British Columbia in Canada is home to some of the richest Canadian and Native American art and history you'll find anywhere.
Chemainus is one place where you can catch a ferry to Victoria B.C.
Chemainus has a simply incredible collection of public wall murals. Themes vary from Native American History to logging to the early history of Chemainus. If you visit be sure to pick up a walking guide to the town murals - you can see them all in an hour or two.
Just north of San Diego, only a short drive from the Coast Highway is the Mission San Luis Rey.
San Luis Rey was 18th in the line of old California Missions, founded by Father Lasuen in 1798.
San Luis Rey soon became the largest of all the California Missions. Father Peyri, builder of San Luis Rey, remained at the Mission for 34 years and saw it prosper.
After the mission was taken from the Padres it became a ruin but restoration has taken place in recent times and continues today. The former Glory of San Luis Rey as “King of the Missions” can still be seen today, and a tour of this California masterpiece is strongly recommended.
San Luis Rey is only about 10 minutes off Highway 101 at Newport Beach, CA. Got Kids? Promise to drop in to the In and Out Burger for a great lunch on the way back on to California Highway 101.
Kit Carson, famous pioneer scout, led Gen. Kearny’s “dragoons” and camped at San Luis Rey in December of 1846.
Crescent City California is one of the few American Cities to have experienced a Tsunami/Tidal Wave. 1964 brought a major sea surge to Crescent City which inundated the downtown area and killed four people.
The huge cement breakwater from which this picture was taken was built after 1964 in an effort to make subsequent destruction unlikely. It also offers great views of the lighthouse, huge waves, and giant cement dolos which help disperse the energy of the mighty pacific waves.
For more about this area see our Northern California travel pages.
The USS Arizona Memorial rests dramatically above the wreckage of the sunken battleship at Pearl Harbor. Inside is a memorial to the sailors lost in the attack on Pearl Harbor of December 7th, 1944 which began the US War with Japan. Germany declared war on the USA four days later.
The only access to the USS Arizona Memorial is by boat. Free tickets are available at the Pearl Harbor Museum which generally have you returning later in the day for the boat trip. Consider going early in the day to pick up your tickets and if there is a long wait for your boat you can take a shuttle to visit the USS Missouri which offers an excellent tour of the ship on which the US accepted the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II. As of December 2007 admission to the USS Missouri is $16 and a guided tour is an extra $7. The USS Missouri is well worth the price and the money goes to preserve the ship and provide interpretive services. You may want to eat lunch in the working galley.
