Where I-5 Jewish Stories Are Found

 

SAN DIEGO – Last week, San Diego Jewish World ran the 30th and last installment of Volume I of Schlepping and Schmoozing Along the Interstate 5.  Eventually, the publication will begin serialization of Volume II, which has another 30 stories and, like its predecessor, is available for sale on Amazon. Very soon, perhaps as early as August, Volume III, the last of the trilogy, will also be published.  It too has 30 stories.

So, the three-book series offers 90 stories in all – a mosaic of Jewish life, personalities, and influences along the Interstate 5 corridor from the Mexican border to the Orange County line. It has been a pleasure authoring this trilogy, which has been augmented by the photography of Dr. Ben Dishman and Fred Kropveld, two fellow congregants of Tifereth Israel Synagogue.

The slogan of San Diego Jewish World is “There Is A Jewish Story Everywhere” and this is made apparent if you get off any of the exits of the Interstate 5 in San Diego County.  It should be noted that exits are numbered by their distance from the freeway’s point of origin, in this instance, the U.S. -Mexico border.

Here are the places we visited over the course of the three volumes and found Jewish stories:

Volume I

Exit 0 Tijuana/ San Diego border: Jewish Tijuana
Exit 1B Via San Ysidro: Las Americas Premium Outlets
Exit 2 San Ysidro Blvd: Little Landers Colony
Exit 3 Tocayo Avenue: Mount Olivet Cemetery
Exit 4 Coronado Avenue: Tijuana River Estuary
Exit 5A Palm Avenue: Loews Coronado Bay Resort
Exit 5A Palm Avenue: Hotel del Coronado
Exit 5B Main Street: Sesame Place San Diego
Exit 6 Palomar Street: South Bay Salt Works
Exit 7A L Street: Southwestern College
Exit 7B Marina Parkway: Bayside Park
Exit 8A H Street: Temple Beth Shalom
Exit 8B E Street: Star-News
Exit 10 Mile of Cars Way: Ford Motor Company
Exit 11A Harbor Drive: USS Gabrielle Giffords
Exit 11B Plaza Boulevard: International House of Pancakes
Exit 12  Division Street: Paradise Village
Exit 13B National Avenue/ 28th Street): USNS Harvey Milk
Exit 14B Cesar Chavez Parkway: Chicano Park
Exit 15A J Street: Petco Park
Exit 15B Pershing Drive: Balboa Park
Exit 15B B Street: San Diego City College
Exit 15B B Street: Copley Symphony Hall
Exit 15B B Street: San Diego City Administration Building
Exit 16B 6th Avenue: Ohr Shalom Synagogue
Exit 17A Hawthorn Street: County Administration Building
Exit 17A Hawthorn Street: San Diego International Airport
Exit 17B Sassafras Street: San Diego Unified Port District
Exit 18A Pacific Highway: Old Town Trolley Tours
Exit 18B Washington Street: San Diego County Sheriff’s Museum

Volume II

Exit 19 Old Town Avenue: San Diego County Humane Society
Exit 21 SeaWorld Drive: Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute
Exit 21 Tecolote Road: University of San Diego
Exit 22 Mission Bay Drive: Mission Bay
Exit 23A Grand/Garnet Avenues: Rose Canyon, Rose Creek
Exit 23B Balboa Avenue East: San Diego Mesa College
Exit 26A La Jolla Parkway: Congregation Adat Yeshurun
Exit 26A La Jolla Parkway: Hillel at UCSD
Exit 26A La Jolla Parkway: Yiddishland
Exit 27 Gilman Drive: Congregation Beth El
Exit 27 Gilman Drive: UCSD Jewish Studies Program
Exit 27 Gilman Drive: UCSD Holocaust Living History Workshop
Exit 27 Gilman Drive: Murray Galinson San Diego Israel Initiative
Exit 27 Gilman Drive: Mandell Weiss Performing Arts Center
Exit 28A Nobel Drive: Congregation Beth Israel
Exit 28A Nobel Drive: Torah High School
Exit 28B La Jolla Village Drive: VA Medical Center
Exit 28B La Jolla Village Drive: Lawrence Family JCC (Poets)
Exit 28B La Jolla Village Drive: Lawrence Family JCC (National Leaders)
Exit 28B La Jolla Village Drive: Congregation Dor Hadash
Exit 29 Genesee Avenue: Hebrew Free Loan of San Diego
Exit 29 Genesee Avenue: Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Exit 30 Sorrento Valley Road: El Camino Memorial Park
Exit 30 Sorrento Valley Road: Challenger Middle School
Exit 32 I-5 Bypass: San Diego Jewish Academy
Exit 32 I-5 Bypass: Ken Jewish Community
Exit 34 Del Mar Heights Road: San Diego Outreach Synagogue
Exit 34 Del Mar Heights Road: Congregation Beth Am
Exit 34 Del Mar Heights Road: Jewish National Fund
Exit 36 Via de la Valle: San Diego County Fairgrounds

Volume III

Exit 36 Via de la Valle: Milton’s Delicatessen
Exit 36 Via de la Valle: La Colonia de Eden Gardens
Exit 37 Lomas Santa Fe Drive: Solana Beach Elementary School District
Exit 37 Lomas Santa Fe Drive: North County Repertory Theatre
Exit 37 Lomas Santa Fe: San Dieguito County Park
Exit 38 Manchester Avenue: Mira Costa College
Exit 38 Manchester Avenue: Temple Solel (Rabbi)
Exit 38 Manchester Avenue: Temple Solel (Outreach)
Exit 40 Birmingham Drive: Starbucks
Exit 41A Santa Fe Drive: Rady Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Exit 41B Encinitas Boulevard: Moonlight Beach State Park
Exit 41B Encinitas Boulevard: Seacrest Village Retirement Community
Exit 41B Encinitas Boulevard: Leichtag Commons
Exit 41B Encinitas Boulevard: Coastal Roots Farm
Exit 41B Encinitas Boulevard: The Hive
Exit 43 Leucadia Boulevard: Ross Dress for Less
Exit 44 La Costa Avenue: Chabad of La Costa
Exit 46 Poinsettia Lane: Union Bank
Exit 47 Palomar Airport Road: Polo/ Ralph Lauren Factory Store
Exit 48 Cannon Road: Gemological Institute of America
Exit 49 Tamarack Avenue: Rite Aid
Exit 50 Carlsbad Village Drive: Temple Etz Rimon
Exit 51A Las Flores Drive: Shoppes at Carlsbad
Exit 51C Vista Way: Buena Vista Audubon Nature Center
Exit 52 Oceanside Boulevard: Baskin Robbins
Exit 53 Mission Avenue: Oceanside City Hall
Exit 54A Harbor Drive: Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
Exit 62 Las Pulgas Road: Marine Corps Training Areas
Exit 71 Basilone Road: San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station
Exit 72 Cristianitos Road: Mikveh and Baptism

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Donald H. Harrison is editor emeritus of San Diego Jewish World.  He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com