See, Our Old Neighborhood Is Having a Bit of a Bear Problem

Rose: What do they have in San Diego--wolves, foxes, or coyotes?

Me, thinking it's the setup for a joke: Um, coyotes?

Rose, dead serious: Oh great. From bears to coyotes! That really is out of the frying pan into the oven.

Comments

[Alice]

No problem. Just send the Pillsbury Doughboy on ahead to snuff 'em out.

: )

[J]

Oh, there are California black bears and rattle snakes, but not in the suburbs or the city-- usually. I used to camp in the area. I never encountered anything worse than a hand full of black ants.

But DO learn about rip tides, jelly fish and sunscreen. Especially the sunscreen.

On the bright side, Julian's got the best apple pie and a good dose of California history.
http://www.julianca.com/

This is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been:
http://www.lakecuyamaca.org/
http://www.cuyamaca.statepark.org/home1.html

This was a LOT of fun when I was Rose's age:
http://www.rhfleet.org/
http://www.balboapark.org/in-the-park/organizations.php?catID=5

And this is cool too:
http://gothere.com/sandiego/oldtown/

If you ever take a road trip up PCH, be sure to bring the family to Solvang and all of the area missions. In LA, there's Olvera Street, La Brea Tar Pits/Paige Museum, The Ghetty, MOCA, The Hammer, The Thai Buddhist Temple in North Hollywood, movie studio tours, the Huntington Library, The Cabrillo Tide Pools, Catalina Island-- you get the picture.

You guys are going to have an amazing adventure.

[J]

One thing I forgot to mention: amusement park annual passes (if you do amusement parks . . . there are zoo passes too) usually go on sale during the winter. They are usually a better deal than buying single admission.

[Boy Named Sous]

I've actually seen a fox in the Clairemont Mesa suburb of San Diego.

As for admission prices, when it comes to the Zoo, forget winter deals -- buy an annual membership. It's not much more than the cost of a couple visits a year, and you can go any day the Zoo's open. The beauty of that is twofold: It gives you something to do on a Sunday afternoon when money is tight, and you don't feel rushed to see the whole zoo in one visit -- arrive, spend an hour or two watching the orangutans (my favorite), go home. Come back a week or month later, and go see the Koalas and the wallabies and maybe the bats. Repeat as needed.

If you take J's advice and go up to Julian, leave early in the morning and stop at Dudley's Bakery in the little town of Julian along the way, and pick up some bread while it's still hot from the oven, then put some Julian apple butter on it.

Along with Old Town, visit the Mission -- it's the oldest Serra mission in California.

If you like Italian food, I recommend All' Italiana in La Mesa -- I know the owner personally, and it's where I proposed to The Feared Redhead. The tomato basil soup is amazing.