San Diego's Weekend Driver

The lost city of Petra, Jordan, is a long way from San Diego. This faraway place, where the final scenes of the 1989 movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” were shot, came to mind in a trip to Split Mountain, in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The spectacular Petra gorge, where Indiana, his father [...]

Here’s a really fun trip over some little-known roads in San Diego County… but isn’t that what Weekend Driver is all about? It’s East County Zig-Zag, a loop around the East County communities of Lake Morena, Campo, Cameron Corners, La Posta, Live Oak Springs and Boulevard, plus the Campo Indian Reservation. If you stay on [...]

Mother Grundy must have been one fabulous gal. With a mountain and truck trail named after her in the hills east of Jamul, she’ll never be forgotten.

After celebrating the end of World War II 60 years ago, perhaps by jumping in the Horton Plaza fountain on V.J. Day, drivers who spent the duration in San Diego were finally heading back to perhaps Texas or Louisiana in that worn-out Hudson.

I have to admit, I can’t resist squiggly lines on a map. I also have a soft spot for old, goofy comedy movies. So when there’s a chance to combine both, what’s there to keep me at home? Well, this combination is about 140 miles away and runs from Palm Desert to Banning in Riverside [...]