The Desert View Tower, built in the 1920's, offers a stunning view of the Anza Borrego Desert. It's…read morealso currently available on a short-term rental website listed as "Lighthouse in Jacumba, CA"! If you're driving by, it's worth a stop. Free to look around the grounds and giftshop; but there is a fee to climb to the top for the best and most expansive view ($9.50 as of this writing). The tower is next to "Boulder Park" featuring some truly hideous sculptures created by an unemployed engineer during the depression. The boulders are much more notable for what may be cupules created by Native Americans, cups that are carved out of rock as part of ceremonies and rituals. A smattering of animals live on the grounds including chickens and peacocks. Free parking.

I've been trying to figure out what to write about this fun little stop an hour east of San Diego…read more It's a wonderful piece of history and definitely worth exploring. My husband and I enjoyed our visit quite a bit. We paid the fee to climb to the top of the tower and go exploring the boulders on the property as well. The tower interior is home to a magical shop full of antiques and second-hand treasures. The boulders next to the tower are fun to explore and have lots of animals painted onto the boulders in the shapes of various animals. As you can tell we really enjoyed our visit BUT... The one road in and out of the Desert View Tower property is absolutely littered on both sides with (maybe) abandoned motor homes, shanties, and whole collections of god-only-knows-what! And the road itself is like driving on the surface of the moon. I felt like I was driving into a scene of "The Hills Have Eyes" (kids ask your Gen X parents about that one). Seriously... I thought we might be murdered and eaten! But if you're feeling brave, come well-armed, and are willing to pop a tire and ruin your suspension, it's a GREAT place to visit!

I stopped through El Cajon while traveling, and it definitely has a laid-back, working-class vibe…read morethat feels quite different from the coastal parts of San Diego. It's tucked away in a valley, so it gets a fair bit warmer than the beach towns, which is something to keep in mind if you're sensitive to the heat. I spent some time checking out the local shops and grabbing a bite, and it's a pretty down-to-earth place without the typical tourist crowds. It isn't really a flashy destination, but it makes for a decent, low-key stop if you're passing through the area. It feels like a genuine slice of Southern California that's mostly just focused on everyday life.

Laura and Marcella were so helpful. It was the day before a holiday and they went above and beyond…read moreto help process paperwork and get things done for me. Both were friendly and had smiles. You don't see this often. What a pleasure it was to work with these women.

GREAT VILLAGE! I'm really happy with La Mesa's neat little village and surrounding neighborhoods…read more They have character and don't feel like dull, modern suburbs. I kind of got a classic retro feel, but not in annoying way. There's a lot of inclines and declines on some of the streets so be aware of that if you visit. The inclines and tight streets got a little irritating but were manageable in the end. I got to walk around the community a little bit during Oktoberfest, it was super quiet and relaxed. I had several nice strolls. My most recent visit was during the fall season and I'm not going to lie it's getting hotter and hotter here, it was almost in the hundreds on my thermostat! I repeat CA weather is NOT perfect, that's a major lie. Most of the community was pretty polite, we ran into one very friendly lady during Oktoberfest and she was honestly super gracious and welcoming!

The city of La Mesa is a pretty decent sized city located about 10 miles east from Downtown San…read moreDiego. It has some good shopping centers, malls, grocery markets & eatries. Also, know for its downtown village. Where a lot of unique shops are located. Overall, it is a decent city to explore.

Libraries are more than buildings full of books. They are places of refuge…read more This San Ysidro Public Library. I put in a Yelp edit to identify the business properly. Friends of the library is within this Library dwelling. I came to this library today and found nine people waiting outside, only to learn that the branch is closing for a week for maintenance. But what struck me was who was waiting: mothers with children, older adults with their chess boards, and someone who appeared to be experiencing homelessness. That is community. I actually came for a specific reason: to verify their free adult literacy services. I learned that the San Diego Public Library's adult literacy program provides three hours per week of individualized literacy coaching at no cost. Think about that. Someone who struggles to read can walk into a public library and receive one-on-one help, free. So when someone asks, "What do libraries do besides house books?" This. This is what they do. They provide literacy, connection, shelter, learning, technology, and a place to simply belong. And when libraries show up on a ballot asking for funding to keep their doors open, remember the nine people who were waiting outside before the doors even opened. Even if you don't use the library, somebody in your community does.

Mary is an amazing person and everyone who is a part of the La Mesa Chamber are all very kind and…read moregreat to be apart of. We have been Chamber members for several years and recommend the Chamber to all for any persons needs. The La Mesa Chamber is full of great business' and anything you need can be found through them. Very highly recommended,

Nobody works harder than Mary England to promote businesses. I have belonged to a few chamber of…read morecommerce over the years; this is the best chamber of commerce I have belonged to. Not only Mary promotes every business under her COC, but she knows specifically what each business needs are and works hard to help them. She often visits businesses to do Instagram videos to properly promote them. She visits with members often, and she hosts business mixers so all the members get to know/support each other. Kudos to Mary on a job well done! If you need to grow your business, make sure you have a chat with Mary; you will be happy you did.

CANCELLED Mother Goose Parade AGAIN!! Absolute shame . Get it together people. This has been a…read morelong time tradition for so long. Our children are being robbed of a beautiful event.

I lived here once, and near here the rest of the time…read more "The Drawer"(or box, or most colorfully of all, coffin; in this last meaning it shares a name with a villain on the A-Team) is tightly constrained by its smallish valley topography from where it derives its name. As the city is hemmed in past every hillside by other communities, it can't begin a sprawl -- El Cajon's growing up, not out. Next among its disadvantages is its climate. While a half-hour away from the coast or the mountains, EC gets the worst of both worlds. It's dry and a permanent, smoggy santa ana in the summer while bitter cold in the winter. Also, it's hard to argue with the conventional wisdom that EC is less interesting than most of its neighbors. Cultural trends reach it slowly, only after taking root in its more fertile surroundings. The city has filled the role of the long-term butt of jokes in the local media ("El Cajon's latest scoop: Vanilla."), who see the town as comfortingly (if not accurately) stuck in an earlier decade, its stereotypes celebrated even today. As an illustration... Things easily found in the EC: authentic dive bars metal tees middle-eastern restaurants & grocers unarius used media shops yogurt mill Things not easily found in the EC: bookstores fine dining hipsters indie coffee shops (perhaps these two are correlated) most ethnic cuisines Still, for all the staid small-townness, El Cajon regularly attempts renewal of its downtown. The construction of the new city hall (and its much larger sister, the locally-infamous pasteboard-wall jail) in the 70s kicked off the first big wave. This started a cycle of renewal at the Main and Magnolia center of town, expanding out a block or so every decade. By the 80s they rebuilt the aging shopping center a block north on Magnolia (leading to the ill-fated Krikorian multiplex and now best known for its Rubios), and then returned to slowly crawling west along Main in the 90s. The 21st century has so far seen the EC attempt shedding some more of its small-townity, with mixed results as it begins an ambitious 30-year proposal to rebuilt the Main Street corridor by adding row homes and encourages a theater dining for ECPAC in the city center. If completed, a planned, modern, pedestrian-friendly downtown could lead to a comparatively cosmopolitan EC Valley. I hope it is successful.

This is a nice plaza at SDSU. You can usually find a lot of clubs/organizations here flyering. This…read moreis one of the busier walkways at state so sometimes there is a lot of traffic especially during peak hours. There's also a lot of seating so if you want to study or relax outside you can.

Public square on the campus of SDSU designated to honor and commemorate the 100 year anniversary of…read morethe California State University institution of higher education

My son and I visited a week ago Saturday. Carol gave us the tour of the barn. There were many cool…read morehistorical items in the museum. Items from when it was a dairy farm, part of the Edgemoor Hospital and Photos of documents of Santee history. I would love to add photos to my review, but can't see how.