Once upon a time Alan Serry was living all alone atop Palomar Mountain with his dog Ben ... Meanwhile, lovely Diana just had to have a cabin on Palomar. She walked into church one Sunday morning after closing escrow. Alan nudged my husband and asked with a hopeful look on his face "Who's that?"  A few days later they were both at a Square Dance at the Lodge and soon had 'joined hands to circle the ring'. Some of us saw the fireworks go off and it was no surprise but wonderful to be invited to their oh-so-fun wedding at the Lodge. They have great plans to keep on dancing forever and after enjoying their life together on Palomar Mountain with their dog Ben.

The words 'Happy Birthday' have taken on a new meaning for Jim Mason. He retired from flying with Northwest Airlines, closed escrow on his home on the East Grade, and celebrated his Birthday on the same day! He has lots of projects planned for his property and will be working with his brother piloting his business jet. Jim joins us from Utah where he was so snowed in he couldn't fly his last trip. He loves the Four Seasons but is looking forward to the beauty, with less work, of our Palomar Mountain Southern California snow!

The timing of the sale of Ellen Humphrey's big two story home worked out just perfect with the contractors getting things finished up in her new home. Ellen had so much fun designing and planning all the special touches on a single level this time, and a smaller piece of land to care for which leaves more time for travel!!!  She did a beautiful job decorating with family pieces and treasures she has picked up from her trips. Now that she is retired from teaching, Ellen has lots of plans for more projects while enjoying her life in the country.

Chuck and Teresa Hayman captured me at The Store one day. They just had to have a cabin! They had owned a cabin in the past and missed it so much. Thirty days later they were busy painting, installing carpet, and moving in their new pool table for family fun with their four grown children, their dog, and three cats on the Mountain. Chuck spends his days at Hewlett Packard as a design engineer and Teresa keeps busy the Poway School District.  When I stopped by to snap their picture they had whipped up a traditional scone recipe for Christmas! I went ahead and had one … then TWO more! Yum!!!   

"A home with a fenced yard for two dogs." That's what Pete was looking for when he found his cabin on Palomar. Pete is contractor who works on about 30 homes per year specializing on trimming out doors, moldings and closet systems. He is glad to be close to his work in Pauma and Valley Center but enjoys training his bird dogs out in the country and loves the crisp, cool air these days of Palomar.     

The 'Ship House' on Birch Hill has a new crew!  Ken and Michele and their son Michael and baby Geneva are at the helm with lots of help from Ken's folks, Dick and Elaine Easton. They will be seen often with their motor home and a list of fun projects.  Ken and Michele have great plans for their lot next door to build an observatory. Michele is retired from Qualcomm and is kept very busy with the children and her rose gardens on and off the Mountain. Ken is a principal engineer at Qualcomm looking forward to relaxing at their Mountain retreat with their family. 

Rand and Marissa Green are loving their views from their new home in Valley Center! They have an nice barn for their horses and their 5 acres even came with a John Deere tractor for Rand when he is not at his desk as Department Head for Computers at Palomar College. Marissa teaches third grade in Valley Center but son Kolton steels the show! They promise to bring him up to play in the snow on the Mountain!

He calls himself a 'Woodsman'. The new owner of 'Tom's Cabin', is a perfect fit for Palomar. To say Tom Penna loves the mountains is an understatement. And, his wife Deeanna is so excited about their new lifestyle living here full time enjoying the out of doors with their 3 1/2 year old son, River. You'll see Tom's truck with the sign 'Drywall Doctor' going up and down the grade. I'm sure he is going to be getting quite a bit of work here on the Mountain too. Deeanna has many decorating ideas and plans for their home and also works at an escrow company in Escondido. A big welcome to the Penna's!

Joyce, Constantine and Marina have always wanted their own mountain cabin where they could enjoy nature and escape from the hectic life in San Diego. Joyce is Vice President of Egea Biosciences, Constantine is a senior majoring in Physics at UCSD, and Marina is a happy seventh grader who loves horses and animals. They can't wait to start spending their weekends in their little cabin.  Constantine is even planning to put in his own portable winter ice skating rink (if the weather allows, of course).

Valley Center was getting far too crowed for the Ackermann family. Since Jay camped here as a little boy, he has always wanted to live on the Mountain. Shana also felt that Palomar would be a wonderful community to raise their children. Magon, John, and Nick are enjoying the adventure in their 'Thomas Kincade/Winchester House' at the end of Birch Hill. Jay is with the Vista Fire Department, Shana's our Mountain Avon Lady and she and her daughter have a cleaning business: 'Shana Sweeps and Magon Mops'. The boys love exploring, fixing up their clubhouse, and are working hard helping neighbors park up their property. So, the boys are also available to rake and clear around cabins.

Since moving from Maryland, the Dreikorn family had visited Palomar Mt. many times.  There had been visits to the Observatory and the Park, not to mention the kids attending school camp.  But when Melinda and Bill first made it to the top of Nate Harrison Grade and discovered a pristine and breathtaking property, they felt an instant connection.  Now exploring and maintaining trails when they can be here, they're hopeful of one day residing on Palomar.  Bill works as a Lutheran pastor and psychologist in San Diego.  Melinda is employed as a home health RN with Scripps.  When not following the L.A. Lakers, sons David and Paul enjoy these weekend visits.  Older children Amelia, Jason and Matthew are "out of the nest."  All the Dreikorn's consider this land an exciting and beautiful blessing.

Anthony and Renee have had a home on Palomar for the last couple years. Even though the commute is a long one from Camp Pendleton, they loved the mountain from the first time they visited.  The people of The Mountain welcome  Anthony home from Iraq. He writes in a note to the community: "I have just returned from my deployment, arriving in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, May 22nd to the loving arms of my wife Renee.  She tells me now and wrote to me often while deployed about the outreach by Palomar citizens.  So many of you made gestures of kindness to Renee, to help her if needed or simply show support in my absence, and for that I especially thank you.  It is so nice to live in such a tight community with such caring people.  In my deployment I served with 1st Battalion of the 5th Marines and was among the lead U.S. forces from the southern oil fields all the way through the taking of Baghdad.  Thank you again for the support who have shown my family and for your continued support of the Marines and servicemen who remain deployed abroad.  Semper Fidelis, Anthony Sousa,  1st Lt, USMC"

After paying off their home in Rancho Penasquitos, Burt Hulbert and Pennie Parker thought maybe they should consider buying land in some rural local for their future retirement.  Burt is a San Diego Police Officer and Pennie is a software engineer at Lockheed Martin.  Burt was dreaming of Dulzura because he's a member of South Bay Rod & Gun Club and he was also requesting a weekend trip to Prescott, Ariz because of the nice trees there. But Pennie, being a native of Southern California found neither of these places acceptable.  She told Burt, "Look we have places right here in San Diego County that are much prettier than Prescott and not as hot as east county.  Let me show you."  And that is how they ended up with the 23 acres on Palomar which is commonly known as the "purple gate property".  Burt, after growing up in Massachusetts and eastern Canada was hooked immediately. They hope to build a house on their property and look forward to meeting all the members of the community.