Entertaining San Diego visitors

My nieces Cortney and Christine from Ramona, Calif., came for a visit before going back to college next week. So, what does our family do with company? Silly question. We take them on a motorcycle ride up to the mountains of course.

Dad needed to pick up his ski pass from Kirkwood, so that was our first stop. Have you been there lately? There are luxury condominiums all over the place. I couldn't even find the place where they have the kids' lessons.

Then we drove back down to Highway 89 up Luther Pass and over to the Lake. My mother and I had won a couple of gift passes for the ice cream shop at Camp Richardson. That was our actual destination. We thought riding bikes was just the excuse but we really had ice cream on our minds to escape the heat in the valley.

Let me elaborate a little about our orders in case you would like to take the short trip up to the ice cream shop that appears to be very famous as the line was out the door and around the corner at 11 a.m. on a Thursday. Jenee ordered a root beer float. I had to take a bite and I never eat desserts. Mom had a triple-decker cookies and cream on a sugar cone that looked like it held a half gallon of ice cream. Dad ordered a single rocky road, which was still huge. Cortney and Christine ordered child-sized cones and they were still larger than I thought they could eat. All I can say is it was worth the gorgeous drive and it's right here in our backyard.

School's back in

You all can tell because of the bright yellow school buses that school is back in session. Lots of things happen the first few weeks of school. As a parent you know there are lots of papers to fill out. The school also looks for volunteers in lots of capacities especially with the district budget problems. If you don't have a child in school but have time on your hands, why not go talk to the school secretary close to your home and see if you can help out. Volunteering is always rewarding.

Mark your calendar for Thursday at Pinon Hills Elementary School for back to school night. It starts at 6 p.m. depending on what grade your child is in. Call the school if you have any questions at 267-3622. This is a great opportunity to find out what is going to happen in your child's class this year.

Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.