I can’t even begin to explain how terrible the weather was while we were there… even when surrounding areas were clear, Julian was stuck in a freezing rain cloud (city is up around 4000 feet). All night was spent listening to the constant rain as our room had sliding glass doors as one wall. We finally just got up and watched Superbad because we couldn’t sleep anymore.

Even with the unfortunate weather, I could see how charming Julian could be. Supposedly they are known for their apples up there, so fall is probably a great time to visit, especially with all the pie places in town!

We stayed at Angels Landing Country Inn just north of downtown. Our Jr Suite was roomy, but the sliding glass door was a bit troublesome to lock and not very safe looking. No matter, because I think we were the only people anywhere near the place that Thursday night.

Our two restaurant experiences were good and everyone we spoke with was friendly. For dinner we ate at the Julian Grille, Eric got chicken stuffed with ham and swiss covered in sliced peaches (from a can, unfortunately) and I got the trout with capers and mixed mushrooms. We split a bottle of California wine and remarked how very un-California this town felt.

Margarita’s was recommended to us for breakfast the following morning, so I went all out and ordered a tortilla stuffed with scrambled egg, chorizo, beans and cheese, topped with a mild red sauce. Eric went the more traditional route with eggs, potatoes and toast and Ryan ordered the least greasy (in a good way) chicken-fried steak I’ve ever seen. In fact, all were tasty, well priced, AND sustained us on a six mile hike. Not bad.