Gold Mining in Julian, CA

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A few weeks back when I was at work, I was pondering about what fun Southern California activity my family and I could enjoy over the weekend. Being from Las Vegas, Southern California was always the destination for a quick weekend getaway. So, it comes as no surprise that there are many things we have seen and done already. It was hard trying to find an activity we could do as a family that did not cost an arm and a leg and was something new to do. I asked my co-workers if they had any suggestions and one of them asked: "Have you ever visited Julian?" I told her that I had not and asked what was there to do there and she quickly replied that it is an old mining town situated in the mountains that are famous for their apple pies. Naturally, I was intrigued. 

Julian, California is a designated California Historical Landmark. In 1869, gold was first discovered in a creek just west of Julian and soon after on February 22, 1870, the first gold mine was established. Word spread and soon hundreds of men and their families were rushing to the area to stake their claims, creating a gold rush. The town grew and so did their apple orchards. Today, Julian has a population of 1,502 and is known for their annual Julian Apple Days Festival and their famous apple pies.

We set out early in the morning after a quick breakfast with plans of eating pie and touring the Eagle and High Point Mines. After driving down the winding, mountain roads we finally arrived at this cute, authentic western town. I am not sure if it was because it was Veteran's Day or if the crowds we saw are an every weekend kind of thing but this town was PACKED with tourists. There was absolutely no place to park your car. Our first plan was to walk around the main street and check out the shops but we took one look and said "NO WAY! Let's just head over to the mine". 

We drove my cute two-wheel drive Fiat up the dirt, pot-holed road to the mine. I must admit I was not all that impressed upon first glance and I could tell nobody else was either. If you plan on visiting Julian, be sure to bring lots of cash. We are normally debit card people who never have cash on us, so when it came time to pay for our admittance, there was an issue. If you sit and listen to everybody's conversation you will hear that everyone else did not bring cash either. The folks at the mine must be used to this and actually are very trusting. They tell everyone who does not bring cash to just go ahead and do the tour and afterward drive down to the gas station and get cash from the ATM. That gas station owner or the owner of that particular ATM must make a killing off all these unplanned cash withdrawls! 

I will say the highlight of the trip was the actual mine tour. I have been partially inside some mines but not totally exploring deep inside like you get to here. Our tour guide even turned off all the lights so we could see just how dark pitch black really is and then lit a candle similar to ones used by the miners over a hundred years ago. There is no way I would have ever found my way out of those tunnels without modern lights!

After the mine tour we drove down the road and was lucky enough to find a parking spot right on the main road.  We at lunch at Miner's Diner after a 45min wait due to the enormous amount of people who also wanted food. I was expecting some small, lame burger but I was pleasantly surprised with a large, juicy, not overcooked burger and french fries galore. After filling our bellies with diner food, we strolled down the road to Julian Pie Company and got ourselves a whole apple-pumpkin pie to go. 

If you ever find yourself in Southern California in the fall and are looking for something just a little different to do, I highly suggest visiting Julian. Just be sure to bring lots of cash with you! 

Maritime Museum of San Diego

We visited the Maritime Museum of San Diego on a beautiful November afternoon. I had stumbled across this museum as I was researching things to do in San Diego that was family friendly but also would not cost an arm and a leg. My daughter has been asking to visit the world famous San Diego Zoo, which we have visited before in the past, but even with discount tickets through my work it is more than I want to pay. When I first brought up the idea of visiting this museum I recieved a bunch of "UUGGHHH..." from both kiddos and a look of not interested from my husband. But, I chose a particular day to visit, a day I knew they could not say no. So, on my birthday we visited the Maritime Museum.

The Maritime Museum of San Diego is home to eleven historic ships you can board and tour. If you are willing to spend a bit more money you could even participate on one of their On The Water Adventures. There are two submarines, sailing ships, and steam powered boats.  Each boat contains an exhibition showcasing what life was like on that particular vessel. My kids got a kick out of being in the submarine and looking though the periscope. On the B-39 Russian Submarine there is even a light and sound show, giving you an immersive experience during a tense situation. I personally liked visiting the San Salvador, a replica of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s ship that arrived in San Diego on September 28, 1542. Just thinking about crossing a whole ocean in one of those ships while standing on the deck is mind blowing.

Eventhough I had to force the kiddos to visit the Maritime Museum, I know they had a great time running around and exploring the ships. If you are ever in San Diego I highly recommend giving this place a call.

The Eye Exam

Hi, everyone! I confess, the title of this vlog is pretty much click bait but, I hope it doesn't distract from the real issue at hand. My eye sight is incredibly terrible. I am not functional at all with out my glasses. The standard eye chart you read at the optometrist/ophthalmologist's office is not my friend. In fact, I have not been able to see anything on that eye chart probably since high school. Because I am extremely near sighted, I have been told for years always to be aware of flashing lights or floaters as these may be signs my retina has detached. As you become nearsighted, your eyeball elongates stretching the retina so, when you are incredibly short sighted your eyeball is super elongated and your retina becomes thinner and thinner. This is the shape of my eyeball. The retina is where light is absorbed, converted to neural signals, and then sent to the brain via the optic nerve to form a picture. If the retina were to detach, this whole process will be non-existent which would result in a loss of vision. 

Last November, my retina detached. I had no symptoms whatsoever. The only reason I even found out was that I wanted new glasses. My frames at the time were not as exciting to me anymore. When you wear the same pair every day eventually they get old, it is a fact of life. So, I strolled into Costco Eye Center one day at 4 pm for a routine check up. Before I sat down in the chair with the optometrist, I did a few small standard test, one of which was to take a picture of my eye. The optometrist was real quiet and just looked and looked at my photos. Even I could see from where I was sitting that the picture of my left eye looked different than the other. I asked her what was going on with my eye; she said she wanted to know too. Uhh...I knew it could not be good. She told me my eyes needed to be dilated so she could take a look at my retina. A quick look and phone calls were urgently made. Next thing I knew I had an appointment at 8 am the next day to see the retina specialist in town. Again my eye was dilated, and he concurred to the fact I had three tears in my retina causing some fluid to pass through. Three options were given to me: to do nothing, to laser seal the tears which could be done in office, or eye surgery. To do nothing was not a choice at all, I value my eyesight too much. Eye surgery was too extreme so, the laser was the ideal choice. About 20 minutes later I was sitting on a stool, my chin in the chin cup and a laser blasting away at my eye. It was not a painful procedure but not the most comfortable either. My left eye was a little red for the next couple days but other than that all was normal. A follow up after a couple of weeks went by showed the procedure was a success. 

Two weeks ago I was chit chatting at work and started to see lights. With the history of my eye, I knew I should get it checked out as soon as possible. The next day I was in with the ophthalmologists. I did not have any new tears in my retina which was fantastic, but this time the pressures in my eye were high. Pressures in the eye are measured to show the risk of glaucoma. Mine were elevated meaning I have a high chance of developing glaucoma. There are five standard test I went through to check for it. Tonometry (the pressure of the eye), ophthalmoscopy (for the shape and color of the optic nerve, perimetry), perimetry (the complete field of vision test), gonioscopy (the angle in the eye where the iris meets the cornea), and pachymetry (the thickness of the cornea). I completed all these tests, and at the time of this video, I was still awaiting the result of one last test. The ophthalmologist told me he had expected the final test, which I completed that day after talking to him in office, to be normal. My outcome looks great. I was told to follow up with another ophthalmologist at my next location in about three more months. If I were to need treatment, it would mean eye drops for the rest of my life. These eye drops do have a horrible side effect; they cause your lashes to grow long and thick. I mean it would be just terrible to have long, lush lashes but if it is a treatment, I need to go through I suppose I will just have to suffer.  Isn't that THE best side effect to have?? 

Concours d'Lemons

This past week has been a crazy week here in Monterey, CA. Every year Monterey is host to Car Week which showcases some of the worlds most expensive cars. Our little apartment is in the heart of town so naturally, we have front row to some not so advertised happenings. For example, at the beginning of the week our front yard was the unloading zone for all the classic and exotic cars that were shipped here via autocarrier. If you were lucky enough to just happen to be out and about at that moment you got to be a spectator to a parade of vehicles only the rich ever get to see. Sotheby's held their car auction just 2 min walk down the street. Though we could not actually go inside the event tent, we could hear the whole bidding process from the loud speakers. Cars were selling for half a million to over a million dollars! That is crazy!! Friday night Cannery Row hosted the Exotics on Cannery Row. All the exotic cars were on display and showing off their muscles. 

Of course, not every event can be all glitz and glam. The Concours d'LeMons is the one place car owners can showcase their worst cars. We had a blast roaming down the aisles of this car show. A lot of the cars had themes such as, the church mobile, the snail car, and the pirate ship. Even the attendees were dressed in auto or lemon themed attire. This was not just a car show but  I also a competition. Judges picked out the Worst Scandinavian Car, the Worst American Classic Car, and of course, the Worst of Show. The Concours d'LeMons is held a few times a year throughout the United States, if you get the chance to attend, I highly recommend it.