California Highway 1, Big Sur

San Diego

Above: The peninsula with the gray ship nearby is Ballast Point, where historians think the Spanish under Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo might have first landed in California in 1542. There's a submarine base on the peninsula now. Below: The Old Point Loma Lighthouse near there, in Cabrillo National Monument, dates to 1855.








































After Ballast Point, the next oldest place I could find in San Diego was the Mission San Diego de Alcala (above). The mission was founded in 1769 by Junipero Serra, who traveled from Mexico with Spanish looking to establish outposts against Russian encroachment. It's still a functioning Catholic church -- there was a marriage there the day I visited. The second photo is Serra's room at the mission.



































The site of the (minor) Battle of San Pasqual from the Mexican-American War, 1846, is on the far side of the highway. One monument on the near side of the highway describes Kit Carson and Edward Beale's role in the battle.

Air show from Alcatraz

Babbage Difference Engine No. 2

Kennesaw Mountain battlefield

Sequoia National Forest

The bottom image is the "General Sherman" tree -- the largest tree in the world by volume. To get a sense of the scale, notice that there are tiny ant-like people around the base of the tree that you can barely make out.

No, it's a *literal* prison

The top image is the cell house at Alcatraz. The middle one is me in "the hole." It's even more profoundly peaceful in there than I thought solitary confinement could be. Have you ever seen me that happy, healthy, content? I wish I could rent it for a weekend.