A Julian Surprise

I hate to admit it, but it has taken us almost five years to take up my parents' 1 year anniversary gift and go up to a Bed and Breakfast in Julian, just a little northeast of San Diego. (Yes, Debbie and Steve, we still need to use up your giftcard from back then too...geesh, we're slackers ;)

My parents purchased a gift certificate for us to have a one night stay at the Eaglesnest Bed and Breakfast, right in the heart of Julian. Little did they know that the gift would later also entail babysitting two kiddos while we were away ;) A lot of the hold up for me in my mind was that I wanted to go up when it would be really cold and when there would possibly be some snow - the season for that always coincides with Robbie's basketball season, so I'm usually out of luck to find a weekend where he's not tied up with coaching. But alas, Robbie's season ended last week and I heard that there might be a little bit of snow, but definitely rain and cold, in Julian this weekend, so I jumped at the opportunity. I planned to surprise him and sweep him away for the night and spend some quality time in Julian, sipping cider, eating a slice of pie, and lingering in quiet and relaxation for a day away from the kids. It was a perfect plan ~ besides that I didn't know that he actually still had a basketball commitment and that my little bit of rain and cold would turn into a lot of snow and us with no chains for the car. Regardless, we had a WONDERFUL time away!!

We got up there in cold dry weather and woke up in the morning to a winter wonderland. At 6am it had just started to sprinkle the snow down, so we thought we were totally in the clear. 9am rolled around and we went upstairs for breakfast and looked out the windows and realized very quickly that the snow was coming down fast and was really piling up. We decided to head out shortly after that and really, we left just in time - had we stayed just a couple more hours later, we would have been staying overnight one more night (not such a bad idea in my mind ;) With no chains and almost 2 hours later, with the HUGE help from the BnB owners, Jim and Julie, we were able to finally get the car out onto the main road and we were good to go back home.

10am...getting ready to start heading out...



This was how quickly it was coming down while Robbie and Julie began shoveling a pathway...



I have to admit - Robbie asked me about chains and needing them up there. I reassured him that all the weather forecasts I read had said snow on Saturday evening...nothing about the morning...let's just say I blew it and this was not a happy Robbie... ;)



But we had a fantastic time at this super cute little quaint BnB, with the most adorable, loving Golden Retrievers. I highly, highly recommend visiting them if you're interested in just a quick little getaway in Julian, and an amazing breakfast in the morning - we enjoyed stuffed french toast, poached pears, cinnamon buns, fresh cider and fruit spread...and more. Delicious and the service of Jim and Julie, the owners, was unstoppable and super accommodating. They made you feel right at home and tried everything to make you comfortable! Check them out at Eaglesnest Bed and Breakfast









And this was all the snow we got to bring home... boo! ;)