The "Third Temecula"

Old town Temecula (also known as the “Third Temecula,” i.e., the third settlement of what was to become Temecula) was born with the arrival of the California Southern Railroad. Off and on from 1882 into the 1930’s, a shipping line extended from San Diego through Temecula to San Francisco.

A short walk around town took us past the Palomar Hotel, built in 1927,

but our destination on this trip was Old Town Root Beer. Owners John and Cory Montgomery not only have their shelves stocked with some 300 varieties of soda but they also have root beer for sale made from their own family recipe.

We looked through Berghoff, Virgil's, and Filbert's Root Beers and

picked up a few bottles of Nesbitt's orange, Moxie, and Blenheim ginger ale.

A couple blocks away was the town's skating rink with a good number of people skating with or hanging onto fellow skaters.

The Temecula Civic Center was located on a slight hill overlooking the skating rink.

Our visit coincided with the weekly Farmers' Market in the downtown square.

In addition to a variety of vegetables,

available at different booths were foods for a mid-morning snack: kettle korn, crepes, and foods from East Africa.

And a bag of lobsters to go.

I thought these cutting boards were beautiful. Almost too nice to use to touch with a knife.

On my second trip back to look at them, I learned that Presidents Obama, Clinton, and (George W.) Bush all have one of these boards.