Bought a house with a couple acres and I’m excited to get into beekeeping. I got a flow hive and a top bar hive and I am going to get into helping bees pollinate the orchards and vegetation around here. Looking to join the San Diego beekeepers association as well as finding a local mentor in Fallbrook area.
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Steve,
Welcome aboard bro ! Sounds like your starting off on a good leg. Good to join up n get support n advice from a few dudes n dudettes that have walked a step or so ahead of you down the Beekeeper Trail.
A lot of great people here as well. Looking forward to your beginnings as you get a couple colonies going … It’s really exciting !
Good luck n Happy Beekeeping.
Gerald up in Washington State 
Welcome to the Flow forum! I am also in San Diego, but closer to downtown and the bay. The San Diego Beekeeping Society has two meetings each month - one in Balboa Park on the second Monday of the month, and a second one in North County on variable dates. The next North County meeting is in Encinitas on January 2nd:
The January 9th meeting in Balboa Park is actually hosting the co-inventor of the Flow hive, Stu Anderson, so it might be worth you trekking downtown for it. Unfortunately, I can’t make it, but hopefully you can. 
@Stevosd35 Welcome, all the way from Downunder 
Something to be mindful of (perhaps obviously so) is that there are people all over the world commenting on these forums - so all of our comments should be blended with what you learn locally, with perhaps more weight given to those located closest.
Happy Beekeeping (and sharing what you learn/experience) in 2017.
Yes Calif has a climate all of its own, one day cold the next colder and then back up in temps. Do we need to warp a hive in Calif not, do we need good water and plenty yes, But when you see hive around look for the placement near the flower or oranges. Good for you we need more bees. By having them in our neighborhood we’ll be helpful to all in many ways. Like lowering th AF bees to a lower level of bees beeing handles and there cross mating with queen ever couple years or yearly.
Hi Steve,
Its been 4 years since your post but now I’m the newbie from Fallbrook! How is your bee life going?
Kara
I had to get rid of my hives due to an allergic reaction to stings. But there are plenty on my prOperty.
Steve Panayiotou
Oh no! Did you find you were allergic to stings?
I got my first sting three days ago and am having quite a reaction. It was on the one hand I had exposed to grab my phone. Lesson learned.
If you’ve been stung multiple times in the past and develop a LLR (large local reaction) every time the good news is that you’re very unlikely to develop an anaphylactic reaction.
If you have never been stung your first exposure isn’t likely to result in anaphylaxis. Ever escalating reactions or only a history of one or two sting reactions you’ll want to be careful.
This is my second bee sting. The first was when I was 3. It was actually not painful - until 48 hours in…and this was quite a reaction. Lesson learned for me…wear ALL the gear! I think the bee did not like the 5G phone because I was just standing there literally doing nothing!