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The kitchen and the porch are half of what you rented

The best table in Idyllwild is usually the one at the house. Mountain rentals up here come with a real kitchen and somewhere to sit outside under the trees, and the hour when the light turns gold coming through the pines is worth arranging the rest of the day around. Cook something simple, carry it out, and let dinner take as long as it takes.

This is also the practical answer to the town's hours problem. Kitchens close midweek and in the off season, and an evening that depended on one particular dining room can come apart at six o'clock. An evening that depends on a bag of groceries never does.

Lunch works the same way. Sandwiches carried out to the county park, or up to a granite outcrop with the valley underneath, beat nearly anything you could sit down for in the village. Bring something to sit on. The ground here is granite and pine needles, and neither is comfortable for as long as you will want to stay.

Pack for outside, and check before you count on inside

Pack the outdoor meal properly. Once the sun drops behind the ridge the temperature falls quickly even in summer, so carry layers to the picnic table rather than assuming the warm afternoon will hold through the meal. Wind picks up in the late afternoon on most days here, and it will take a paper plate straight off a deck rail.

Store food indoors and clear the table when you are done. There is wildlife in these woods that takes an active interest in anything left out overnight, and the neighbourly thing is to give it no reason to come closer to the house than it already does.

Check the fire rules before you plan anything involving flame. Grills, fire pits and open burning are restricted as the season dries out, and the restriction can tighten with little warning, so a fire ring in the yard is not by itself permission. And if you do want a night off from cooking, confirm hours the same day rather than driving into the village on a Tuesday and finding the block dark. Your local manager can save you that trip, which is most of what a local manager is for.

Eat on the deck

The kitchen and the porch are half of what you rented

Pack for outside, and check before you count on inside