Near Dateland

My sweetie and I walked 4.87 miles today around the Hillcrest area of San Diego. 

We saw a cute little store called "Creative Crossroads," at 502 University Ave.  It's an eclectic shop, with the creative, hand-made art pieces and craft work of over 33 local artists.  You will find one-of-a-kind pieces there of glass, wood, metal, vinyl, and paint and ink.  We loved the steam-punk lamps, vinyl record clocks, fused glass kitchenware, hand-crafted soaps and creams, and so much more.  Stop by, if you're in San Diego, and support our local artist community!

Here's a link to their Facebook page.

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On the mapped journey from San Diego to Washington D.C., 4.87 more miles along the Dateland Ranch Rd. took us a bit closer toward Phoenix.  

Dateland, an unincorporated community in Yuma County, Arizona (Wikipedia), has an interesting history (History of Dateland) .  In the 1920s, it was a water stop along the road and railroad lines.

During the 1940's, Dateland Arizona was the site for two of General Patton's desert training camps, Camp Horn and Camp Hyder. 

This was the largest Army base in the world covering some 18,000 square miles. It stretched from the outskirts of Pomona, California eastward to within 50 miles of Phoenix, Arizona, southward to the suburbs of Yuma, Arizona and northward into Nevada.

In addition, in 1942, three airstrips were built in Dateland for training B25 Bombers. Unfortunately, the airfields were only utilized for about two months. The buildings that were built for the airstrips were later used as part of an Italian internment camp. Of course, all of the buildings are long gone, but the airstrips, and many of the original foundations are still in existence.  History of Dateland

And, yes, you can buy dates in Dateland that come from the local date palm ranch.  If you're driving, you can't miss the Dateland exit.  You might stop in for gas, a date shake, or some sweet dates.