Chillin' with Patsy: Time Change Messed Us Up, Rain Rules the Day, Revisiting the Pie Town

Clemson woke us up at 2 on Saturday, Jan. 12^th when he shook his little body and crawled under the covers with Daddy. Other than that, I slept like a log through the night and early morning. I woke and rolled over after seeing that it was 6:40. Bill moved as well and started getting up. He’d been awake for a short time before me. Since he was getting up, so did I and then we (I) realized it was only 5:45 am! I didn’t change the bedroom clock. LOL

The first Borrego Springs morning sky

There are actually mountains behind that mist/fog

No worries, we were awake and it gave me time to finish posting pictures to my blog and getting it published. I kept looking outside but it was too dark to walk and then I lost track of time reading other bloggers stories. At 7:45 it started raining and when we stepped out to bring the chairs in, it was daylight! Darn, I was obviously seeing the black awning earlier when I peeked out the blinds. Oh well, no walk this morning at least. Hopefully there will be some breaks during the day as we weren't sure what we'd be doing yet.

If you look at this picture quickly, it could be a huge tsunami
brewing

The temperatures are mild at least at 50F and the winds are hovering between 6 and 12 mph. Clemson didn’t budge from bedtime at 9:30 last night until a few minutes before 8 this morning. The time change didn’t affect him any! We finished our drinks and did a bit of internet surfing. I sat with Clemson for a while on the sofa with my book and then at 8:45 started making breakfast. We hadn’t had bacon for a few days so I fried that up with the last of our summer sausage to have along with our eggs.

The clouds were threatening but pretty all the same
as they skimmed across the Santa Rosas

Rob and Pat popped over for an hour and discussed the day’s plans and some for the route home. We have a lot of choices now that we know the general direction we will be headed. We have a couple of ‘must’ stops and a few things will get removed from our list for this spring and added for our next journey in the fall. By the time our coffees and tea were done and plans made, we had a full consensus to make the drive up to Julian today.

Our drive to Julian with George and Rose in the red truck behiind us

No matter which way you looked - stunning

The sky couldn’t decide just what it wanted to do, some blue, mostly grey clouds, some sun and yet the best part was that the rain had settled. Bill went out, after getting cleaned up for the day, to put some coolant into Black Beauty. At 12 or shortly after we piled into 2 vehicles and took the drive up to get a pie and do some sightseeing. We were prepared for the higher elevation (4226’) to bring us colder temps and had jackets in the trucks. It was 59F in Borrego at 597’ elevation when we left.

This was a tray holder, original

The drive up the mountains was astounding, even though Bill and I had seen it before, we still loved it. The small tourist town of Julian was jam packed and we had to really hunt for a parking spot for Black Beauty. Clemson went along for the ride as we knew it would be warm enough without being hot in the truck for him to snooze while we walked around. He doesn’t get to go with us too often so today was a treat for him. We arrived shortly after 1 and first went to the Julian Pie Factory.

We enjoyed the day with Rose, Pat, Rob and George

Rob, Pat, Bill and I bought a pie but George and Rose only bought a piece, Rose not being a pie lover. The $16.95 price is totally justified when you get 8 pieces. The treat is worth it to us. Bill and I bought one we’d never heard of: ‘Apple Cherry Crumble’. No doubt it will be yummy. From there, after Bill tucked the pies in the truck and some souvenir photos were taken, we walked up the street to peruse some of the shops. There were a lot of specialty stores but mostly gift shop type venues.

And Rob took one of us for me

Lots to see

A couple of the stores went on forever, room after room of ‘stuff’ but interesting stuff that you don’t need. We enjoy poking around and killing time without reaching into our wallets. There were no ‘must-haves’ and we soon decided on finding a restaurant for something to eat. Around 2 we agreed on one called Miner’s Diner and were pleased with the ambience of the place.

Right in the store - is it a Regency, Bridgette?

Thought of George Y, when I saw these
I laughed out loud

From an upstairs landing, I took this
Pat down there perusing the wares

A life size game of Connect 4 going on

And another fire going to warm your hands (which I did)
and notice the little sunflowers?

I wasn't kidding, the town was crazy busy
and the vendors were grinning ear to ear

There is definite history in this quaint village

and interesting stories outside many of the restored buildings

These sign posts always intrigue me

Not to mention, the names of the stores

There was so much to look at including a 5-car train that ran the perimeter about 2’ below the ceiling of the two-room restaurant. Very cool, we all had to snap pictures. Bill said, ‘Dad would love this’.

Overhead, the train continually chugged along with the occasional 'woo woo' on
each round

What a terrific conversation piece
It put me in mind of the Grey Roots Heritage Museum in Owen Sound
where my sister, Wendy, is the curator

The 3 guys had to check out the Candy Mine which you got to by going downstairs through a wooden entryway. The place got busy soon after we sat and when we looked outside saw that it was raining. We got in just in time and got a table for 6.

The guys disappeared down here and came up empty handed

Bill ordered a Western Bacon Cheeseburger with fries and I ordered a favourite of mine, a Reuben sandwich with coleslaw. They were both delicious and I had to actually bring half of it home. No surprise there, all of us gals brought food home.

good choices in the menu

taken by our pretty waitress

The lady at the next table took our group photo

Coffee in a Miner's Diner mug

Such a great Reuben stuffed with corned beef and sauerkraut

Interesting displays all over the store
like these old apothecary containers

By the time we were finishing up our meals, the rain outdoors had turned to hail, sleet and more rain. Good grief! We had to walk a distance to our vehicles and then a mountain drive back home. It wasn't too bad as we left the restaurant but we had to be careful walking on the icy sidewalks.

Look at the sidewalk, it isn't snow

Funny how hail up close looks perfectly formed

Luckily, by the time we got to Black Beauty, the rain had stopped and the hail had melted. Clemson was asleep, not even missing us, and I took him out for a teensy piddle. It was 41F when we left to start our decline. Bill encountered some heavy rain a couple of times but got us back through the winding, switchback turns safely. Best (and only) roller coaster rides I’ve ever been on are when Bill drives in California and Arizona. Wheee! Without the Suite, he seems to enjoy them to the fullest.

A few more shots of our drive today
Bill had his mini cam running so they should be fun to watch later

The mountain terrain changed to grasslands closer to Julian

We arrived home around 3:30, I think, and Clemson got fed before the 3 of us settled down for a snooze. I read a couple of chapters of my J.A. Jance book, a story about Sheriff Joanna Brady, and then closed my eyes for a few winks. A few was all I managed and apparently, I missed a rainbow that Pat texted about. With Clemson snuggled against my leg, I wasn’t about to disturb him. Bill slept upstairs and came down rested.

4 desert nights

Just before 6 I cut us each a piece of pie (well, not Clemmy) and added some ice cream to my plate. My, oh my! What a delicious combination! Apple and cherry pie is a must try if you haven’t. You don’t need a big piece as it is sweet but unforgettable. I caught up on my blog while Bill read in between entertaining a ‘needy’ pooch tonight. Can anyone understand dog sign language? Bill tried numerous things but just figured that Clemson was ‘in one of those moods’ where he wanted attention.

This has been a great day, even though the weather was imperfect. We chose the best thing to do in the unsettled forecast and nothing put a damper on our enjoyment. The rains had stopped by the time we’d returned home and we said goodbyes and retreated indoors.

A nice picture of Pat and Rob outside at the Pie Factory

And a nice one of Rose and George inside the Pie Factory

It was a mild 55F/13C and an overnight low of 43F/6C so nothing to complain about here. Without much sun on our panels today at all, we have done well with our batteries. Sitting at 12.3 when we returned home, they remained that way until bedtime. Of course, we read our books instead of watching tv tonight.