The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1935-06-07
BY WILLIAM c. UTLEY

w their vacation in Europe this
summer! Well Be right In
the swing of things, won't they
AS O matter Of fact, the Smiths
won't. For these last two or three
years the swing of things has been
definitely away from setting Europe
as a goal for vacation travel. Steam
ship lines and travel bureaus report
a steady decline in tourist bookings
for the last few summers.
There are several reasons for this.
One of them is that the average peck
etbook is decidedly Simmer than it
was few years back. The others
don't count-except for one. That is
the fact that Americans are beginning,
1t seems, to discover that the good old
u. S. A. has appeal, scenery and trav-
ell interest in an abundance that the
yacationer can find in no other land
on earth.
There was a popular song few
years back that got the idea over as
well as anything could: You'll find
your castles in Spain through your
window pane, back in your own back
yard L. >"
That's almost literally true. Just
suppose now that you are sitting there
dreaming about far-off Spain, famed
for its sunny skies, brilliant after
moons, gay, starlit evenings and white
towers glistening under merry red
roofs.
It's not so far off as you might I'M
agine. Like metropolis of Old Spain
itself is the southern California city
where millions will probably visit on
their vacations this summer. 1t is
San Diego, home of Americas 1898 ex-
position. Here, on the bay discovered
by Cabrillo in 1912 is setting that
today resembles the explorers native
land: here are the azure skies, the
white buildings and the red roofs. 1t
is Spain of the renaissance, yet the
travel comforts are those of modern
United States.
Much of southern California Is like
this. The bountiful country, spotted
sloping vineyards, guarded by snow
capped mountain peaks, is sprinkled
with old Spanish missions. lovely in
architecture and rich In tradition,
often built 300 years or more ago.
The climate comedies nothing to the
Mediterranean summer. Yet eleven
DAYS or more of two-weeks' vacation
may be spent in this happy land, no
matter where you live in America.
Offers Many Attractions.
California, like any other vacation
spot of the United States, offers the
visitor attractions that are distinctly
American, in addition to the glamour
and thrill of European atmosphere.
There Is Hollywood, with its endless
wonders of the most fascinating of all
industries, and the ever-present pos
sibility that you may run into Clark
Gable or Joan Crawford face to face.
There is San Francisco with its world
famed Golden Gate; there are nation
al parks unsurpassed in beauty and
grandeur the world over. and count
less points of interest interspersed.
Visiting California, you may pass
through other glories of the West-Ari-
iona, Colorado, New Mexico. Where
In Spain will you find a Painted
Desert, a Garden of the Gods. Yose-
mite falls?
Or let's say it was England you
were thinking about. The charm OF
the English countryside you will find
in many parts of the New England
states. On Vermont hillside you
may stop for lunch or for a day or
two of rest and recreation in a quaint
old English inn. In Boston, Maine,
New Hampshire and Connecticut you
might well imagine you were on the
British Isles. There is section of
the Maine hills which has been called
the Scotland of America; 1t is said
to resemble the home of the kilt and
the bagpipe more than any other place
on earth. Leaving New England, you
may return home through the Irish
hills in southern Michigan, whose
slopes and lakes are reminiscent of
the .'ould sod"
You'll find Germany in several
places on the United States map. Take
a moonlight trip down the Hudson
river some evening. All you need Is