Temecula, CA if you don’t drink wine?

Depending when you’ll be here, you can see the poppies blooming around Temecula and Lake Elsinore. It is a big attraction in the spring.

On the west side of the 15 freeway is Old Town Temecula. Shops and restaurants. I have friends that like to go to Public House in Old Town to eat.

If you want to gamble a little, there is Pechanga Casino. They have a pretty good Chinese restaurant.

Other than that, I don’t have much more. Sorry, no other restaurant recommendations.

I had a mini-reunion with high school friends a few years ago in that general area, and one of the things we did was spend a day getting massages and having mud baths at glenivy.com/ It was a relaxing way to spend our day together! (One tip if you do decide to go, take an old bathing suit to wear for the mud baths--they can stain lighter coloured suits, so I just wore an old one and threw it away at the end of the day.)

Murietta hot springs resort has reopened and is supposed to be really nice. Just another option in the area and very close to Temecula.

ETA. The traffic to San Diego and the Safari Park can be bad especially weekdays and after 10 on the weekends. There is at least one lane closed going South and it can add 30-60 minutes to your drive. Going back north I would say traffic starts closer to 2 and yes Fridays are the worst.

Restaurant recommendations it totally depends on what you are looking for. In Old Town we really like the Gambling Cowboy it’s a good steakhouse, the Mexico Cafe near Pechanga is our favorite Nexican restaurant - they have happy hour and on Sundays a nice brunch buffet. I haven’t been there in a while but the Goat and Vine in Old town has good specialty pizzas.

Pechanga is one of the largest casinos in California and is smoke free if that is something that might interest you.

If you drive to Carlsbad, go to The Flower Fields. Acres and acres of ranunculus will be in bloom in the coming weeks. It’s incredibly beautiful!!

www.theflowerfields.com/

I don’t know if they are still having soccer tournaments but it has really messed up traffic headed out that way. It’s a narrow two lane road that gets backed up for miles. Locals have been complaining about it. I don’t normally go out but it has been backing up the past few weekends even before it narrows to two lanes. They have a nice storefront in old town and they will let you sample oils and vinegars and it’s a lot of fun. There are at least two olive oil places in Old Town but the Temecula Olive Oil company is nicer. Saturday morning there is a farmers market in old town it can be fun but obviously makes parking more difficult. If you don’t mind walking there are several larger lots and a parking structure. Be careful to avoid the pay lots as they charge insane prices.

Stone Brewery (can’t remember how far it is from Temecula) has good food. You don’t have to have alcohol. I’m a non drinker.