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Oranges, Avocados and a mountain road at the elevation of 5300 feet (ca. 1700 MueM) ....

We drive HWY 15 up North to Escondido and from there through countless citrus and avocado plantations through Valley Center and Pauma Valley - a very nice area with lots of nice ranges and agricultural farming: a feast for eyes and nose!

Pauma Valley is an unincorporated community between Valley Center and Palomar Mountain in San Diego County, California, United States. The name also refers to an agricultural region comprising citrus and avocado groves, several Indian Reservations, casinos, and a country club.

We then start climbing up Palomar Mountain on a dust and gravel road with our mountain goat (Jeep) to an elevation of 5300 feet. The mountains around us are even higher:
Palomar Mountain is a mountain in the Palomar Mountain Range in northern San Diego County, California. It is most famous as being home to the Palomar Observatory and the giant Hale Telescope. It is also the location of Palomar Mountain State Park, a California state park. It is one of the highest peaks in San Diego County, at 6,140 feet (1,871 m), although it is still dwarfed by the higher 11,500 feet (3,505 m) San Bernardino Mountains a relatively-short distance north in San Bernardino County and Riverside County and the 14,500 feet (4,420 m) high Mount Whitney some 250 mi (402 km) further north.

As in many other areas around San Diego, one of the wild fires of the recent years had hit Palomar Mountains as well.

On the other side the road led us down along Lake Henshaw and through some vast grass land with cows!

An easy day at the beach….. ... watching surfers - young and old, they all seem to enjoy themselves! Plus some other more or less permanent guests at the beach:

One of the most impressive buildings in San Diego - the Mormon Temple!

The temple is located in UTC (University City) area of San Diego, where you can also find a lot of nice apartment buildings.

Please find here some facts about the Temple:
Built: 1988 to 1993
Site:  7.2 acres (about 30’000 m2)
Exterior Finish:  Marble chips in plaster.
Temple Design:  Modern, two-tower design.
Number of Rooms:  Four ordinance rooms and eight sealing.
Total Floor Area:  72,000 square feet (about 6’700 m2)

The San Diego California Temple was the third temple built in California, following the Los Angeles California Temple (1956) and the Oakland California Temple (1964).

On Monday, December 23, 1991, the 186th anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith, a gilded statue of the angel Moroni was installed atop the eastern spire of the San Diego California Temple. Shortly after the setting, a traveling flock of seagulls—a bird of symbolic significance to the Church—circled the new statue about three times before continuing on its course.

Over 720,000 visitors attended the widely publicized open house of the San Diego California Temple in 1993.

The San Diego California Temple was honored as Headliner of the Year for 1993 in the landmark category by the San Diego Press Club.

An afternoon at Lake Murray in La Mesa - just 10 minutes away from our hotel

La Mesa is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. The population was 54,749 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1869 and officially incorporated as a city on February 16, 1912.  Its official flower is the bougainvillea. At the beginning of each October, La Mesa holds their biggest event of the year, Oktoberfest.

Lake Murray is a reservoir in San Diego, California, operated by the City of San Diego’s Water Department. It is a part of Mission Trails Regional Park. At least 149 species of birds have been observed and recorded at Lake Murray. Among other species, the lake supports flocks of the endangered Tricolored Blackbird.