We were so surprised by the beautiful topography of Temecula that we added an extra day here to explore the surrounding mountains, look at real estate, and check out the local stores. The city of 100,000 or so people is surrounded by beautiful estates, vineyards, and farms growing citrus and avocado. It’s roughly 1-2 hours away from San Diego, Laguna Beach, Los Angeles, Disneyland, Big Bear Lake, Palm Springs, and practically anything else you’d want to do. If you’re in the mood for a road trip, Las Vegas is only 280 miles away.
[mainbodyad]The basic necessities of life are nearby – an Apple store, a Williams-Sonoma, and a Costco. And both my internal candy aficionado and Berkshire Hathaway shareholder were ecstatic to see a See’s Candies shop. The school district is supposedly good. We haven’t, yet, had time to explore the famous 19th century downtown or go out and walk one of the wineries but we’ll definitely be returning to Temecula in the future. I’m going to go back to Kansas City and, along with a handful of other places we’ve visited, pull marketplace data on everything from aggregate retail sales to median educational attainment to get an idea of the character of the community.
To get the full effect, click the pictures to view the bigger versions. I had no idea … just like the pictures of Laguna Beach, etc., two days ago, the photographs don’t do it justice.
We decided to drive out and look at some of the estates for sale in the mountains so we plugged in one of the addresses and let the GPS take over as we looked through town …
Being from the Midwest where there is nothing on the horizon except big sky, it’s crazy to see hills and mountains. I really enjoy it. It makes things a lot more interesting.
The Temecula area in the background as we ascend one of the mountains …
We couldn’t get over how beautiful the winding roads with flowering bushes and vineyards were. After awhile, we randomly began taking turns, exploring the rural paths and it all looked like this …
I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many flowers by a highway in Missouri … it feels like a movie or something.
There was a Kentucky-style fence around one of the properties that I liked a lot … it made me feel more at home.
It’s such an odd mix seeing that fence style with palm trees and mountains. My mind associates it with lush, emerald green fields of grass, horse trails, and big plantation-style houses at the end of winding driveways.
More roadside flora …
There were some sharp turns up in the mountains. At one point, we ended up on a road with no guard rail and a several hundred foot drop that was not our cup of tea. When we finally reached the apex, there was this house overlooking everything. That is not a commute I would want, especially at night.
The agriculture industry in Temecula is impressive …
This house reminded me of something out of a Disney story. You round a corner after not seeing anything for awhile and there it is, nestled into the side of the hill.
California is, without question, the most beautiful state in the United States.
More white fences in the Temecula countryside …
On our way back down, sometimes you’d get a long-range view of something like this.
We drove through random neighborhoods in the city limits, too, and even the plants in the community add to the appeal. This sort of thing couldn’t happen in Kansas City because, as the Starks would say, “Winter is coming.” When it arrives, nothing survives by sometimes -30 degree Fahrenheit windchill, sleet, and snow.
In my hometown, you’d see tomato and corn stands. It’s nice to see fresh fruit everywhere.
Driving through the neighborhoods, a lot of the houses are done in either Spanish Revival or Mediterranean styles … I wonder, is it purely an aesthetic thing in the culture or is there some sort of inherent advantage to it? It’s not like Adobe, which made sense in the Mexican desert. I’ll need to research this.
I like seeing the palm trees …
More random neighborhoods we passed through to see how the real heart of the city looked …
We stopped and picked up some bottled water, highlighters, and a few other items for the remaining days of the roadtrip at the Temecula Costco this morning …
I never understood why everyone kept talking about the Costco food service. Earlier in the morning, haven not eaten, and a full day ahead of us, Aaron and I figured we’d grab something while we bought supplies for the road. I get it now. We each got a hot dog (he went with the hot dog, I tried the polish dog), drink (with free refill, which neither of us used), and strawberry sunday for $3.15 per person. The economies of scale required to deliver that price are staggering; a miracle of modern capitalism. It was so much food (something like 1,200 calories) we could hardly eat for another 7-8 hours. It may not be the healthiest option, but the value is unlike anything, anywhere.
We needed to run over and get an cable to play the iPad navigation instructions through the sound system so neither of us had to deal with it during the drive, focusing on the communities, instead. This is a nice area. I’m going to be fairly content any place that has an Apple store near a Williams-Sonoma …
There’s an outdoor and indoor shopping area, which is nice.
I wanted to check out the local movie theater, which is about a block or two from here, but we ran out of time before we have to move on so it will be something that happens on a return visit …
I loved this view from one of the roads we turned on before heading back to the hotel …
We’re saying goodbye to Temecula for the moment … we’ll stay here tonight and checkout in the morning.
We’re on to the next city. I may not have Internet access for most of the day but I’m going through the comments and messages you have sent me, adding certain towns to the list and making notes. Again, I really appreciate the suggestions and help! If I can get LTE on the highway, I’ll try and respond as best I can.
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