Palomar Mountain News

It’s COLD out there!!!

Do you have extra blankets or jackets you are no longer using?   When I get new listings, there are often closets full of lots of jackets that are out-grown and extra blankets that we pass on.  Now is your chance to give to a worthy cause.

Valley Center Middle School is at the top of the Rincon Grade, at Lake Wohlford Road.  Drop off by Friday, February 1st.  Or, you are welcome to bring your donations to our place by the January 31st and we’ll deliver.

Let’s do this!

Bonnie Phelps

SDG&E is doing a great job replacing the wooden poles with steel.  Of course, our power needs to be off on days when the work is being done.  Notices are mailed to affected property owners.  The next date for the Crestline Birch Hill folks is this Saturday between the hours of maybe 9 am to about 3:00.

The work is much appreciated to make Palomar more fire safe for all.

Bonnie Phelps

It was so good get back after some time away out of state.  I literally clicked my heals together three times as there is no place like home on Palomar Mountain!  While we were away I got a call from one of you subscribers.  He was asking if I was ‘ok’.  He hadn’t seen any messages from PMNews lately and was hoping things were well.  That was so nice!!!  I’m better than ever, thank you!  Have quite a few things to post as I do some catching up.

What is new in Real Estate?  Glad you asked!  Panorama Trail should close by tomorrow.  Working out complicated easement issues for the 68 acres and that Observatory View cabin.  One new listing has a tenant who is pleased to be the new owner real soon.  Another new cabin I photographed today.  I have some land and a home in the works for unveiling… and always more on Palomar Mountain Real Estate.

Those of us on the mountain top are enjoying some beautiful, clear weather.  Connecting with several of you, I understand last weeks storms brought us over 6 inches of rain – including a couple snow flurries to delight kids of all ages – making it about 20 inches for the year.

I drove by this view yesterday, then had to turn around to go back and take it for you – San Diego Downtown, one of the Coronado Islands and Point Loma against the sun shimmering on the Pacific.  Pretty special up here!

Watch for more news of your favorite mountain real soon!

Bonnie Phelps

Such beautiful sunsets lately!  Guessing many of you are also enjoying the scents of the seasons coming from the kitchen and time ’round your fire.

What an exciting and action-packed couple months for Real Estate on Palomar!  I haven’t had many minutes to spare to even update you.  I don’t remember ever being this busy – and learning so much at the same time.

Real Estate a hundred plus years ago was often pretty casual so easements require more defined wording to hold up now.  It is such a blessing to have a wonderful title officer and such helpful contacts at the county, to guide me with some of these challenging situations.

Do you know about an ‘overlap’ on Crestline plat maps?  First time I’d heard of it was with a recent escrow.  Oh my, to get that one closed was pretty creative but now is crystal clear for all for generations to come.  I was so thankful for the seller, buyers and a neighbor that were such a pleasure to deal with getting it finalized. An old deed was a fabulous find researching an adjoining parcel made the difference to (finally) close the Bailey Meadow cabin, too.

We also a survey crew out last week flagging corners of that 68 acres in escrow.  That property had no record of a survey all these years.  However, living up her full time the past 20 years, I realized (in the middle of the night) every property contiguous to land had been surveyed in the past.  Further research didn’t show several being recorded so it took some time to puzzle it out.  We went off old records so the surveyors were able to GPS and use a pipe finder, taking them right to the pins covered with years of erosion.  Saved a lot of money and the buyer can now be confident knowing where the property lies.  An known encroachment needed to be addressed.  All is well now with everyone happy.

Of course the most fun is when I get to slip away from my computer and be out and about on the mountain.  I enjoy so much guiding staging for new properties (please stay tuned!) and meeting folks dreaming of their own piece of paradise on Palomar.

Keeping track over the years, there are five cabin owners that first toured property they just had to have on Christmas Day!  Time will tell if we add to that number this year.  We do have a few properties to choose from and always glad to open doors.

We are promised a dusting – just a dusting – of snow for Christmas.  Wishing you a merry one at this most wonderful time of year!

Bonnie Phelps-with-the-hot-chocolate-simmering

From: Gray, Tim -FS [mailto:tgray01@fs.fed.us]
Subject: USFS is burning at the High Point Look Out Monday 12/17/2018

If folks see smoke out by the “High Point Look Out” it is USFS doing some prescribed burning.  This is being done for Forest Health and maintenance of our Fuel Break system.  If anyone has questions or concerns please feel free to contact myself.  BC33 Tim Gray, USFS at 619-209-1414.

-Tim

From: Cecelia  

The monthly PMFSC meeting will be this coming Saturday @ 10 am in the Fire Station 79 equipment bay, 21610 Crestline Rd, Palomar Mt.  All are welcome.

Scrolling through Pearl Harbor images to use with this post, I couldn’t help but think, “these are sights that Bill Leibold saw in person”!

We had such a nice visit today.  Bill and his lovely wife, Grace, built a home on Palomar in the mid 1970’s.  Known as “The Ship House” out on Birch Hill, it was ‘home’ for twenty years.

At nearly 96 years young, Bill retired as a Naval Commander and is the is the last survivor of the USS Tang.  His submarine went down two years after Pearl Harbor.  Bill was also at Pearl Harbor that fateful day in 1941.   In the past, I’ve shared some of his stories serving our country.  The stories with photos are included as links,  below.

I was so pleased to hear Bill’s voice on the phone and asked what he was doing 77 years ago today.  Sharp as a tack, he shared a bit.  At 18 years old , he and his buddies were assigned to the USS Pruitt.  It was in dry-dock for repairs, so it was stripped of it’s guns and ammunition.  The sailors had just finished breakfast and were talking about what they were going to be doing that day.  All of a sudden they heard aircraft, Bill ran to the window on that Sunday morning and saw planes flying over with “a big read meatball on the side”.  He called out, “It’s the Japs!”.

They ran to see what they could do to help.  Bill and two buddies were sent to the Battleship Pennsylvania.  They were manning the guns facing the harbor, toward Battleship Row.  These young men were firing overhead at aircraft.  Bill’s two shipmates lost their lives that day.  Bill picked up shrapnel and he and others “continued on with our day’s work, doing our job”.

A heart-felt thank you to Bill, his shipmates, all past and present US servicemen and women. Real heroes, doing their job, so we have the freedom to do what we enjoy.

Respectfully,

Bonnie Phelps

See also:  Pearl Harbor to Palomar

Presumed Lost in WWII

Bill Leibold USS Tang Flag and Dog Tags

Ernie Cowan, a long time friend of Palomar Mountain, posted about his father being at Pearl Harbor.  Such a beautiful message, he gave me permission to share.

From: Ernie Cowan

On this day 77 years ago, my father was a sailor aboard the U.S.S. Honolulu based in Pearl Harbor. His ship was berthed against the dock, inboard of the U.S.S. St. Louis, across the harbor from Battleship Row and the U.S.S. Arizona.

He didn’t talk much about that day, but I do remember a few things. He said he was shaving when the attack began, and it was about two weeks before he finished shaving the other half of his face.

He was wearing shoes when the attack began, and it was hours later that he realized he had apparently jumped out of his shoes. It was a time of chaos.

The controlled burn on Palomar was a success.  After nearly 6 inches of rain, forest service, forestry and fire department crews burned prepared piles around the clock this week.  The timing was perfect, just as they were finishing up, we were treated to another couple inches of rain.

Thanks everyone who worked the long hours to give a good buffer to the Crestline and Birch Hill cabin area.

NBC Reporter, Danny Freeman sent the link to his news clip:

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Palomar-Mountain-Sees-Wildfire-for-Forest-Management_San-Diego-501933151.html?fbclid=IwAR2FsliAyNP_s0Kl8udBkQr1X-vyozqkPYdQARhTr6oJmxXjSagj3thm4Nk