Jerry Heiss put a lot of effort into putting together a run to Barrett Junction Cafe.  Unfortunately many things went wrong and we got off to a late start and the ending was one of the greatest tragedies to strike San Diego County.

Bonnie and I had scheduled an insurance physical for that morning before we knew the date of the run.  I had tried to contact the nurse to reschedule the exam or to get her to come earlier.  She said she would try to get here between 8:30 and 9:00 and is should only take a half hour.  She was late, got here after 9:00 and the half hour turned into 1 hour and 48 minutes.  Needless to say we missed the group leaving Dalton's.  But it turned out not by much.

During my blood pressure check my cell phone rang and it was Frank Lewark telling me that his 47 Chevy had just died at Highway 78 and Sycamore.  "What is wrong with it?", he asked.  I must be very smart because I told him to check his fuse for his electric fuel pump.  Turns out that was the problem and he swapped his horn fuse and was back on the road again. 

When we finally finished with the nurse we called Jerry Heiss on his cell phone to see where the group was.  They were taking the back way and we decided to shoot down 15 to 52 and down to 94.  Just as we were approaching 94 Jerry called me.  Apparently the group was stuck behind a truck that was poking along at half the speed limit, Jerry had pulled over to wait for them and he had lost sight of them.  Jerry decided to make a U-turn and try to find them.  Jerry didn't have Howard Haston's cell phone number so I called Howard for him.  They were in Lakeside on the 67, unbeknownst to Jerry the group had somehow passed him.  Jerry put the pedal to the metal and caught the group near Jamul. 

Meantime Bonnie and I had made it to Dulzura and saw a sign saying that 94 was closed at 118 for a fire.  It was a little after 12:00.  I knew that the Barrett Junction Cafe was at that intersection, so I figured we could continue to the cafe, have lunch and then head home.  When we got to the cafe, the parking lot was full of cars and trucks, loaded to the maximum with bags, boxes and cans of personal items.  This was the evacuation point for the Harris Fire, which was about 2 hours old and just getting started.  I tried to call the other members to let them know the situation, but my cell phone was without any bars and there was no working phone service.  The wind was blowing at an incredible force.  I would estimate the gusts were approaching 65 miles per hour.  Leaves, branches and other small objects were being pelted against the truck and it was rocking like we were on the Baja 1000, but we were parked with the engine off.  Dust and smoke was beginning to inundate the parking lot and things were starting to look really bad.  Bonnie and I decided to try to intercept the group on 94 and turn them back. 

We caught up with them just outside of Dulzura and we pulled over to advise them of the situation.  We decided to turn around and go back to the Dulzura Cafe, have lunch and then head home.  By the time we had finished lunch, the fire was approaching Dulzura and they were evacuating the town.  Many people lost their homes and businesses, but somehow both the Barrett Junction Cafe and the Dulzura Cafe remain standing.  I think we might consider taking a drive out there soon and maybe making a donation to help rebuild their fire station.

Parked outside the Dulzura Cafe.  Frank & Suzie, Harry & Rita, Howard and Terry & Bonnie's cars on the side of the road.

The sky to the east is still pretty blue with only a little smoke starting to rise out of the valley.

Red & Debbie and Jerry parked in the restaurant parking lot and I was too lazy to take the camera in with me.

Barrett Junction Cafe, after the fire.