"A symbol of San Diego, the iconic California Tower has served as a magnificent entry to Balboa Park since its construction for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. "
Pursuing A Passion For Photography
"A symbol of San Diego, the iconic California Tower has served as a magnificent entry to Balboa Park since its construction for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. "
"Old Town San Diego" is the location of the first European settlement in California. It is the oldest neighborhood in San Diego located in the heart of San Diego county.
"A boat trip through San Diego harbor provides visitors with tangible proof of America’s military might. San Diego is one of the U.S. Navy’s largest home ports and the headquarters of all naval air forces, including its aircraft carriers. On any given day, one might see everything from nuclear-powered aircraft carriers to hospital ships anchored at the port. Gray-painted helicopters fly overhead, joined by the occasional orange-and-white Coast Guard aircraft. Nearby are the Marine Corps’ Miramar air station and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. Camp Pendleton, where thousands of Americans have made the grueling transformation into Marines, is just a few miles north. Standing on the deck of a tour boat in the harbor center, one is literally surrounded by the awesome power of the United States military."
"On September 16, 1916, Dr. Harry Wegeforth, a local physician, was driving back to his office with his brother, Paul, after performing surgery. As they drove past Balboa Park, Dr. Harry heard a lion roaring. The big cat was one of the animals left over from a small zoo exhibit in the 1915-1916 Panama California Exposition, which had closed earlier that year."
The Southwest Chief runs Superliner train sets. Trains typically consist of two P40 or P42 locomotives, a baggage car, three or four sleeper cars, a dining car, sightseer lounge and three coach cars.
Two Amtrak trains run this route on a daily basis with one starting off early in the morning and the second one in the late afternoon.
We chose the late afternoon schedule because it gave us the opportunity to be in "daylight" when traversing some of the more scenic areas of the country.
The Southwest Chief is Amtrak's fastest train from Chicago to California. Traveling at an average speed of 79 mph, the Southwest Chief goes through Chicago - Kansas City - Topeka, Kan.-Southern Colorado - Santa Fe, N.M. - Albuquerque - Flagstaff (Grand Canyon) and finally Los Angeles.