DAY 1- THURSDAY- NEWPORT BEACH TO BRAWLEY, CALIFORNIA "JIT"

When we retired last night, we believed there was an "appointment" for the truck to pick up the BRITISH Morgans at the dock and take them to the warehouse. This meant that the British would not be starting on MOA with the remainder of the group at 9 AM today. However we had great hopes that they would catch up with us later in the day.

We gathered outside the door in preparation for leaving on the trip. Three Southern Morgan Club Members joined us for our official start. 

After heading out from the hotel, leading the group, we made a wrong turn and immediately lost some of the group. Our local Morganeer Jay got us back on track, but meanwhile several had been lost. However we continued on down to Hwy 1 heading south . (Video of us leaving to be posted when someone shares one with me).

Prior to leaving, we had been notified that there was a bad accident on Hwy 5 south of San Clemente and there was about an hour backup. It was hoped that it would be cleared by the time we reached San Clemente, so we followed along on google maps to see if indeed it did clear up. It hadn't, so we decided on a coffee break at Tommy's, an iconic restaurant,  in San Clemente.

Breakfast at Tommy's

Unfortunately we had been unable to text a few of the Morganeers, and they managed to get caught up in the 1 1/2 hour backup of traffic. They claim they enjoyed moving along slowly with an opportunity to enjoy the view, watch some of the Marine exercises, and soak it all up.

Once we had finished breakfast, the traffic had still not abated, so we diverted our route and went up the  windy but beautiful Ortega Hwy (where of course there was construction)  to Lake Elsinore, before heading down Hwy 15 to back on route to Julian. 

Construction on Ortega Hwy

It became quite chilly with some light rain on our way to Julian, and sadly Julian was quite fogged in when we arrived. 

Rain

Husband and I were greeted by the local town historian. Despite the bad weather, we did manage to enjoy the renowned Julian apple pie, a la mode. Meanwhile we had heard that the British had their Morgans, so we bought two apple pies for them to enjoy, as they would miss Julian on their catch up route.

After traversing the Banner Grade and Scissors crossing, we headed through the Anzo Borrego State Park toward Brawley. The skies cleared and the temperature rapidly rose. 

We arrived in Brawley after what was thought to be a short day, close to dinner time.  Many of us headed over to the local Chinese restaurant for dinner, which turned out to be delicious.

MEANWHILE

The five British Morgans were picked up from the docks, taken to the warehouse and the container unpacked. Two couples returned their rental car to the airport then took a cab to the warehouse to pick up their Morgans. The other three made their way to pick up their Morgans as well.

After making their way through rush hour traffic, four Morganeers arrived in Brawley while we were eating dinner...

with the other 3 Morgans arriving after 9 PM freezing cold, exhausted  and 

then having only apple pie for dinner.

We are all just so thrilled to be united again and with our Morgans, 

and one Buorgan (Buick `convertible)