Ikea One of a Kind

If you leave La Mesa and head west, you will be in the city of San Diego, and you'll eventually reach the area with the stadium that used to be called Jack Murphy stadium, but it's now called Qualcomm. Near this place is a famous store where you can get all your home furnishings at decent prices. It is Ikea!

Ikea is the store to go to for all of those things. Many things in that store are designed like no other. It is definitely hands on, as you need to put many of the things you buy from there together.  There are two levels to Ikea. It is a big warehouse with rooms set up to walk through and try out yourself. It is so neat. Many people go to Ikea. They have a dining area where they serve food to their guests.

You can get free coffee or tea if you have an Ikea membership card. That's a plus. There is an elevator if you need it. Sometimes they have specials that you can get. It's great to sit on the furniture and try out almost everything, such as the kitchen cupboards, to see how they place things for good storage.

One other thing they have there is great space saving furniture and gadgets. For example, they have a small 500 square foot apartment to walk through that is designed the Ikea way. There is a small livingroom, a kitchen, one bathroom with two small bedrooms on either side. If you watch my videos below you will be able to see all of the features for yourself. Enjoy!!

Ikea Part 1
Ikea Part 2

Lindo Lake in Lakeside

If you drive through El Cajon, you will eventually reach Lakeside, California which happens to have a lake in it called Lindo Lake. People walk, bike and maybe jog around the lake there. There are a few new additions to the lake since I last visited it. There is a workout area with exercise machines right outside that don't need anything but your own body weight to do. And what a view while you workout!! The lake and the wildlife around it are the wonderful views you will see. You can park a motorhome while visiting the lake. Also people park their cars within Lindo Lake park while they are there for a short visit. They might be taking a nice stroll through there. Guys and gals can go there together for a nice time with each other in beautiful surroundings. Families can have picnics there too. The wildlife that is there includes animals such as geese, ducks, sea gulls, squirrels, and pigeons. Some of the trees there are wonderfully big and tall, but not as big as the Redwood Forest in northern California. Watch out for the squirrel holes in the park. You might just see a squirrel popping its head out to look around and popping fast as a whisker back in if it's frightened.

Here are some links to watch some videos of my visit.
Lindo Lake Part 1
Lindo Lake Part 2 
Lindo Lake Part 3

El Cajon Civic Center

At the El Cajon Civic center, once in a while you can see live performances of various kinds. There is a pond nearby the Civic Center with a few ducks and some benches. With the grass and the wildlife, such as ducks, and the part of the pond that still exists, you can enjoy a relaxing time in the middle of the city. Recent construction of a police station nearby the Civic Center has taken away part of our beloved pond that I had fond memories of when my children were little. Here are a few pictures of my son and I at the park in the middle of the city where you can also enjoy some city life too shopping or eating out at some nice restaurants close by.

El Cajon is a city that is right next to La Mesa. So take a drive over to the city of El Cajon, California and visit some restaurants there and take a little time out of your day to reflect on things by sitting down on one of the benches there at the pond and just enjoy nature!!

Lake Murray in La Mesa

Lake Murray is a nice place to visit. You can sit and relax, watch the ducks and swans, have a picnic, or whatever you feel like doing at a park. The lake is nice and calm. For exercise, there is a bike path to ride your bike on around the lake or you can choose to just walk or jog instead. You can rent a bike there too if you don't have one with you. When walking, jogging, or biking around the lake, you will at one point have to turn around and come back because there is a water treatment facility there. People go out on small boats on the lake. They like to fish on the lake too. There is a dock to walk out on if you want to fish from that. You can barbecue at the lake while having your picnic. I've even seen a family with a motorhome at the lake enjoying their surroundings. It is very busy on holidays. So if you want to go visit when less people are there, then it would be best to go on weekdays maybe during the day. Here are some pictures of the lake.

If you live near the lake in either a house or apartment, it is very close to go and enjoy nature. So if you visit here, go enjoy nature and be outside with the fish, the ducks, and your family and friends!!
If you live farther away, you'll have to drive there, but it's not that hard to find. Just use google maps or yahoo maps to find the directions.

Going Out to visit the Deserts in California

Leave the city and go to visit the high desert town of Jacumba. Jacumba has a hot springs hotel where you can soak in mineral water, spend the night if you choose to, or pay fifteen dollars to use the mineral baths for the day. You can eat at the restaurant there, talk to the locals, and take in some peace and quiet. While there you can also visit the Desert View Tower just a little further up the highway after Jacumba headed east. Here are some pictures showing some of the artwork done on the rocks there where you can venture into at your own risk for a short thrill.

There is a really good view of the desert of California from here on the mountains of Jacumba.
Below is a view from up at the desert tower of the highway that travelers use, Highway 8.

You can also see the border between the United States and Mexico with the fence that is up while driving alongside Old Highway 80. All in all, Jacumba is a cool place to visit. You can go and unwind from all the pressures of city life.

An Awesome Place to Live

Living in the city of La Mesa in California is wonderful because of the ease of transportation with trolley lines close by and buses too.

There are also many businesses within close range, like a Walmart and Target store at a mall and other grocery stores nearby.

Apartment living in this city is awesome. People walk their dogs and other people just simply walk. There are numerous Starbucks in the area if you like their products, coffee, tea, etc. Other businesses nearby are a pizza place Sammy's Woodfired Pizza and a PetCo. too. Best Buy store and also a Farmers Market. There are lots of stores in the mall there too.
This mall is called Grossmont mall and there is a movie theater there so you can go and have fun watching movies on the big screen! This mall decorates for the holidays and they even light up their outside palm trees at night. There is a mexican restaurant nearby the mall too that has performers there once in a while.

There is nature to enjoy in La Mesa at Mission Trails. Here's a picture of the mountain you can venture up onto while there.

On one trail at Mission Trails you can visit the dam. Here are a few pics of the trail and dam.

Visiting the dam at Mission Trails video link:  Mission Trails Dam