Tag: transportation

Free attractions this weekend in Campo!

By driving east of San Diego to Campo this weekend, you can enjoy free admission to four cool attractions!

Admission will be free at the Campo Railroad Museum, the Motor Transport Museum, the Gaskill Brothers Stone Store, and the Camp Lockett Equestrian and Event Facility!

This weekend, May 2-3, 2026, Campo Days promises unforgettable family-friendly experiences. Pile the kids in the car and have an adventure!

The incredible Campo Railroad Museum, operated by the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association, itself is worth the trip. You can explore many old train cars parked on tracks at the museum, and even ride a vintage train should you purchase a ticket! Learn more about the Campo Railroad Museum at their website here.

I learned about Campo Days when I swung by the La Mesa Depot Museum today. This small free museum is also operated by the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association.

Station master Timothy showed me some of the work being done to restore No. 3, the 1923 steam locomotive which you might have seen while driving through downtown La Mesa. I blogged about its history and restoration about a year ago here.

Timothy loves to talk about trains and his personal experience as an engineer. The always free La Mesa Depot Museum also has a cool HO-scale train layout kids love.

If you can’t make it to Campo Days this weekend, head to La Mesa on a Tuesday or Thursday from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm, when the La Mesa Depot Museum is open. Admit it–you love trains, too!

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A ship, an airplane, or a unique trolley station?

Motorists heading down Interstate 8 at the east end of Mission Valley can’t help but notice this elevated trolley station. It’s the Grantville Station, of the San Diego Trolley’s Green Line.

The architecture of the Grantville Station is truly eye-catching and unique. Small signs posted in various places explain:

The central courtyard is a river-like gathering spot surrounded by pillars and beneath the station. Free form cast stone veneer walls, water washed flagstone caps, native riparian trees, shrubbery, and river rock mulch become a visual link to the nearby San Diego River.

Leather ferns and bamboo reeds planted near the stairwells grow from the plaza towards the elevated station 40 feet above.

The soaring station is a tribute to the aviation and nautical industries. The Trolley platform bows out in the middle, inspired by ship and plane architecture. The design repeats in the granite benches and bus shelters.

At night, spectacular streams of light beam upwards illuminating the pillars, stairways and octagonal tops of the twin elevator shafts.

On the platform, enjoy the unparalleled views to the north and south before boarding a Trolley to your next destination.

San Diego’s rich history includes important ships, shipyards, major aviation milestones and airplane construction.

The station’s architect was Parsons Brinckerhoff, Inc. and the station first opened in July, 2005.

Last month I disembarked at the Grantville Station and walked around with my camera…

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Mysterious symbols at SDSU trolley station!

Mysterious symbols and figures can be seen at your feet when you stand on the passenger platform at the SDSU trolley station. Lean over in the dim light and look closely. What are they?

The mystery is solved when you learn these symbols are part of a larger public art installation at the SDSU Transit Center. In 2005, when San Diego’s only underground trolley station first opened, artist Anne Mudge and the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) debuted the art.

What you’ve discovered at your feet is called Stepping Stones. As this page on Anne Mudge’s website explains: Etched into the surfaces of 60 granite “stepping stones” are symbols of various cultural and academic disciplines found on the SDSU campus. The granite stones interrupt and redirect the linear flow of bricks around them, just as ideas impact the surrounding intellectual and cultural environments.

Visit the above link for descriptions of other works in this art installation, which are visible inside and around the SDSU Transit Center.

Students waiting at the trolley station can step from ideas to microchips to the Earth to people to atoms…

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A seat for Rosa Parks on the trolley!

Today, February 4th, is the birthday of civil rights icon Rosa Parks. San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) is honoring her heroism by reserving a seat for her on every bus and trolley!

MTS has been doing this for years.

Back in 2022, also on February 4th, I photographed a seat on a bus that was reserved for Rosa Parks. Today, I found a seat on a San Diego Trolley just for her!

Of course, I had to take a photo.

The legacy of a courageous citizen lives on. This sign on a trolley seat is a small but important reminder that one individual with a single act of courage can change the world.

Vintage cars gather for San Diego Excursion!

Over a hundred fantastic cars gathered in Balboa Park this morning before the start of the 2nd Annual San Diego Excursion vintage car parade!

Cars of every type dating from 1906 to 1941 parked in the lot near the San Diego Automotive Museum, and drivers and passengers dressed in period attire enjoyed looking at each other’s machines.

At nine in the morning the cars would depart Balboa Park and begin the Vintage Car Parade, travelling through Mission Hills, then in a loop through Point Loma. The parade would conclude at Liberty Station, where a Car Show would be enjoyed by the public in the early afternoon. (If you read this blog post in time, perhaps you can see these cars for yourself.)

Today’s looping course through Point Loma would roughly follow the route of a historic car race held back in 1915 to promote the Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park. Perhaps you remember how back in 2015 the Point Loma race was “recreated” for the Balboa Park centennial. I posted many photos of those amazing cars here.

The cars participating today in the 2026 San Diego Excursion are listed and can be seen on this webpage.

First, a couple photos of vintage cars arriving in Balboa Park…

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University Heights’ once-planned Mystic Lake!

Did you know that a lake was originally planned for one of University Heights’ canyons? You’ll learn this and more should you visit the San Diego Central Library and view one of several small exhibits in the 9th floor Special Collections Center. Mystic Lake is one fascinating aspect of The San Diego That Never Was.

Looking at Google Maps today, and comparing it to the old 1890 map on display at the library, you can see how Mystic Lake would have fit into University Heights as planned in 1888. The lake’s lower extremity would have been cradled by Lincoln Avenue and Maryland Avenue. It was not to be.

As this informative webpage (which explains University Heights street names) explains: By 1906, Arch Street, Proctor Place, and New Jersey Street replaced the area originally planned to be Mystic Lake.

Mystic Lake would have been located a couple blocks directly west of the State Normal School, which was predecessor to San Diego State University. The site today is headquarters of San Diego Unified School District.

It’s interesting to see San Diego’s old cable car route on the 1890 map as a dashed line. The short-lived cable car line operated from June 1890 to October 1892. As this historical webpage explains, the San Diego Cable Railway ran from downtown San Diego north on Fourth to University, then east to present-day Park Blvd., and north to Mission Cliff Gardens.

(Today, one of those old cable cars is preserved at the National City Depot museum. Check out photographs of San Diego Cable Railway car number 54 by clicking here!)

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San Diego submersible in Star Trek: Enterprise!

The Maritime Museum of San Diego recently acquired DeepFlight I, a unique “flying” underwater submersible developed in the late 1990s. You can read more about this amazing, advanced submersible here.

Visitors to the San Diego museum might be astonished to learn that this one-of-a-kind prototype appears in every episode of Star Trek: Enterprise!

DeepFlight I can be seen momentarily in the Star Trek: Enterprise introductory sequence, which begins every episode. The sequence depicts the evolution of human technology and exploration. DeepFlight I appears at the 34 second mark here!

Super cool!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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Chuckwagon and buckboard progress in Escondido!

Back in July, I posted a detailed blog about a chuckwagon that was being built at the Escondido History Center. Yesterday I saw the chuckwagon again, and it’s almost finished!

Here’s how it appeared a few months ago:

Yesterday, this is the chuckwagon displayed outside of the Penner Barn:

The vehicle, representative of the Old West, is mostly assembled now. I was told a few additional things must be done. The cloth covering is obviously one of those things.

What project is next at the history center’s Bandy Blacksmith & Wheelwright Shop? An old-fashioned buckboard!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Painting wildlife at Oceanside Transit Center!

Wow! WOW!!!

Look what I discovered today!

Amazing wildlife murals are now being painted at the Oceanside Transit Center! Passengers walking under the tracks to catch a train are in for a big, wonderful surprise!

These photos were taken from the steps descending to either side of the train tracks, and inside the tunnel that connects platforms.

I see the artists are JustJon Art (@just_jon1), Ground Floor Murals (@groundfloormurals), Victor Rodriguez (@tone_dog), Maxx Moses (@maxxmoses777), and Signe Montefalcon Ditona (@signeditona).

Unfortunately, none of the artists were working on the mural when I happened by.

It appears as if this fantastic project is approaching completion. One guy who works at the Oceanside Transit Center told me the artists have been at it for a couple months.

Feast your eyes on this!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

A look inside Escondido’s first public library!

Several historic buildings can be visited at the Escondido History Center in Grape Day Park. One of these buildings was the very first library that opened in Escondido, back in 1895.

The little building was the second public library in San Diego County. In 1971 it was saved from demolition by the Escondido Historical Society and moved to Grape Day Park.

Today visitors step into the little old library (headquarters of the Escondido History Center) on Thursday through Saturday, between 10 am and 4 pm. Inside one can look at historical photographs, conduct research, or view fascinating exhibits. There are also several antique artifacts like an old scale, spinning wheel, and gas pump.

Last Saturday I also found a smile!

I learned the old library and been remodeled and expanded over the years. To me, its present-day use as a museum is the thing of greatest interest.

The exhibits can change a bit over time. During my visit I enjoyed looking at Pioneer Family: Cassou Family, and Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

Here’s an old photo of the Escondido Public Library as it originally appeared. Notice there’s not much else around it!

A big glass display case against one wall is packed full of history.

One exhibit traces the history of Escondido’s influential Cassou family, whose mid-19th century roots were in France.

Transportation in Escondido over the years is highlighted in the second exhibit.

Cruisin’ Grand photographs show how the beloved summer event has previously appeared.

I love that big model train! It was created by Hollis Watrous in his garage workshop starting in 1960. He ran it on tracks in his backyard!

Here’s a cool old photograph of downtown Escondido in 1911.

It is believed, by the large number of automobiles, that the photo was taken on bustling Grape Day.

Among the shelves behind the front counter I spied this old image of Escondido’s first librarian, Mina Ward.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!