Friday, December 20, 2002
Eat, Drink & Drive?
Hazardous weather statements and winter
weather warnings were the headlines for today’s San Diego Mountains.
Naturally I suspected the usual media hype so Cath and I jumped in the
pickup and headed out to see for ourselves. I like to drive the back streets
of the county so I headed north on a dirt road that circumvents Mount
Cuyamaca and ends up in
Cuyamaca Rancho
State Park. It’s a slow 2 hr ride that crosses several streams and goes
through some beautiful mountainous scenery. We started out in a moderate
rain that eventually turned to snow as we entered the park. I don’t have
chains but it’s a 4wd vehicle so we didn’t hit any conditions we couldn’t
handle. There was one spot on a downhill where we lost traction and spun
about 180 degrees but luckily I was going slow and able to stay on the road.
Our goal was the
Lakeland Resort, home of the famous Lakeland Mountain Burger. It’s a
combination bar / restaurant that has become a traditional stop on our
backcountry drives. It was 10 a.m. and snowing heavily by then and several
visitors were hanging out, drinking Bloody Mary’s and beer while discussing
the hazardous driving conditions. The road was closed due to an accident and
these guys were waiting for things to clear up. I guess they thought a few
drinks would relax them for the treacherous drive down the mountain. When a
snow plough passed in their direction they all tumbled into their cars and
followed it out of the park.
Catherine and I stuck to the coffee and hamburgers and had an un-eventful
drive home. No snow at our elevation though it’s possible we’ll get some
tonight.
Lakeland View
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August 11, 1966 Thursday
Well, father got a job this Monday with
General Dynamics in San Diego. It’s about time because things were getting
pretty desperate here. It got to the point where I was feeling guilty asking
for money for the movies. Last Sunday father got fed up and went to
Washington to look for a job. Wouldn’t you know he’d get one here the minute
he got out of Coronado. He should be back in a few days to take the job.
With father gone and the car here, I’ve been having a great time. I drive
all over town in the fancy convertible making everybody think I’m a rich
teenager.
Pat seems to have gotten the idea that he’s been loosing friends so he’s
calmed down a bit. Last night I met him after coming home from a movie so we
decided to sleep out. He told his parents that he was sleeping over at my
house and I said I was sleeping at his. This gave us the opportunity to
sleep anywhere we wanted. We discovered and empty house in the alley and it
was just luck that the back door happened to be open. It was a rather small
house but it gave all the comforts of home. I figured it would be too risky
to sleep inside so we put sleeping bags in the back yard. This way we could
use all the facilities and still sleep out. After eating some cookies and
drinking some Tabs, we got to bed around 11:30. We woke up at 1 a.m. and I
discovered that the mosquitoes had been working on me. The itching went away
but I still had trouble getting back to sleep. At 4:00 we woke up again and
this time took a walk around the neighborhood. We must have made a funny
picture lurking around in the dark because I just wore a t-shirt and scivy
shorts while Pat had nothing on but an athletic supporter. We went to sleep
this time with no trouble and woke up at 7:30.
I’ve been thinking lately that if I want to see the world but I don’t want
to be a tourist maybe the Peace Corps is for me. I plan on writing and
getting more information. There doesn’t seem to be a better way to see the
country. Besides going somewhere off the beaten track I could even help
people. I’ve always found it easy to help people and this could be just what
I want.
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