Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1915-12-30
Our Journey To
The Pacific Coast
BY Mrs. w. Fl. Newell. Baraboo, Wis.
9Rp
Part w
By Mrs. w. Fl. Newell

From Santa Barbara to Los Angeles
we travelled awhile by the sea shore,
then up the mountains and around the
the mountain peaks. We had three en-
eines on our train at times. The head
of the train would appear to be coming
back to meet the end of the train as il
curved about to ascend the mountains
or go around gorges. We passed
through many tunnels, the only part
of the trip we did not enjoy. The resi-
dence part of Los Angeles is the pref
test city | ever saw with it's nearly al
bungalow houses covered with vines
and flowers, it's carefully kept lawns
neat streets and back yards in which
were fruit trees and flowers. Where
visited my cousins they had peach
pear, prune, lemon and orange trees.
There everything was kept wateree
and sprayed. Most of California look
ed to me as if it wanted washing, as
dirt had settled on everything, | sup
pose when the season of rain comes
things look different. AS we love tt
ride on the ocean we took a steamer
from Los Angeles to San Diego. Il
was the Pacific ocean that days scarce
ly ripple on the water but those made
by the steamer: quite contrast to
ride we once had on the Atlantic ocean.
AS we neared San Diego thousands OF
sea gulls flew about and followed the
boat to the shore. The hotel runners
were not quite az numerous as the birde
but followed us more persistently with
their pamphlets and advertisements.
There are so many hotels in San Diego,
many built for this year, that the hotel
men had to hustle for guests.
Many of the hotels cut their prices
one half, besides meeting you at the
depot and taking you there. They also
gave free ride about the city, every
morning. The fair at San Diego looked
like slice off the San Francisco fair
except in architecture Of the buildings.
The patios and gardens were of. Span
ish style. There were many historical
tbinge, monuments lettered with hero
glyphics and images and stone mons
ters worshipped as gods by the Indians
when Cortez conquered Mexico of which
California was apart at that time. There
were pictures of maidens led to the al
ter to be sacrificed TO their gods. One
wonders how they carved birds, beasts
and reptiles so accurately in stone with
tools made of rock and birds claws.
There were images of Indians making
bows and arrows and chiseling out bowls
and dishes with sharp stones. We were
at this fair on California 8 65th birthday
as a state, which they celebrated. first
by music and marching OF soldiers of
the navy, sinfantry and cavalry follow
ed by floats on automobiles, one for
each state, draped with bunting and
flowers, the colors of that state.
They were an hour passing the places
where we were, to the grounds where
there wers speeches made aud many
amusements. A girl fourteen years
old dropping from an aeroplane with g.
parachute was one of the events. We
listened to lecture in the California
building illustrated by moving pictures
a history of California from the first
settlement, when and how gold was dis
covered at Placerville, the. different
ways of mining were shown from first
digging with shovel up to hydraulic
mining where a powerful stream of
water is driven against the mountain
ide through a large hole with power to
displace the rocks. They showed how
the rocks were crushed, the gold sepa-
rated pressed into bricks and then re-
fined. One brick worth $1,000, was
b own in the mineral display. We did not
pend as much time as we would have
liked at San Diego as we had bought
our Pullman ticket at Los Angeles for
certain train to Salt Lake. We had to
engage our berths days ahead on our
trip to be sure of one.