The small community of Julian, California is nestled in the Cuyamaca mountains just about an hour east of San Diego, California. Here you can take a step back in time all the way to Julian's 1870's gold rush. You can follow the signs and visit a gold mine, on weekends take a horse and carriage ride, eat apples and apple pie and shop in stores and sit at an historic soda fountain. There is also a lot of fun art that kids will love to see, things like deer and bears carved from big trees, and even a cigar store Indian You can stay in an historic hotel, see a volunteer ire station and even the Pioneer Cemetery where the Julian pioneers are buried Go on a picnic and search for wildlife, and you just may find some. And when you go to the soda fountain, it is said the root beer floats are the best ever What you decide to do is all up to you It seems everyone wants to escape back into the good old days when times were simpler and loads of fun, and if you can't escape for a lifetime, you can always escape for a day, Or you can just escape vicariously through the pages of this book with poet Penelope Dyan and photographer John D. Weigand Because this is yet another book meant for kids that will look great on your coffee table If you decide to take a look up the winding road through the Cuyamaca Mountains to Julian, see how many of the historic sites your kids can find. But don't forget to take the book for a quick comparison And have some apple butter, apple juice, apple cider, apple pie, and candied and otherwise prepared apples, and remember an apple a day is very good for you (And Julian is good for you too )