johnboystravelblog

September 16 & 17, 2014

This was the only time I have been to San Diego (and my first stay of more than 2 days in California on my own) so even though I had a rental car (a spiffy Dodge Charger) I was a little nervous about driving in the “big city”.  After studying maps & brochures I decided to try mass-transit and found that it was an excellent, low-pressure way to explore the area.

(Photo credit: sandiegoasap.com)

I was staying at a timeshare in Escondido (top, center of map).  Tuesday I drove down to Santee (lower right) which is the outer-most stop of one of three rail-trolley routes.  I could park my car there for free.

I could buy a day-pass and ride these clean, comfortable, air-conditioned trolleys all day.  They would take me LOTS of places.

(Photo credit: sdmts.com)

Santee is the northernmost stop on the Green Line and from there I could ride it all the way to Old Town where I could switch to an identical trolley on the Blue Line to take me downtown.  There I could switch to a trolley on the Orange Line.  Between the three lines I could go to most of the popular spots in the city and not have to worry about traffic or parking.  I could get on and off as much as I wanted.  Over the course of the day I rode all three lines in their entirety, always sitting on the same side of the trolley so I would see “both sides of the tracks”.  It was a great, inexpensive, no-stress way to see the area.

At one point I rode the Blue Line all the way south to the border with Mexico.  I got off in a town called Chula Vista and walked to a small restaurant where I had what were possibly the best tacos I have ever eaten (and I’ve eaten lots of tacos!)

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The next day I decided to take this concept to the next level.  Escondido is the end-point of a light rail line called Sprinter.  I could park for free and ride the Sprinter from Escondido 22 miles west to Oceanside on the coast.

There I would switch to a “real train,” the Coaster, which would take me to downtown San Diego.

I bought a day-pass for each and spent the better part of that day seeing the surrounding countryside and the ocean without having to worry about traffic or parking.

September 15, 2014

On my way back south from Long Beach to the San Diego area I stopped in the town of San Juan Capistrano to visit the well known Mission there.

As has been the case with many Spanish Missions I have visited on the west coast, the exterior walls surround a peaceful oasis within.

 

Now, the problem…

I said “well known” above because many people are familiar with the legend of the swallows coming back to Capistrano.  For decades the Cliff swallows would leave their home in the fall to fly 6,000 miles south to Argentina for the winter.  On or about March 19 the following year they would return to Capistrano.

Well, now they don’t.

Here is one of the reasons the first photo in this post is “tight” on the front corner of the building.

What was once a nice, quiet, remote location is now right in the center of town.  The locals are not quite sure why the swallows are not returning en masse to the Mission and for several years have tried various tactics to coax them back, including “pre-building” nests for them.

Evidently the swallows aren’t having any of it and have chosen to hang out elsewhere.

 

 

 

September 15, 2014

Since my posts up to this point have been primarily from trips I have taken west of the Mississippi River I thought I’d continue that theme and go back in time to a one-week adventure to the San Diego area in 2014.  One of my brother’s let me use a week at a timeshare property and I chose one in Escondido, California, about a half hour northeast of San Diego.  I flew out on a Sunday, rented a car and bought a digital camera – nothing flashy, just a cheap, flat model about the size of a credit card (only thicker). This trip was pre-blog and pre-smartphone (I was still using a flip-phone!).

I had something I wanted to do up in Long Beach, which is about 2 hours northwest of San Diego, and I figured since my body was still on east coast time and I’d be up in the wee hours of the morning that I’d take advantage of the darkness to drive up to Long Beach and be there when the sun came up.  I was able to travel on main highways which had a fair amount of traffic but I’d be up there early enough to avoid the worst part of rush hour.

(Photo credit: aishouzou.org)

Escondido, where I was staying, is in the lower right part of the photo above and Long Beach is slightly above and to the left of the green square in the center.  I drove west to Oceanside, then northwest on a series of highways to Long Beach.

I found a spot out between the ocean and Long Beach Harbor and arrived just as it was starting to get light out.

On the left side of the photo above you can see the red and black smokestacks of the Queen Mary, a British luxury liner which is now a hotel, permanently docked in Long Beach Harbor.  The dome on the right of the photo used to house the “Spruce Goose,” a huge wooden airplane designed and flown by reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes.  That airplane has since been moved to a museum in McMinnville, Oregon (use the calendar grid on the homepage to see my post dated August 6, 2017 or search for “Spruce Goose”).  The dome is now a cruise ship terminal.

I stayed in the area until sunrise, determined that the place I actually came up to Long Beach to see wasn’t open on Mondays (surprise!), and drove back south towards San Diego, this time taking smaller, coastal roads – part of the Pacific Coast Highway.

I made a stop in San Juan Capistrano but will talk about that in a separate post.

When I got back down to Escondido I decided to drive up into the mountains northeast of where I was staying to visit Palomar Observatory.  I could see one of the huge white domes on top of the mountain as my flight was approaching San Diego.

Inside that dome is a reflecting telescope with a 200-inch mirror, the largest of several at this facility and one of the largest in the world.  It is an “optical” telescope in that scientists and astronomers see what it is pointing at, but it has no lenses.

I took a photo of the telescope inside but it didn’t come out very well (new camera and all…).  I took a photo of a photo inside showing the telescope assembly but have since decided to post a photo of the actual telescope I found online instead.

(Photo credit: astro.caltech.edu)

Palomar Observatory sits at approximately 5,600 feet above sea level.  It is only about 30 miles northeast of Escondido but it took over an hour to get there driving up the mountain roads.

 

 

 

June 14, 2019

I made my first travel-related post to this blog on July 7, 2017.  Now, almost two years later, I find myself making my 1,000th post.  These posts mainly pertain to three major trips I made in the continental United States:

The first trip I posted information about in real-time was my Northwest US trip.  Those posts occurred between July 7 and October 20 of 2017.

The following year I traveled mainly to California, but that trip included other stops as well.  Those posts occurred between May 23 and September 19 of 2018 (with a few additional posts in late October and early November).

I recently wrapped up posts from my “Texas Loop” in early 2017.  Those posts occurred between May 25 and June 9 of 2019.

During the Northwest US trip I traveled 33,936 miles and had 106 paid overnight stays (not counting stays with family and friends).

The California trip covered 25,360 miles and involved 135 nights on the road.

The Texas Loop covered 12,249 miles and involved 40 nights on the road

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Two weeks from the date I am making this post I leave for a 7-week trip to Maine and eastern Canada.  Most of that time will be spent in the Maritime provinces:

(Photo credit: Magellan Geographix)

Although I leave Durham June 28 I won’t arrive in Maine until July 8 so my first full day there will be July 9 with posts to begin that night or soon thereafter.  I have 50 nights booked and project I will put about 8,000 miles on my car.

 

June 8, 2017

When I took these photos I didn’t understand the significance of this pagoda-like structure which is actually a gate (cultural sign of welcome) to the H.U. Lee International Garden in downtown Little Rock.

This park would have greater significance to devotees of the martial arts but I now wish I had gone in and walked around a bit as I’m sure it would be interesting (and probably equally photogenic) even for those of us not versed in the martial arts.

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I am proud to say this is post number 999!  I have been very fortunate to share lots of photos and stories in at least two years of traveling around the “lower 48” and thank all of you for playing along at home.

But wait… there’s more.  I am going to take a short break to do some research for my upcoming trip to Acadia National Park in Maine and the Maritime Provinces of Canada (plus a little time in Quebec and Ontario provinces).  I start that trip June 28th, 2019 (three weeks from the day I am posting this), which will be here before I know it, so I don’t want to put by remaining research off to the last minute.

Post 1,000 will be a recap of 2017 and 2018 (miles driven, days on the road, number of pictures taken, etc).  I should have time before I head for Canada to post pictures of my week in the San Diego area which occurred in 2014.

And I still have pictures to post from 2015 and 2016.  Those trips, mainly east of the Mississippi, were both done pre-blog and I do have some, but not as many,  photos to post and stories to tell… eventually.

Stay tuned!

 

June 8, 2017

I spent the full day in Little Rock, exploring some city parks and a visit to my first Presidential library.

The Clinton’s actually have living quarters on the top floor but I believe they generally stay elsewhere.

The glass artwork shown above was a gift from Dale Chihuly, whose other work I have shown in several posts the last two years.

Other items I saw in the Library:

June 7, 2017

Today I drove over from Mena, AR and although I’d be spending the night in Little Rock I would spend most of the day in Hot Springs.

It stands to reason that Hot Springs is where you’ll find Hot Springs National Park.

(Photo credit: npmaps.com)

The Visitor Center for the Park (indicated above) is actually right on the main drag in downtown Hot Springs.

(Photo credit: npmaps.com)

Central Avenue is also known as “Bathhouse Row” for the large natural hot spring bathhouses which line the east side of the street, one right next to another:

The photo above is a former bathhouse and is now the Visitor Center for the Park.

After having lunch and walking up and down Central Avenue I drove on two scenic roads through various parts of the Park.  From one overlook I took the following photo of the downtown area:

And this photo of Mountain Tower, which folks can pay to go up in to take panoramic photos of the area.

June 6, 2017

Time to say goodbye to Oklahoma and move one state east into Arkansas.  To accomplish this I would drive about an hour east of Bartlesville, almost to the Arkansas state line, then south for several hours on some more scenic roads and finally a “primary” scenic loop which would ultimately take me to the tiny town of Mena in southwest Arkansas.

(Photo credit: lib.utexas.edu)

None of what I told you above is shown on this map except the destination of Mena, in the lower left side.  Tomorrow I will be heading to Hot Springs, the next day a short drive to Little Rock, and then on to Memphis, Tennessee and east to home in Durham.

June 5, 2017

One of the things I discovered while driving around Bartlesville, Oklahoma was the campus of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, a private university.  One of the most beautiful buildings I found on campus was the Administration & Library building, once a private mansion.

As I was driving back towards downtown Bartlesville I found the family home of Frank Phillips.  He and his brother founded the Phillips Petroleum Company.

And as I got closer to the downtown area I saw the Bartlesville train station.

June 5, 2017

As I was driving towards Bartlesville in northeast Oklahoma I saw signs for a nature preserve in the area and after checking in to the hotel I’d be staying at I backtracked to check it out.

The town of Pawhuska is about 30 miles west of Bartlesville.

And north of Pawhuska I found the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, a 39,000 acre facility owned and operated by The Nature Conservancy.  This is the largest tract of tallgrass prairie remaining in the world and among other things is home to herds of bison, approximately 2,200 head.

I drove around for a while but never saw any bison up close.  At one point I could see some way off in the distance but I didn’t know how to get there and was afraid I’d get lost and never get out.

In researching this post I also learned that this Preserve is also a home to the increasingly rare Greater Prairie Chicken.

(Photo credit: audubon.org)

These beautiful animals, a member of the grouse family, have an usual mating routine.  The males have a large, orange air sac in their neck which they can inflate during courtship and which can emit a loud sound (these birds are nicknamed “boomers”).  I found some videos on YouTube and watching their behavior, and the way they stamp their feet, is quite interesting.

(Photo credit: birdeden.com)

I didn’t see any of these during my driving tour either.