Blanka of Capcom’s Street Fighter video games. Fun street art in National City.
A bunch of fun, colorful Japanese video game characters have been painted on several utility boxes near the center of National City. I spotted them while walking near the intersection of National City Boulevard and East 8th Street.
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You can go kayaking on a cool Eco Tour and try to spot green sea turtles in San Diego’s South Bay! Image courtesy of Ocean Connectors. Photograph by Harry Orgovan.
At last weekend’s Earth Day on the Bay, I learned about some awesome Eco Tours on San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Experienced guides take you by kayak around the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge to search for green sea turtles, or by bicycle around San Diego Bay to view all sorts of migratory birds, or by boat off our coast to spot gray whales and other marine life! These tours are provided by Ocean Connectors.
Why am I blogging about this? What makes these tours so amazingly cool? Ocean Connectors uses the money they make from their San Diego Eco Tours to directly benefit local students! Every year, Ocean Connectors introduces hundreds of kids in the National City School District to the beautiful natural world along San Diego’s coast, educating them about migratory wildlife and stewardship of the environment–all at no cost!
That’s right! Thousands of students in Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Grades have had an experience of a lifetime thanks to Ocean Connectors. In their formative years, these young people, many from low-income situations, have ventured out from the city and have experienced profound wonders they otherwise might have missed. They are taken on fun and inspiring educational field trips that are sometimes described as the best day of their lives!
Thanks to Ocean Connectors, local school students can learn about marine wildlife during a whale watching tour off the San Diego coast. Image courtesy of Ocean Connectors. Photograph by Ralph Pace.
Seeing green sea turtles, wild birds taking flight, and majestic gray whales out on the wide blue water deeply affects a young person’s view of the world, teaches one about the web of life, helps one to grow into a thoughtful, responsible adult. I know this is true. Because I had a similar experience when I was growing up.
Back in junior high school, I went on a sea adventure with some classmates along Alaska’s Inland Passage. I saw breaching humpback whales, bald eagles, even an orca. That memory is still vivid in my mind. That unforgettable experience broadened my horizons, made me appreciate the wonders of nature, gave me a sense of belonging to a larger world, a world that should be carefully preserved. I’ve been an avid hiker and lover of the outdoors during my adult life, and I have no doubt my own personal adventure those many years ago is one big reason why.
So . . . have you been considering having your own unforgettable adventure in ecotourism? Would you like to possibly spot one of the 60 green sea turtles that spend part of their lives feeding on eel grass in San Diego’s South Bay? Would you like to bike around the Bayshore Bikeway and see hundreds, even thousands of wild birds? (And some are quite rare!) Would you like to head out onto the ocean with trained, knowledgeable naturalists, and see gray whales, dolphins, and a huge variety of other sea mammals and coastal wildlife?
Ocean Connectors’ mission is to educate, inspire and connect people to the outdoors. And one of those people could be YOU!
Click here to have your own unique Eco Tour in San Diego. Book a tour, and you’ll benefit kids in San Diego’s South Bay! It’s a win-win!
Someone learns about the amazing Eco Tours and the educational programs provided by Ocean Connectors during Earth Bay on the Bay at the Maritime Museum of San Diego.
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There’s more than refreshments and snacks at the National City Depot. There’s a huge, cool collection of local railroad and trolley history!
If you’re a train or streetcar lover, prepare to go nuts! The friendly guys at the National City Depot, which is home to the Trolley and Railroad Museum operated by the San Diego Electric Railway Association, allowed me to take loads of photographs a couple weekends ago! The place is so crammed with cool stuff, I hardly know where to start!
(Before I get started, however, I learned the National City Depot is in desperate need of volunteer docents and cashiers. So if you live around San Diego and have some free time, please consider this opportunity. Railroading enthusiasts would be in heaven. If you’d like, you might actually roll up your sleeves and help work to revitalize several vintage streetcars. You can have a great time preserving and enlivening our local history of trolleys by explaining exhibits and sharing knowledge with curious visitors, tourists and school students. SDERA’s stated mission is to restore and preserve the history of electric railways and trolleys in the San Diego region. Click here for more info.)
As you can see from the first photo, the depot has a number of old railroad cars and streetcars sitting outside on either side of it. The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, MTS, has provided the private association with three old Vienna streetcars and one Presidents Conference Committee (PCC) streetcar. The latter is undergoing restoration, and will eventually be used as a cool tourist attraction, running over the Coronado Belt Line of the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railroad!
You might recognize the name San Diego Electric Railway. It was the mass transit system built by locally famous “sugar heir” and entrepreneur John D. Spreckels. His network of railroads was established in 1892, and active streetcars served a large area of the city for many decades. The San Diego Electric Railway Association proudly displays some examples of the rolling stock that were utilized in those glory years of electric streetcars.
The National City Depot has its own fascinating history. It was built in 1882 by the Santa Fe Railroad, and became the first Pacific Coast terminus station of their transcontinental line. Today, it’s the last representative of the original stations built on the West Coast by the five different transcontinental railroads. After various changes in its operations over the decades, the depot was abandoned in the 1960s and suffered severe neglect. Before finally reopening as a museum, it was also used as a unique building for a couple of restaurants. It’s now owned by the city of National City.
I learned so much during my visit, my brain is still whirling. If I’ve captioned the photos incorrectly, or have made some sort of factual error, please leave a comment!
Here come the photos, just a taste of what you might see should you swing on by. Enjoy!
The National City Depot was built in 1882. It was the first Pacific Coast terminus station of the Santa Fe Railroad’s transcontinental line.Plaque in front of National City Depot, the first Pacific Coast terminus station of Santa Fe’s transcontinental railroad. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 1023.Sign describes Santa Fe Rail Depot in National City. It’s the only original transcontinental railroad terminus still standing.Inside the small depot are display cases full of model trains and streetcars, plus artifacts and memorabilia. The walls are covered with old photos and historical information.The famous old train station sits alongside BNSF tracks which are still active. The National City Depot played in instrumental role in American railroad history.There’s so much cool stuff crammed inside the museum, a railfan could spend hours closely examining all of it!A magazine article on display for train buffs and history enthusiasts to check out. Buses finally replaced the old network of San Diego trolleys in 1949.One of many old photos in the museum depicting San Diego’s very rich electric streetcar history.A collection of old lanterns. Everything imaginable concerning San Diego railroads and trolleys can be found inside the National City Depot.Faded writing on the brick fireplace recalls when the eventually abandoned depot was used as a restaurant. Black panels on the walls cover graffiti.One section of a wall has lots of photos of vintage streetcars and trolleys.A second room inside the National City Depot contains a huge model train layout! The exhibit is run when the depot is open Thursdays to Sundays from 9am to 5pm. It appears that SDERA members have a lot of fun!The best photo I could get of a big antique Raymond and Wilshire safe in the historic transcontinental depot. I had to squeeze up against the model train layout.Now we’re outside beside the depot at a picnic bench! I like these two planters in the shape of steam locomotives!Two of National City Depot’s three old Austrian streetcars. These were going to be used by MTS for the San Diego Trolley in the Gaslamp Quarter, but couldn’t meet ADA standards, as I understand it.Sign inside one Vienna street car details the history. They were originally built at the Simmering Machine and Railcar Works, Simmering, Austria.Now we’re stepping like a passenger into one of the old Austrian streetcars!The controls used by this electric streetcar’s operator. Notice a seat that folds under the dashboard.Looking back where passengers would sit. There didn’t seem to be much capacity in the small cars.Now we’re checking out Birney Car 336, out in the open lot beside the National City Depot. This is one type of streetcar that transported people in San Diego decades ago.Birney Car 336 was built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1917, and first served in Bellingham, WA. It later was used for dining inside the Old Spaghetti Factory in San Diego, from 1971 to 2004!Inside the old Birney Car. I’m hungry for some spaghetti! Where are the chairs?Cool vintage advertisements along the car’s ceiling include this one for Burma-Shave.A big, heavy tamping machine used for maintaining railroad tracks and placing them more firmly onto packed ballast.A second ballast tamper outside the National City Depot. I always wondered what these unusual machines that you see on train tracks are for.Part of the machinery that pushes down on the steel rails and ties. This makes sure train tracks are solidly in place and level.Gazing back north past various rail exhibits outside the National City Depot. Isn’t this fun?Now we’ll check out PCC Car 539, which was donated to SDERA by the Metropolitan Transit System.PCC Car 539 was built in 1946 by the St. Louis Car Company. It served as a streetcar in St. Louis until 1956. Restoration is underway. One day it might run nearby as a tourist attraction.Inside the fabulous PCC car. The San Diego Trolley now has two completely restored cars of this type, running in a downtown loop called the Silver Line.I believe this is a Fairmont Speeder Car. Tiny crew cars were used to transport a few individual workers up and down tracks. I’d love to ride one!Oh, man! I bet you’d love to sit in one of these seats and ride the rails! Just turn the throttle to go!Seriously? This one is basically a bicycle for train tracks! Except it has four wheels! And a bike chain, of course!This luggage cart near the entrance to the National City Depot was donated by the Maritime Museum of San Diego–it evidently was aboard the steam ferry Berkeley at one time.One of several cool vintage handcars. Just like you see in those old Western movies.This unusual three-wheeled handcar reminds me of a canoe outrigger!San Diego Electric Railway Association’s fun Herbie is a Brill streetcar replica. A parade and car show’s popular Streetcar on Wheels!An antique open air streetcar at the National City Depot. This a grip car, like the cable cars in San Francisco. Few people realize that San Diego had a cable car line that briefly ran from the Gaslamp to University Heights in the early 1890s!Elegant number 54 is a unique composite, built using two different San Diego Cable Railway cars. I see panes of stained glass. The yellow paint is peeling.The third Vienna streetcar in the National City Depot’s collection, number 6888, is yellow.There’s a ton of very cool stuff to see at the National City Depot, in San Diego’s South Bay!
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Rusty old train tracks are overgrown with wild vegetation, including many California bush sunflowers.
I made a cool discovery the other day. A little-known hiking path in San Diego’s South Bay provides a view of a beautiful natural wetland.
According to signs that I saw, the small estuary between Bay Marina Drive, Marina Way, Interstate 5 and the Sweetwater River is a protected wildlife refuge. I believe, after looking at Google Maps, that the water flows from Paradise Creek. But I’m not certain. Perhaps someone reading this knows.
Long-unused train tracks that are partially concealed by vegetation run along the edge of the wetland, and so does a narrow footpath. I didn’t see any signs naming the trail, or any that prohibited a short hike. So I walked down it a bit, enjoying the fresh air and peaceful surroundings.
Information sign near edge of estuary identifies native plants. California Buckwheat, White Sage, Southwestern Spiny Rush, and Black Sage.View of National City wetland from observation area south of the Best Western Marina Gateway hotel parking lot.Beginning down the footpath on a sunny weekend day.Some eroded sandstone adds beauty to the scene.Prickly pear and chaparral yucca above a green estuary.Beyond the sign lies a fragile wetland where native plants and animals are protected. I saw some birds out in the wildlife refuge.I turned about after a short hike and headed on back to the hotel parking lot.
UPDATE!
On a later visit I discovered additional signs beside the hotel parking lot. They contain more interesting information.
I learned this wetland is called Paradise Marsh. It’s an environmentally important tidal salt marsh that’s part of the much larger San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
Water reflects bright sunlight in National City’s Paradise Marsh.Paradise Marsh is a small part of the 2600 acre San Diego Bay National Wildlife RefugeThe birds of Paradise Marsh include the Willet, Mallard, American Avocet and the Great Blue Heron.For hundreds of years, Native American tribes such as the Kumeyaay, Iapi or Tipai made their homes around the estuaries of San Diego Bay.A beautiful tidal salt marsh wetland can be viewed in National City.
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National City’s unique Historic Railcar Plaza. One can peek inside the barn and see a few exhibits that recall 19th century rail service in San Diego’s South Bay.
During my excursion last weekend to National City, I saw several very cool sights. Here’s one!
Those interested in San Diego’s rich history of trains and streetcars should visit the Historic Railcar Plaza, which is located at the intersection of Bay Marina Boulevard and Harrison Avenue. (It’s right across from National City’s awesome Old Depot museum, which I’ll blog about as soon as my photos are ready!)
In addition to several displays dedicated to past railroads that serviced San Diego’s South Bay, the Historic Railcar Plaza features the fantastic, restored Passenger Coach No. 1. The old coach can be rolled outside of a small train barn on special occasions. Passenger Coach No. 1 was originally built in 1887 and carried passengers up and down the National City and Otay Railway (NC&O) until 1914. The beautiful open railcar used to seat up to 58 passengers in varnished redwood splendor.
The Historic Railcar Plaza’s small barn was built in 2000. The day I peeked through the windows it was padlocked shut. The windows were rather dirty and a few of the displays within had toppled over, which seems to indicate a degree of neglect. Apparently the cool car is rolled outside on the short track from time to time. I hope to see that one day!
Many of my photos were through those dirty windows. I did my best to adjust the images for clarity.
Mysterious stretch of train track emerges from the barn’s door. A very cool bit of history can be rolled outdoors during special occasions.That bit of history is the restored Passenger Coach No. 1, of the long-defunct National City and Otay Railway.The restored coach features outdoor bench seating and beautiful woodwork. Passengers could ride this car from San Diego through National City and Chula Vista to the Mexican border.A mannequin inside the Historic Railcar Plaza depicts the legendary Millionaire Hobo, J.B. King, Esq. His one burning ambition was to write his name on every car of every train in the country!A century ago, a ticket for the sixty mile round trip on the National City and Otay Railway could be purchased for just one dollar.Two old photographs. On the left, the old Coronado Railroad traveled through Imperial Beach and up the Silver Strand to Tent City in Coronado. One can see the splendid Hotel del Coronado in the distance!Map inside the Historic Railcar Plaza shows the various railways that once serviced San Diego, when transportation by train was extremely popular.Key to the above map includes the region’s evolving railroads: the California Southern, the National City and Otay, the Coronado, the San Diego Southern, the San Diego and Southeastern. and the San Diego and Arizona.
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click on a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to enjoy!
A friendly Mariachi band smiles as photos are taken!
Today I rode the trolley down to the South Bay to enjoy the big 2016 National City International Mariachi Festival and Competition.
The annual cultural event takes place in Pepper Park, which is located close to where the Sweetwater River empties into San Diego Bay.
I was absolutely amazed by the color, the energy, the sheer happiness of those participating and watching. Hopefully my photos provide a taste…
A colorful arch welcomes visitors to Pepper Park and the 2016 National City International Mariachi Festival!The Mariachi Scholarship Foundation has benefited many music-loving students in San Diego County.Fantastic sombreros attracted my camera at the festival’s Mariachi Scholarship Foundation table.The grand stage drew the largest crowd. Many excellent Mariachi groups and baile folklorico dancers wowed the audience.A smiling senorita at the International Mariachi Festival and Competition in National City.Members of Danza Folklorico Las Florecitas perform Mexican folk dances in Pepper Park.Mariachi musicians perform on the main stage at the 2016 National City International Mariachi Festival and Competition. They received loud cheers.A cheerful dress on a beautiful day in San Diego’s South Bay. A nearby boat ramp leads into the channel of the Sweetwater River.Colorful, energetic folklorico dancing on a smaller, non-competitive stage.A diverse audience from San Diego, Tijuana and the surrounding region. Many of the participants also enjoyed the non-stop entertainment.Taking a break to stretch my legs, I walked out onto the short pier in National City’s Pepper Park. Visible is a huge car carrier ship docked in San Diego Bay. It transported imported vehicles from Asia.Looking back at the rear of the smaller stage. Some dancers wearing bright yellow are getting ready for their turn to perform.Young dancers on stage whirled, stepped smartly, then whirled again.Mexican culture is warm, happy and lots of fun.These ladies in traditional costume were taking their turns at one of the festival’s many prize wheels!Dancing with joy.A typical scene from the annual Mariachi festival in National City.
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Check out the Lyra Leader, a massive box-like car-carrying ship as it heads down San Diego Bay toward the National City Marine Terminal. These cool, very unusual type of roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ships are often seen passing close to downtown. They’re bringing in thousands of new cars from Asia–Japan and South Korea–which are driven off a ramp into a massive parking lot. Many of the vehicles are then loaded into car-carrying freight trains and sent off toward their final destinations.
In this photograph, note the active aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson docked at the North Island naval base on the left.
UPDATE–I finally got a couple more pics of another ship while I was crossing San Diego Bay on the ferry. All the passengers were excited to be so close to the massive thing!
Sailboats, skyscrapers and one super enormous ship!Swift Ace car transport ship leaves San Diego Bay.
ANOTHER UPDATE–Here are more photos that I took at later times…
Cool San Diego Sights! 