Lovely 3 Bed home in San Diego, USA

HOUSE INTERIOR Our two-story, air-conditioned home of about 2,200 square feet was built in 1993. We have been the sole owners. The ground-level floor has an entryway, a living room/dining area with a two-story plus ceiling height, a modern kitchen/breakfast area (stove top, oven, microwave, dishwasher, refrigerator/freezer, and small kitchen appliances), a family room with a gas-log fireplace and TV/DVD, a guest room (Oriental décor and standard double bed), a full bath en suite, a small laundry room (with washer, dryer, and sink), and a three-car garage (occupied by a Ford Taurus 2009 that seats 4 or 5 with luggage), a freezer, and a workshop with TV and radio). The upstairs has a master bedroom (with king-size bed, TV and VCR, clock radio, large bath/dressing area en suite with two wash basins, large tub, and separate shower, and walk-in closet that has a small microwave and refrigerator), two rooms used as offices (with desks, computers, printers, etc.), another full bath with two wash basins, and a large room which serves as a library and play/sleeping area for grandchildren. This room also has a TV and VCR. It has a couch/futon, and game table with chairs. We have two single folding beds which can be set up for sleeping there.

We are now empty nesters as our three sons are 55-59, with their own families, but happily our five grandsons often visit us with or without their parents. George is a retired transportation engineer/planner/administrator. He is our principal gardener. Our principal activities now include genealogy research, participating as docents at local historical sites, and Los Californianos (an organization of descendants of the 1769-1848 Hispanic settlers of California). We have spent two years in Vietnam (before the U.S. participation in the war there) and four years in Saudi Arabia (also before the war there), so we have a variety of decorative items from the Near and Far East throughout the house.

YARD AND NEIGHBORHOOD Going to the outside, the exterior is of California/Spanish style, stucco with concrete tile roof with solar panels. Our yard is landscaped for low water use, no lawn (San Diego is a desert with an average rainfall of about 23 cm.) with an open patio in back and a gazebo with a hot tub (shut down now because of water shortages), but the planted areas are very green and shady. The yard is on a computerized sprayer and watering system. The house is part of a development in a canyon of Black Mountain. (a very modest mountain by western U.S. standards, it's only about 300 meters above sea level) and is on a dead-end street. Our backyard is frequently visited by wild animals such as ground squirrels and rabbits in the daytime; opossums, raccoons, and skunks at night, and an occasional coyote. We have several different kinds of bird feeders and enjoy watching the backyard activity from the breakfast area.

This part of San Diego is called Rancho Peñasquitos after a Mexican land grant. It is a relatively new (1990s) suburb of mixed ethnic backgrounds and upper middle income. There is a City of San Diego Park about 250 meters up the hill from us with a children's play area (slides, swings, etc.), large grass field, basketball hoops, etc. Down the hill are three schools (kindergarten through high school) and a City gymnasium. A golf course, YMCA swimming pool/gymn complex, tennis courts, another gymnasium, soccer fields, horse rental, and hiking trails are all within a few miles. The neighborhood shopping area is about 1.4 km away and the regional shopping is about 7 km away.

TRANSPORTATION AND TRAVEL This is auto-oriented Southern California and public transportation is very poor by European standards. Therefore, travel by auto is necessary to most destinations north of Mission Valley (which has large shopping complexes and is served by the light rail system). Travel to Mexico should be by light rail from this Mission Valley area as taking our car across into Mexico might give problems because of ownership. (Mexico is very sensitive about entry of U.S. autos because of possible resale to avoid their import tax.) Travel time to various places of interest is about as follows (during the off-peak, there can be congestion delays during the morning and afternoon commuting times): Amtrak and local passenger rail stations - 25 minutes ; Arizona by auto - 6 hours ; Balboa Park (site of art, natural history, aerospace, and other museums) - 45 minutes ; Beaches - 25 minutes (although some are farther away) ; Desert (the true, sandy desert, Anza Borrego Park) - 2¼ hours ; Disneyland by auto - 2 hours ; Grand Canyon by auto - 7½ hours ; High Sierras by auto - 6 hours ; Knott's Berry Farm by auto - 2 hours ; La Jolla Aquarium - 30 minutes ; Las Vegas by auto - 6 hours ; Legoland/Carlsbad - 40 minutes ; Los Angeles by auto - 2½ hours; by rail - 3 hours (including travel to station) ; Mexico - about 30 minutes by car to light rail line and another 30 minutes by rail (or 45 minutes by auto to border parking) ; Mission Bay Aquatic Park - 30 minutes ; Mountains - 1½ hours ; Old San Diego, Mission San Diego, and Presidio Park - 30 minutes ; San Diego Zoo - 45 minutes ; San Francisco by air - 2½ hours from house (1 hour flight); by auto - 9 hours; by train via Santa Barbara - 11 hours; San Pasqual Wild Animal Park (an open-space park developed by the Zoo).

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