Joyride Guru

Author Jack Brandais takes you on the best roads around Southern California. See his Kindle books at his author page on Amazon.com.

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It's Pacific Highway in San Diego; does old Rand McNally map confirm it?

Of course, it's Pacific Highway in San Diego, not Pacific Coast Highway. Understand? #tbt #oldcalifornia #oldroads #historichighway

I’ve gotten into arguments on this one… it’s Pacific Highway in San Diego, not Pacific Coast Highway, as it is in Orange County and points north.

So here’s something for your Throwback Thursday… the 1915 Rand McNally Official Auto Trails Map of the United Statesand way down in the bottom corners are San Diego and the Pacific Highway, courtesy of archive.org and, Lincoln Financial Foundation and…

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#paragliding from #torreypines across from @ucsandiego @lajolla.ca #beachdays #seaside #lajolla #tpgliderport #lunchwithaview See my story at www.joyride.guru (at Torrey Pines Gliderport)

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Right turns in La Jolla: Finding hidden beach spots in a Fiat 124 Spider’s favorite habitat

Explore hidden beach access in La Jolla, where the Italian-Japanese Fiat 124 Spider is at home. #lajolla #beach #glider @flytpg #torreypines @ucsandiego #ucsd #lajollashores

Back in high school, I worked for my dad on Saturdays at the liquor store he managed in La Jolla. One of my jobs was home delivery, using the store’s giant 1971 Ford LTD Country Squire station wagon.

With cases of high-priced booze sliding around in the back, the Country Squire, which had seen better days, climbed the hills of the Muirlands and Mount Soledad. I managed, without scraping other…

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Ever go dirt-roading in a hybrid? It's possible

Ever go dirt-roading in a hybrid? It's possible. #dirtroad #backroads #hybridsuv #hybridauto #orangecounty #california #temecula

This week I’m testing a brand new Ford F-150 pickup for an upcoming San Diego Union-Tribune column and the plan is to head up to Silverado Canyon in Orange County, then for some dirt-roading in this big 4×4.

It’s not the first time I’ve been in this section of the Cleveland National Forest. Back in 2006, I had a hybrid Mercury Mariner on test for my San Diego Union-Tribunecolumn and took it up to…

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Old desert train station may see service again

Old desert train station may see service again; #abandoned line is easy dirt drive. @anzaborrego @abnha #railroad #dirtroad #4x4 #imperialcounty #borrego #california #sandiego #elcentro

The old Dos Cabezas train station in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park might again see some activity.

Long a popular point-of-interest for desert rats, I visited there for Weekend Driver columns in 2012 and 2017. If your vehicle can handle sand, it’s a pretty easy few miles off of county Highway S-2 near the border of San Diego-Imperial counties.

The Union-Tribune has reportedthat a new…

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Washington Street extension ‘essential to war effort’

Washington Street today a the main drag through Hillcrest and Mission Hills, but before World War II, parts today clogged with traffic didn’t even exist.

Wanting to untangle U.S. 80 from its roundabout route from El Cajon Boulevard to downtown San Diego, engineers and military officials instead ran it down an empty canyon that just happened to connect Mission Hills to the front door of the…

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Legendary Mt. Palomar resort for sale

Legendary Mt. Palomar resort for sale #realestate #backroads #palomarmountain

It’s been on my list to visit, but I just haven’t made it up there yet. And now I could buy it.

Bailey’s Palomar Resort, a 60-acre family property on Palomar mountain, is for sale, according to a big ad in Sunday’s San Diego Union-Tribune. Price? $2.9 million. Well, maybe I can’t buy it.

I’ve been up to Palomar many times; it’s a chapter in Joyrides Around San Diego. A beautiful place, and about…

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Claim to know SoCal biker hangounts? You know these spots

Claim to know biker hangouts in #southerncalifornia ? Then you know #cookscorner and #rockstore in #socal #california #orangecounty #mulholland #thesnake #backroads #countryroad #kiastinger

Anyone claiming to be a motorcycle enthusiast or biker or what-have-you has to know a couple of the most famous two-wheeler hangouts in Southern California.

Those would be the Cornell’s Rock Store (up the mountain from Malibu) at the western tip of Los Angeles County, and Cook’s Corner in Orange County’s Trabuco Canyon.

What brought this up? I had an email from Michele Spencer, who’s Dave…

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Pt. Loma race a notable event in newspaper and city’s history

Nobody died in 1915 San Diego road race @sandiegouniontribune @sdut #roadrace #centennial #100years #roadracing #sandiego #balboapark @balboapark

The Great Exposition Road Race in 1915 has been picked as one of the notable events during the San Diego Union-Tribune‘s 150-year history.

The road race, on January 5, 1915, brought many of the best racers from around the world to a course created on mostly dirt roads on Point Loma. The roads today include Lytton Street, Catalina Boulevard and Cañon Street.

The race commemorated the opening of the

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Bald eagles enjoying winter at Lake Cuyamaca

Bald eagles enjoying winter at Lake Cuyamaca #baldeagles #eagles #nature #lake #cuyamaca #julian #sandiego #california #backroads #migration #birdwatching

Bald eagles are spending the winter at Lake Cuyamaca, the delightful little lake just south of Julian, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune.

“Bald eagles were first reported in San Diego County in 1875 and have been seen ever since in small numbers,” writes reporter J. Harry Jones. “Last decade, a pair nesting in a tree near Lake Henshaw drew thousands of curious bird lovers to the area for…

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Not much traffic on U.S. 101 through Del Mar

Only traffic on old U.S. 101 through Del Mar? A '41 Ford Woody Wagon. #tbt #oldroad #coastroad #california #delmar #sandiego #beach #backroad

Yes, this is U.S. 101 through Del Mar, Calif., in what looks to be the late 1930s.

In this Hopkins Agency postcard, courtesy of the University of San Diego, it’s an idyllic day at Stratford Square in Olde Del Mar. This is 15th Street and today’s Camino Del Mar and, yes, Stratford Square still stands. From 1926 to the early 1960s, this was U.S. 101 and the main highway from San Diego to Los…

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Video view of desert’s ‘canyon with no name’

Canyon Sin Nombre is one of the unique, easy to visit and drive in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Here’s a video I did on my last visit… a cruise through the canyons and washes in the Canyon Sin Nombre area, in the south-central region of this park, one of the largest state parks in the country.

Hard to believe it’s been so long since I last visited and shot this video, so my apologies for…

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It's Saturday, Dec. 30, for my book signing at the SD Auto Show

It's Saturday, Dec. 30, for my book signing at the SD Auto Show (wrong date in earlier post) #booksigning @SanDiegoAutoShow @SanDiegoAutoSho @sdautoshow #carshow #sandiego #california

I’m signing copies of Joyrides Around San Diego from noon to 5 p.m. this Saturday, Dec. 30., at the San Diego International Auto Show.

(Sorry folks, I had the wrong date in a previous post.)

Stop by the San Diego Union-Tribune booth at the big event and let me know your favorite drives, bring your copy of Joyrides if you’d like it signed, or pick up a copy of Joyridesfor a special Auto Show price.

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I'm signing books Friday, Dec. 29, at the SD Auto Show

I'm signing books Friday, Dec. 29, at the SD Auto Show #carshow #newcars @SanDiegoAutoShow

I’m signing copies of Joyrides Around San Diego at the San Diego Auto Show this Friday, Dec. 29, from noon to 5 p.m.

Stop by the San Diego Union-Tribune booth at the big event and let me know your favorite drives, bring your copy of Joyrides if you’d like it signed, or pick up a copy of Joyrides for a special Auto Show price.

The annual car show is always a great way to see all the new cars, SUVs…

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Santa's Village lives: Check out the Rim of the World

Santa's Village lives: Check out the Rim of the World highway @skyparksantasvillage @santasvillageca #daytrip #backroad #california #sanbernardino #nationalpark

Santa’s Village was one of those places we stopped when I was a kid. And it’s open again along one of the great roads in Southern California.

My trip up there was back in 2009, behind the wheel of a Nissan Nismo Z. What a thrill.

But the road from San Bernardino to Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead is a load of fun no matter what you’re driving. I still remember sliding around in the back seat of the…

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Get out and find U.S. 395 on this holiday weekend

Mountain road, night, rapidly emptying gas tank, gas shortage. Check out my route. #backroads #sandiego #daytrip #oldroads #ushighways #california #escondido #historichighway

Way back in 2003, my Weekend Driver column took drivers up old U.S. 395 from near the Westfield North County mall in southern Escondido, to Temecula in Riverside County.

The route includes a stretch that still makes me nervous: the piece between Pala Road and Escondido.

On a Sunday in 1979, I was driving back from my sister’s in Reno. That was during the ’79 energy crisis, and what gas stations…

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It might be December, but take that day trip around the bay... in a convertible

It might be December, but take that day trip around the bay... in a convertible #daytrip #convertible #hotcar #beach #bay #ocean #sandiego #california

The kids are off, the relatives are in town, the weather is great. So why not rent a convertible and take a day trip around San Diego bay?

A couple of years ago I did just that. It’s a drive around San Diego bay that can be finished in a few hours. The relatives will be very impressed, the kids will love the top-down driving.

And you’ll have a great day. Check out the drive.

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