The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1904-07-14
California Letter.

AND IlEADEfS lIEON INEPOR1fR.
We left Leon on Monday morning,
Nov. 30th, at 800 a. m. and arrived AT
Santa Ana, CAL, the following Sunday
at 1890 a. M. Santa Ana is a very beau
tiful city of about 5000 inhabitants and
is steadily growing. The climate of
Orange county, of which Santa Ana is
the county seat, is almost perfection.
Roses and Gala lilies as we'll as most
all other kinds of flowers bloom the year
round. Vegetables are planted and
grown the year round. We spent one
month there, then went to Newport
Beach and spent several weeks. The
Beach is level and the finest for bathing
able fishing place, both with seine and
boat. We saw one haul by seine that
was estimated at five tons. There are
mention, at least five different kinds of
Whales pass by sometimes quite close
once, and sometimes more. There are
playing in the surf. Five miles up the
beach is Pacific City, or Huntington
Beach, which is very nice place for a
ClOy. IL Will CIVy III olbiC DO ~ 10
being doomed and street car line run
ming from Los Angeles, is being laid.
Very close to this is the celery district.
being harvested and loaded on trains.
From twenty-five to thirty car loads
were taken from the fields every day all
winter. 1t is very productive region.
Here are the homes of Milo Hall and
James Cain, former residents of Decatur
county, and we visited both. They are
both interested in the culture of celery.
Dallas Lille and family, G.. Coles and
Charlie Kirk, all we'll known residents
of Decatur county, also live near there.
Orange and Tustin are suburbs Of
Santa Ana and are as nice as they can
be. The country round about is level
and fine and so fertile. Orchards of
oranges, lemons, olives, apricots and
walnuts are everywhere, besides figs,
grapes and many other fruits. Shade
trees are plentiful and fine parks with
bloom all winter.
On Dec. 31st we took train for San
Deigo and staid there all night. On
New Years day we went by tallyho to
Old Mexico and ate our New Years din
ner at Mexican restaurant. 1t was a
hot dinner in more ways than one. The
country around San Deigo and north OF
it for miles is rough and lacks water
Orchards are dead and dying for want
of water. One man owns four thousand
acres of oranges but they did not look
as well as they might though better
than some.
Tia Guano, where we ate our New
80
rants, two or three curio shops, some
dwellings, an old adobe custom house
in ruins and new custom house. There
we saw the monuments which divide the
United States from Mexico. They are
tall pillars half in one country and hal
in the other and have iron fences around
: them.
On our way back we came past Coron
ado City. The drive was lovely along
Coronado beach, narrow strip of lant
with the ocean on one side and the ba,
on the other. Coronado City is a fin
place, as pretty as any spot in the worlt
: could be. The hotel is said to cove
more ground than any other hotel in thu
world. Nearby is one of the famous
ostrich farms. We crossed the bay on
boat large enough to accommodate 81.
or more teams, from Coronado City t.
San Deigo, where we stayed over nigh
again and then went back to Santa Ana
Our next trip was to Los Angeles ant
Pasadena. Los Angeles is a grand cit.
but not so nice as some others. Pasa
dena is certainly beautiful. We say
Mt. Lowe and the railroad winding u
but did not go up. Our next trip wa
to Pasadena, the ostrich farm and River
side. The ostrich farm is grand sight
We saw birds from those just out of tn
shell up to several hundred pounds il
weight, some being eight feet tall. W
ifed them oranges out Of our hands an