Family Vacation, Lake Henshaw, Day 5

The last local diversion on our list was to explore Palomar Mountain, the largest mountain in San Diego county; the road to which was just a half-mile from our cabin. The road up is not to be missed, as it provides gorgeous views of Lake Henshaw and the valley around it, as well as sweeping vistas towards San Diego and beyond on the other side.

Vista of Lake Henshaw

Vista from the other side, looking towards San Diego and the Pacific

Near the top of the mountain is a state park, open for picnickers and day hikers. We clambered among the boulders and a sadly disproportionate number of cut and fallen trees until the heat became unbearable again, chasing us back down the mountain before noon. Back at the cabin after lunch we escaped to the pool to spend the rest of the hot afternoon underwater.

We ended our vacation and final night at Lake Henshaw with another fine dinner of fire-roasted hotdogs and s'mores, and spent the twilight hour walking around the mostly empty cabins (number 17 looks very nice, although it's missing the view of the lake), working off the sugar high brought on by entirely too many melted marshmallows, and enjoying our last evening together before parting ways again.

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Family Vacation, Lake Henshaw, Day 4

It was time to seek out a touch of civilization—and air conditioning! After breakfast and another morning of bouncing around the boulders behind the cabin, we cleaned up and headed south to the town of Julian. Julian is famous for a few things, including being an old gold-mining town, being the closest thing to a city for miles around, having cell phone reception (!!), and last but far from least—apple pie. By the time we arrived, the first order of business was lunch. I had a hankering for Mexican food, and as if fate were listening, a billboard advertising Margaritas was draped across a restaurant called, apparently, "Margaritas" (or it could have been "Restaurant").

Margaritas… it's not just a name

We had decent Mexican food and (I had) a great margarita…

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Family Vacation, Lake Henshaw, Day 3

Tourmaline digging was to be the activity of the day. The Himalaya Mines are not, in fact, here (nor are they in the Himalaya's), but are instead somewhere across the valley from Mount Palomar.

The kids were both very excited about the prospect of digging in the dirt to find fancy rocks, so I thought this would be a shoo-in for a fun way to spend the day. After a leisurely breakfast and showers for the kids (yes I know, what's the sense of bathing children who are about to go dig in the dirt—but out here, they're always about to go dig in the dirt, so at some point you just have to give up on the concept of 'clean'). I packed a picnic lunch and off we went.

The dig-site isn't far from the campgrounds; in fact, as I mentioned before, it's just at the end of a road inside of the RV park. It's actually just past the tent campgrounds, and so we drove down that way (too hot to walk the distance), parked in the shade and headed to the dig.

The way this works is the mining company takes truckloads of un-sifted dirt and literally dumps it in a pile for people to dig through. At a charge of $75 per adult (young kids free; older kids half-price), you can dig through tons of dirt from 10a–3p looking for all the jewels you can find. I'd heard a story the night before of someone finding a stone that once set was valued at several thousand dollars, so while my hopes weren't set on paying for the kids' educations, I thought we'd stand a chance at finding something memorable on the dig.

(photo from Himalaya Mine website—in the heat and excitement, I forgot to take photos. Oops.)

Upon arrival I realized this was going to be a short-lived experience. The dig is in the full sun…

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Family Vacation, Lake Henshaw, Day 2

I have to admit, this place is turning out better than first impressions would have you believe. After starting the day with a breakfast of pancakes, eaten outdoors with a view of the lake (eaten quickly, as it was already approaching 90ºF), we took a short walk to the check-in desk to ask some questions about the various activities in the area. We were given more details about the Tourmaline Mine digging, (just at the end of a road inside the RV park; $75 per person – !! – but I've been told kids are free, so we'll see), about the lake itself, (boats and gas and oil are OK, but no people allowed in—'cause it's a reservoir. Logical), and about the where you might get a cell phone signal. We decided to start our adventure with a visit to the La Jolla Indian Reservation campground to try our hand at inner-tubing.

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Family Vacation, Lake Henshaw, Day 1

The second part of our vacation is cabin-camping at Lake Henshaw, about two hours outside of San Diego. I knew I wanted to take the kids camping, but while tent-camping is great fun for a few days, trying to live with two little kids for six days in a 2+ man tent, cooking in the dirt, and taking cold showers was not my idea of a relaxing vacation nor a quality bonding experience with my offspring. So I started looking for cabins to rent.

The Lake Henshaw Resort seemed like a nice option, as it's on a lake (obviously) and far enough from civilization to be calm, quiet and relaxing, but less than an hour from a major city should we grow tired of dirt, bugs and fresh air.

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As we were driving up Hwy 76, I started to think that I'd driven up this road before…

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