We made our annual trip to Julian last Saturday. It was rainy and a little bit bittersweet because we knew it would be our last trip to the town. It’s really our only tradition — we’ve gone five times, once for every autumn spent in San Diego.

Last year we spied a sign for a camel dairy on our way and I declared that’s what we were doing the next year. However the camel dairy owners also race turkeys in state fairs — all humane, it’s actually a fake race that is more of a show apparently — and so the only weekend they could a tour was Saturday.

Of course this late into the year you run the risk of rain, and that is exactly what we got. It dumped. We were all soaked. So instead of the chance to ride camels and milk them, we pet and fed them. Sad, yes, but still crazy cool. The camels have so much personality.

The one thing I missed taking a picture of was the cutest baby lamb you have ever seen. It was like a little puppy! I couldn’t handle the cute. And when you petted it, it felt like a wet sweater. Which makes total sense considering it is wool, but still adorable.

Then we ate at Rongbranch. They have two stars on Yelp for a reason. The service is backwoods. They always get the order wrong. We all ordered something different — but they brought four hamburgers. Then they brought our order, but in my bacon-and-cheese mashed potatoes, there was no bacon.  They can always get our group of 20 people in with no reservations — important because the number always changes on the spot — and their food is affordable, so the joke continues. Well, this is our last year, so I guess it is over now. Sad!

Everyone left for home after the late lunch, but husband and I stayed. We knew we were saying goodbye to an era. We sat down in one of the pie shops and ordered apple pie and laughed about memories. Goodness SoCal, I love you. It’s going to be hard to leave.