My Town Monday: Dudley's Bakery, Santa Ysabel

I've written a couple of My Town Monday posts about Julian, CA. The posts have been about the Julian gold mine and the Observers Inn Planetarium.

If you're in the vicinity of Julian, you'll definitely want to hit Dudley's Bakery.



Dudley's Bakery was started in 1963 by a man named Mr. Dudley (big surprise there!) Pratt who'd owned a bakery in the town next door to me, El Cajon. Dudley's Bakery is located in Santa Ysabel, about 50 miles northeast of downtown San Diego.

Mr. Pratt used to close Dudley's Bakery for a couple of months each year so that he could take off for Europe in search of new bread recipes. He didn't wite these recipes down, but memorized them. Which seems a little dicey to me, but presumably Mr. Pratt's memory was better than mine. He was also on the lookout for new ovens and other baking paraphernalia.

This is one of my favorite breads from Dudley's. It's Baja Jalapeno. The top seller, though, is the date, nut and raisin bread. There are about 15 different varieties of bread. There was a time when the bakery offered over 40 varieties!

Yes, for you sweet-toothed people, there are fresh pastries.

Some trivia: About 5,000 loaves are baked a day. The bakers start at midnight and work all night long, filling the four large ovens (each oven holds as many as 120 loaves, if I've done my math right!). Dudley's bread is a common school fundraiser in these parts. There has been talk of Mr. Pratt as a friendly ghost who hung around the bakery. But he hasn't been "seen" in about 15 years.

Here's a link to Dudley's famous bread pudding.

And here's contact info for Dudley's Bakery:
30218 Highway 78 (Julian Road)
Santa Ysabel, CA 92070
Phone: (760) 765-0488
Dudley's Bakery website

Oh great. Now I'm hungry and have nothing decent to nibble on!


Click here for links to more My Town Monday posts. (Thanks Clair for hosting) Also, if you're even mariginally thinking about writing a My-Town-Monday post, please do! Fair warning, though, it's addictive! Write your post, then leave a comment here and we'll link to you.

Sources:
http://www.dudleysbakery.com/history.html
http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/places/dudleys-bakery/http://www.dudleysbakery.com/images/calfarmer_article.pdf

More fun SoCal times with my sister et al!

Sorry for the absenteeism, but, as most of you know, my sister and her 3 daughters are down from Canada for a visit. So, I'm spending my days having buckets and buckets of Southern California touristy fun. DH and I don't have any family in SoCal, so I'm really enjoying watching my kids hang out with their cousins. And, of course, I'm getting to know my nieces better too.

Here's a taste of what we've been up to....

Our guests gave us bread-and-butter gifts. Yay! Gifts are great!


I introduced my sister to the hands-down, best Diet Coke in San Diego County. The cousins (her kids and mine) aren't averse to the slushies there either!


We drove up to Julian where we meandered through various shops; bought an apple pie; ate a grossly overpriced lunch; visited the wonderfully quaint used bookstore, The Julian Book House (2230 Main St., Julian, 92036. 760-765-1989) where I picked up a Perry Mason, a Nero Wolf and an Elmore Leonard. We also visited the gold mine. The above way over-exposed photo is our tour guide, Greg, holding up a cow's horn. Because this is what miners originally used for panning.

My camera was still acting wonky and letting in too much light even when squeezed till it squealed. But I found an eye glasses repair store. The guy working there tried several teeny tiny screws (of thousands!) and found two that held the metal plates firmly in place on the side of my camera. Fingers crossed, this will do the trick!

Back to Julian for a sec: I've posted a couple of My Town Mondays about Julian. Here's the link to the My Town Monday gold mine post.

My sister and I traipsed back to the beach in the dark to rummage through the trash cans. Why? She thought she'd accidentally thrown out her new video camera! We're smiling for the camera. But, uh, very gross! My disposable plastic gloves fetish came in handy.

Oh, did we find the video camera? Yes. THE NEXT MORNING BY THE BAR-B-QUE IN MY BACKYARD!!

Of course, I will never ever let her forget this incident. I will recount it every Christmas. In fact, I will remind her of it every time someone mentions the word "trash" or "garbage."

Hope you're all having a marvelous summer!

I leave you with one last photo taken inside the gold mine. This is the communication system for the miners lowered deep into the bowels. The pegboard was to keep track of the number of men down there at work. The bell was for a system involving up to four rings for instructions like "stop," "go slowly," etc. I tried to memorize the system, but it's all a muddle now. One of many reasons why I would've made a lousy gold miner!

My Town Monday: Gold Mine, Julian, CA

If you're up in the mountain town of Julian, CA (located about 60 miles northeast of San Diego), the Eagle and High Peak Mine is a must-visit. The mine is at the end of C Street. I'd definitely phone ahead for the hours of operation (760-765-0036).

The Eagle and High Peak Mine offers hour-long tours through the tunnels where the guide will regale you with facts about gold mining and stories of days gone by. The tour isn't too expensive (about $10/adult and $5/child). And it's really, really interesting. By the end, you'll be tossing around terms like sluice box and rockers and stamps and placer gold. Our guide was bitten by the gold bug several years ago and actually pans on her days off. Sometimes successfully.

When you've finished the tour, you can pan for gold yourself, then shop at the Company Store.

And, now, a little history for you. A.E. Coleman discovered gold in Coleman's Creek in 1869 and started a mining camp which later became Julian. Julian is named for Mike Julian, an ex-confederate soldier from Georgia who came to find his fortune in the California mine fields after the Civil War. $5 million in gold was taken from the Julian environs between 1870 and 1880. Albert Robinson, a freed Missouri slave and the first black man to serve on a jury in San Diego County, built the Julian Gold Rush Hotel in 1897. It's the oldest operating hotel in Southern California. (www.desertusa.com, www.glitter.com, www.julianhotel.com)

This isn't history, but it is a fun bit of trivia: Each October, 10,000 apple pies are baked here!

So, while you're waiting for the night sky and star gazing at the Observer's Inn planetarium, go visit the gold mine. You won't be sorry.

Thanks, once again, to Travis Erwin for hosting My Town Monday. For Travis' entry and links to the other participants, check Travis' blog.

My Town Monday Night Sky Gazing, Julian, California

Julian, California is a mountain town located about sixty miles northeast of San Diego. It has a population of about 1600. Among other things, it's well known for apple pies, tours of a real gold mine and beefalo burgers. Julian also has an amazing used book store--the Julian Book House.

And, surprise, surprise, there is an awesome private planetarium located in Julian. It's The Observer's Inn. You can choose to stay there (we didn't) or just reserve time in the evening to stare at the heavens through their powerful telescopes (we did). These "sky tours" conducted by Mike Leigh are a once-in-a-lifetime experience.



Leigh, an astronomy afficionado for years, built his observatory at an elevation of about 4300 feet, high up enough that he can take advantage of the clear night sky. Then he got a few high-end telescopes. We're talking truly research grade here. As in, at least one is a telescope fit for a small country. This telescope is so good, you can make out details on spy satellites. Which has earned Mr. Leigh a couple of chats with the FBI. (from the San Francisco Chronicle)



Each sky tour is different. Each sky tour comes with Mike's wonderful commentary. And what might you see? Various planets, constellations, stars, double stars, comets, other galaxies. It's truly incredible. And there aren't many places in the world that give you this kind of a show. For about $20 a person. Observer's Inn is actually internationally known.

We went a couple of winters ago. Not to sound corny, but for my little family, it was an out-of-this-world experience.

(And, besides the magical sights from the telescopes, my kids didn't think the little room with hot chocolate and cookies was too shabby!)


My Town Monday comes to us via Travis Erwin. Thanks, Travis! Click on his site to read his post about Charles Goodnight and find links to the other participants.