Do All Towns Starting With "T" Look Alike?

The Temecula Rite Aid (in the Stater Bros shopping center on 79S/Temecula Parkway) appears to be a great place to stock up on all of your Temecula merchandise:



Including tees:



Maybe they stored them alphabetically in the warehouse and this one got thrown on the Temecula truck by mistake:



Turlock is a Central Valley town which is home to the world's dwindling Assyrian (not Syrian, ASSYRIAN) population. It is also some 400 miles from Temecula.

We used to know folks from Turlock. And coincidentally I just picked up this Turlockian pita bread when we were in Glendale the other day, before I spotted the shirt at Rite Aid:



Now if only they'd import the pita bread to Temecula...

Off the Beaten Path: Temecula's Rose Haven Heritage Garden

Tucked away just off busy Temecula Parkway (formerly highway 79 South) is a beautiful rose garden tended by the experts of the Temecula Valley Rose Society.









Sprawling ranch-style houses dominate here, and larger McMansions dot the hills just above this horsey neighborhood. These immediate neighbors to the rose garden have playful horses who greeted us when we arrived.

These neighbors across Ynez/De Portola have llamas:















One of the things I miss about living in Riverside is UCR's terrific botanic garden. It was one of my favorite relaxation spots and Eva, who came home from the hospital to our Canyon Crest apartment and lived there until she was 15 months old, toddled around on the grass there on many lazy afternoons.

Rose Haven's focus is definitely on roses, but they do have other natives which make good rose companions, so I can get a taste of my botanic garden fix just five minutes from home.







I have a spot at home where I want to grow sprawly ground cover roses like these:







"Look, Mom! Frogpoles!" Jane couldn't linger too long because she was art director for my Salada Tea spokesperson contest 30 second video entry. (Our rose garden attempt had too much wind noise in the background, unfortunately. We're still working on it.)



The Temecula Valley Rose Society's Rose Haven Heritage Garden is located at 30592 Jedediah Smith (near the intersection of Jedediah Smith and Ynez/De Portola.) Open daily.

Temecula Old Pacific Coffee (79 South/Temecula Parkway) Closed

Sorry to see you go.