For those who find themselves traveling in southern California, there exist many reasons for planning to visit La Mesa, California. La Mesa, CA enjoys a proximity to many interesting attractions. Hence anyone who chooses to visit La Mesa, California creates a terrific starting point for numerous local trips.

La Mesa, CA, the "Jewel of the Hills," sits on an elevated section of land that is just 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean. In addition, La Mesa, a town that lies just east of San Diego is only 25 miles from Mexico. So someone who has chosen to stay at lodging in La Mesa, CA could easily plan one day trip to Mexico and another day at the beach.

If a traveling family has found that these long, full-day excursions have exhausted much of the family's energy, then it can plan to take-in some of the other tourist spots that lie close to La Mesa, CA. Perhaps the biggest plus to a stay in La Mesa stems from the city's proximity to the San Diego Zoo. The popular creatures at in that zoological garden are pleased to show-off for any visitors from La Mesa. So a stay in La Mesa should be planned with that fact in mind.

While the San Diego Zoo is just 9 miles from La Mesa, CA, other tourist spots are also close-by. Some of those tourist spots offer a glimpse of animals that are not normally found at the Zoo. For example, the Birch Aquarium, which is just 14 miles from La Mesa, CA, has many exotic fish. The Chula Vista Nature Center, which is just 10.4 miles from La Mesa, allows visitors to examine closely many of the local California fauna.

During a stay in La Mesa, CA, the traveler might want to request directions to a restaurant that serves plum pudding. That dish should be especially tasty in La Mesa, because the plum tree is the city's official tree. For those travelers who need to limit their intake of high calorie foods, a visit to a local farmers' market would be in order. There the traveler could purchase some La Mesa plums.

For families with small children a visit to a local nursery might serve as both a fun and educational experience. The operators of the nursery could be asked to show the family exactly what a plum tree looks like. If children could see that a plum grows on a tree, while a tomato grows on a plant or a vine, then they would understand more than those who introduced tomatoes to the people of Persia.  They allowed the people of Persia to call the tomato a "foreign plum."

Since many immigrants from Iran, site of the former Persian Empire, have moved into southern California, the city tree of La Mesa, CA could provide a useful tool for correcting the current confusion. Present-day Iranian students could be educated about the great difference between how a plum develops on a tree and how a tomato develops on a plant or a vine.

Then maybe they would understand why Americans eat plum pudding but not tomato pudding. Then maybe they would appreciate why stores carry many cans of tomato paste but not a single can of plum paste. They would at least gain an insight into why McDonalds, Burger King and Jack-in-the-Box share one common trait-they do not serve packets of plum ketchup.