if they can forgive, love and respect themselves, they can heal and be whom they were meant to be. I look forward to graduating as a  Physical Therapist and making a difference in the world.

Easter Weekend

Have you ever had a weekend that you didn't want to end?  This was one of them!

On Saturday Bob and I drove out to Laguna Niguel to meet up with our son in law's parents. Leslie and Lyle are both musicians in their spare time, and have a regular "gig" at the Laguna Coffee Company in Laguna Beach, CA. 

This is a really neat place, small and intimate, with seating inside, in front, and on the side of the building. It's small, but very homey. And on Saturday mornings from 10:00-12:30 the shop features a jazz jam session that will put a pep in your step all day long. Lyle is one of the regulars and plays keyboard...

...while Leslie sings a few songs and made us recall Doris Day's lovely voice.  She was really good.

 

With all this great music in the background, it was such fun to chat with new friends and to people-watch.  Auggie curled up beside me on the chair and enjoyed it, too. There was a steady stream of coffee customers who popped in for a java fix and stayed to enjoy the music so there was lots to see.

After our morning we returned to Leslie and Lyle's home for lunch on the deck, overlooking the beautiful countryside. We had such fun chatting and visiting that it was hard to leave!

Easter Sunday dawned clear and cool.  The temperatures only rose to the low 70's and it was a great day for relaxing. We attended the Escapees Easter Pot Luck Dinner at 3:00 in Friendship Hall at the park, and I was so happy to grab a seat next to Judy Howard. I have been looking forward to chatting with her since we met at the Good Sam Rally last month in Phoenix. We had a nice time talking about writing and about Judy's latest book, Masada's Marine.  

This is a great book that focuses on the subject of training service dogs for individuals with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is a topic near and dear to my heart.  I highly recommend it. (Edited to add: Read about my son-in-law's battle with PTSD here.)

Our other tablemates were such fun as well, and we enjoyed getting to know Vicki, Georgia, Diane, and George.  Later in the evening we were invited to a happy hour with George, Diane, and Georgia, and talked the evening away around a roaring campfire. Another great memory to savor.

This is our last few days here at Jojoba Hills, and in a few days we will meet up with family in Anaheim. In fact, two of my daughters and their families are now in the same time zone as we are, visiting their in-laws. I can't wait to see them all on Friday!

Mission San Luis Rey and the Pacific Ocean

Thursday was a sightseeing day!  After a nice one-hour walk around the campground with Auggie, Bob and I packed a lunch and headed for the Pacific Ocean to complete our coast to coast trip. Oceanside is about an hour from our campground, a 30 mile drive. On the way we spied a sign for the Old Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, CA, and turned the car off Highway 76 to visit.

It was a beautifully restored mission, set amongst the hills of southern California with a lovely view.  A perfect place for a picnic. Temperatures were in the low 70's with a light breeze, and there were picnic tables on the front lawn under a huge old tree.

We ate our lunch, then went inside the sanctuary.  There we met a docent who explained that the present church was started in 1811, and was one of only two mission churches built in the shape of a cross. This church has been lovingly maintained and is still used for masses today.

Our docent also told us that this church was used as a set for four of the Zorro episodes (Disney version) and a plaque memorialising Guy Williams is under a bench in the church graveyard. Those of you who were children in the 60's will remember Guy Williams as the original Zorro (and as John Robinson in Lost in Space as well.) We found the plaque and it reads:

In Loving Memory of Guy Williams

The One and Only "Zorro"

1924-1989

You carved a "Z" on our hearts and

changed our lives forever

Your friends salute you

August 2, 2003

In the gift shop we found a life sized cutout of Pope Francis.  He and Bob shared a high-five.

The mission was so charming and we enjoyed wandering the grounds. But then we were on our way to the ocean.

It must be spring break week here.  The beaches and pier in Oceanside were filled with families enjoying the sunshine and sand, despite the cool breeze that blew off the ocean. From the pier we had a great view of it all, and watched some surfers ride the waves.

We even made friends with some birds hanging out at the pier as well!

We did it!  Made it from sea to shining sea. :)

Interweave Sale Woes

Wednesday was a quiet day for us. I was excited to see a sale code for Interweave in my mailbox. Interweave is a company that produces magazines and books in print and digital format for fiber arts and beading, and also produces video classes. It's nice to be able to add to my library digitally and not add weight or bulk to the closets! This coupon was for the Interweave store for 50% off an item, and I had been eyeing a download on Boutonee weaving (don't ask me what that is--I have to learn myself!) which would only be $8.49 at half off. I spent almost an hour trying to buy it online but Interweave's server was running soooooooooo sloooooooowly. A call to their customer service line placed me on hold with an annoying song replaying repeatedly for five minutes, before telling me to leave a message and they'd get back to me next day. Nuh uh, I was not going to lose that sale price--they've done that to me before! So I kept redialing, and after repeatedly redialing for another half hour I suddenly got a live person. She was unfortunately also on the same server and it took over thirty minutes to place my order. What kind of a system is that? I mentioned that these sales probably caused more ill will for her company than they realized, and she agreed with me. But I rejoiced that I was probably one of twelve people whose order got through so I was a happy camper. ;)

As all this was happening I was changing into my bathing suit, walking down to the pool, and then sitting in the hot tub with my phone until all was completed. I made my class just in time to have a great workout. Sweet!

Bob and I puttered around the rest of the day, attending the ice cream social in the afternoon and checking out the woodcarving class afterwards. We gave all of our woodcarving tools to son in law Anthony before we left town so we may be buying new ones if we take up a new hobby. Unless he isn't using them. We will ask when we get back to NJ.

We also did a lot of walking. These hills (and the swim classes) are good for building up my knee muscles and I'm starting to feel a little more strength in them I think.

Today--more sightseeing!

San Diego Sightseeing

We are only an hour and a half from San Diego, a city we have not explored. Yesterday we took a ride to historic Old Town San Diego. It was all freeway driving once we got to Temecula, and zipped right on in. I was agog at the houses perched on top of high mountains next to the freeway.  It must have been a challenge to build them on such steep slopes.

We arrived about noon time and had fejitas at Freds.

Next we just HAD to visit the Whaley House Museum, which is reportedly the most haunted house in America.

We did not experience or witness any paranormal activity but it was an interesting house just the same.  It was the first two story house in San Diego and was built in 1856.  At different times it was a general store, a courthouse, and a theater.  All while it was a residence of the Whaley family.

Someone told us we should not miss the Mormon Battalion Visitors Center.  It was a short walk from the Whaley Museum.

I must say, we were pleasantly surprised.  The museum features a very well-done interactive presentation that includes talking pictures on walls, film, and hands-on displays.  It would be perfect for children but there were none in our group and we all enjoyed it. The museum focuses on the Mormon battalion that was formed to help fight the Mexicans during the Mexican/American War. While they never actually had to fight, this group of 500 men and 80 women and children built a wagon trail to San Diego that helped to open this area to settlement.  Nothing was really said about the Mormon religion, making it a non-threatening presentation for people of all faiths. And it's free. I recommend this place!

Finally, we took a walk through Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, which was a collection of historic buildings and tiny museums, just perfect to stroll through on a lovely day such as we had. There are a lot of shops to browse, too. Again, no charge for this park.

We stopped at a historic home and saw how people lived in 1850.

This is the back of the house, and it features a courtyard with a u-shaped house built around it.  Each room was separate and opened onto the courtyard.  Very nice!

Then it was time to head back to see Auggie and take him for a walk. We made a quick stop at Trader Joes where we brought home a couple of bottles of "Two Buck Chuck" wine (how did I not know about this??) which were actually $2.49 each.  It was not a bad table wine. OK, I have just tipped my hand that I am not a wine connoisseur!

It was a lovely day. (Do I end all my blog posts this way?  Well, we have had a lot of lovely days in the last few months!)