News From Jamul Haven

During April we exhibited at a Bridal Bazaar at Steele Canyon golf course. Steele Canyon is a beautiful location for weddings and receptions, and we compliment them nicely by offering nearby lodging and rehearsal dinners. We’ve done this a couple of times already, and it has been a big hit with the wedding parties.

We also exhibited at the San Diego East County Visitor’s Bureau mixer, and gave away samples of our homemade candy during the event. The candy was a huge hit. In fact, so much so that we’ve decided to look into offering it to our guests instead of the small box of See’s chocolates that we currently offer. We’re currently looking into buying the right candy boxes for this purpose.

Landscaping continues, and the extensive gardens are really starting to become quite beautiful. We have a long way to go before everything is finished, but it’s fun to see the work in progress and watch the change on an almost daily basis.

We’re starting the transition from grand opening rates to our regular rates, beginning with holidays and holiday weekends. However, we are offering a 10% discount off our regular rates (not our grand opening special rates) to returning guests. At some point we’ll automate this, but for now to claim the discount just note in the comment section during checkout that you are a returning guest.

Jamul Haven History, The Birth of the Olive Presses

A statement in “The Canning Clan” at the San Diego Historical Society archives stated: During the early 1890’s – more than a hundred years after the Franciscan Missionaries had proved that Spanish olives would thrive and bear fruit near the seacoast of southern California – C. M. Gifford, growing oranges and grapefruit on his ranch in the Jamacha Valley (now called Jamul) became deeply interested in the horticultural pioneering of departed Franciscans. One day a friend in San Diego persuaded Mr. Gifford to take a pickled olive. Prior to that adventure the Jamacha Valley rancher had known California olives principally at the subject of annual jests. Another source states: Charles M. Gifford, the first man to successfully can olives for commercial sale, arrived in San Diego on January 1, 1888. Charles, his wife Rachel, and their two hildren, Carrie and DeWitt, came here from Cheboygan, Michigan. They purchased and moved onto a Jamacha ranch where they lived for thirteen years. During this time two more children, Ruth and Oriville, were born, and little Carrie passed away.

One day a family friend, ”Grandfather” Wiggins, gave Charlie some pickled olives to eat and talked to him about the process of pickling them. From this conversation Charlie developed a great interest in the possibilities of processing olives for the commercial market. He began to pickle olives, first for his family and friends, then for the San Diego market, hauling them to town via horse and buggy. He also crushed them for olive oil. (San Diego County Pioneer Families,1987)

A third source gives a more detailed version: It was an old Spanish custom of Californians to urge Eastern tenderfeet to “taste a fresh olive right off the tree and see how you feel.” Whereupon the tenderfoot’s mouth would be filled with bitterness. But the pickled olive, while decidedly salty, was so appealing that Mr. Gifford paid particular attention to his neighbor, the American Consul to the Portuguese Azores, who had a small olive grove in bearing. Mr. Gifford purchased three barrels of his neighbor’s olives, pickled them amateurishly but successfully in dairy salt and lye, and peddled them profitably to towns people. By 1894 he discovered himself in the olive oil and pickling business. The “Gifford Olive Mill” in Jamacha Valley, built of adobe bricks during 1895 and equipped with crude machinery ground into oil Mission olives grown by San Diego County ranches. The Mill also pickled fruit in the Spanish fashion; that is, fermented in brine. (The Canning Clan, The Canning of the Ancient Olive, San Diego Historical Society, Subject Files, Agriculture: Olives)

We’ll be learning more about the neighbors referenced above in a future article, but that’s all we have time for this month.

Romantic Getaway #5: Get that Adrenaline Pumping

Adrenaline filled dates can sometimes be romantic in their own way, pulling the two of you together as you conquer fear together. Have the two of you each put together a list of "fear factor" activities that are high on adrenaline. Focus on activities that are scary, but in reality relatively safe even for a novice. Then, put those papers into a hat and begin pulling them out one by one after promising each other to do whatever activities are randomly selected no matter what. When you feel like you've got enough activities to fill up your time, that's your agenda for the day. Some ideas to get you started:

Rock climbing at an indoor rock climbing gym in San Diego;

Attend the Red Bull Airshow (see the events column in this newsletter);

Head down to Brown field and try sky diving;

Go on a go-cart ride;

Take a hot air balloon ride; or

Go hang gliding from Torrey Pines Glider Port.

Anyway, I'm sure you get the idea and you can both come up with your own wild ideas.

Jazz Music Special

Enjoy a weekend at Jamul Haven plus an evening of Jazz Piano. May 31st legendary jazz pianist John Coates will be playing. Your stay at Jamul Haven includes the concert tickets, shuttle service to the concert (the concert is about 3 miles away from Jamul Haven), and VIP seating. There is no extra charge for this option, just let us know you are interested in the Jazz Package when making your reservations. And of course, our rooms always include happy hour from 5:00 until 6:00 with free drinks and appetizers, plus a full gourmet breakfast each morning.

In This Issue:

Upcoming Local Events

Selected fun San Diego events that are worth a trip.

5/3 and 5/4, Red Bull Air races. Watch insane pilots fly through a an air racetrack. More details at www.redbullairrace.com.

5/14, Taste of Little Italy: Come to hip and historic Little Italy, where traditional Italian restaurants rub shoulders with eclectic eateries. Taste of Little Italy gives you an opportunity to discover the palette of dining possibilities as you enjoy samples offered by Little Italy’s restaurants. Appetizers, desserts and specialty beverages will be offered as you stroll through the district’s tree-lined streets. This event goes from 5:00pm to 9:00pm.

6/06, Ketner Nights, San Diego's Little Italy. Art galleries in San Diego's art district open their doors and give you a chance to talk to the artists.

5/31, 8PM, Legendary Jazz pianist John Coates, Jr. performs at Cuyamaca college.

7/19-7/20 Gay Pride parade and festival http://sandiegopride.org/

Jamul Haven Specials

We are continuing to offer our introductory rate special of $199 per night, holidays excluded, which includes a gourmet breakfast for two cooked to order.

Innkeeper Update

Willliam has been spending weekdays up in Sacramento doing some consulting work for a State agency (or paying off some credit cards, as he puts it). The good thing is that this gives him lots of time at night to work on finishing the final play, Pound, in his poet play series. Marianne tells people that he's just "Pounding away," (pun intended).

Regina's becomming a problem in school. She keeps needing to go to the Dean to get special approval to take the large number of classes she wants to take simultaneously.

Liz has settled into Jacksonville, FL to begin learning how to fly the P-3. She just finished SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape) school, which is sort of the Navy's equivalent of an Outward Bound adventure in the woods. It looks like her husband Daniel will be based out of Costa Rico, so they'll be limited to seeing each other on the weekends for awhile.

Will's looking for a job in a coffee shop or bookstore, so if you know any openings in the San Diego area let us know.

John's been playing the drums as a pickup player at a local nightspot one night a week.

In The News

For links to articles and reviews, visit http://www.jamulhaven.com/links.html.

Hints from Yesteryear

Hints from "The Everyday Cook-Book," (c) 1889 and found in the Jamul Haven Angel House.

For cleaning jewelry there is nothing better than ammonia and water. If very dull and dirty, rub a little soap on a soft brush and brush them in this wash, rinse in cold water, dry first in an old handkerchief, and then rub with buck or chamois skin. Their freshness and brilliancy when thus cleaned cannot be surpassed by any compound used by jewelers.

Recipies from Yesteryear

Recipies from "The Everyday Cook-Book," (c) 1889 and found in the Jamul Haven Angel House.

Curried Lobster: Pick out the meat of two red lobsters from the shells into a shallow sauce-pan, in the bottom of which has been placed a thin slice of tasty ham, with a little Cayenne pepper and a teasponful of salt. Mix up half a cupful of white soup and half a cupful of cream and pour over the meat. Put it on the fire and let it simmer for about an hour, when you will add a dessert-spoonful of curry, and another of flour rubbed smooth in a little of the liquor taken out of the pot; in three minutes the curry will be ready to dish.