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Current
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Traveling Along: California Vacations
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Traveling Along: California Vacations Through July 15, 2000 California has long been a popular vacation destination and all indications are that it's attractions will continue to draw tourists from all walks of life and all parts of the globe for decades to come. Today, visitors travel quickly and easily but in the early part of the last century, travel across the country or the ocean took a great deal of time. It was a different era, resplendent with the finest of amenities and service aboard trains, ships, and later on, airplanes. With the invention of the automobile, the prospect of traveling became widely available to the general public and Americans seized the opportunity with gusto. The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 made it possible for Americans to finally travel with greater ease and relative speed from coast to coast. Even then, California was a popular destination. Over the next 60 years, accomodations and services on trains improved while fares declined, making elegant and leisurely travel available to individuals of nearly all incomes. From velvet covered chairs and first class cuisine in dining cars to sleeping berths that were turned down each night, the train was a most gracious form of cross country travel. At the same time that railroads began to crisscross the continent, steamship lines began to respond to a rising travel demand. Technological and aesthetic improvements made to both ships and riverboats, turned travel over the waterways into a luxurious trip with many special amenities. Though considered by many to be the apex of elegance, comfort, and affluence, sea travel remained expensive and exclusive. And, opulence aside, passengers still had to endure seasickness and the boredom of an extended sea going journey. By the 1930s, the advancements of air transportation—with it's speed and convenience— steadily replaced the popularity of shipboard travel. The earliest air travel catered to the wealthy—those who could pay any price for the exclusive opportunity to fly through the air seated in unsecured wicker seats, vibrating to the revolutions of the engine, and bombarded by its noise. Once again, technological advancements made vast improvements to plane interiors and by 1935, Pan America introduced its Clipper lines, amphibious planes which took air travel to a new level of luxury. The China Clipper, which flew its inaugural flight out of Alameda, was a spacious aircraft complete with dining facilities, sleeping berths, and a lounge area. Passengers flew in a few hours to Hawaii or China instead of spending weeks onboard ship. With the later introduction of jet service in the 1960s, air travel quickly became affordable to large numbers of people and to virtually anywhere in the world. But perhaps the greatest revolution in the development of the tourist industry lies in the invention of the automobile and California's love affair with it was instantaneous. Long before roads were paved, Californian's set out in their cars to explore the state—from the oceanfront to the mountains, no stone was left unturned. This new unrestricted travel—free of schedules and pre-arranged tickets—was not without difficulties. Meager springs, minimal padding, and rough roads led to arduous, bumpy, dusty rides in open cars subject to frequent breakdowns and inevitable accidents. Improvements happened gradually as technology enhanced road conditions and provided for comfort features in automobiles such as heaters and fully enclosed interiors. But the early inconveniences did little to deter the adventurous who happily strapped picnic basket, luggage, and repair kit onto the running board before setting out to explore the wonders of California. |
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Through July 15, 2000 Spring is here and you don't have to look far to see evidence of it. Located throughout the East Bay Regional Park system you'll find hundred of varieties of wildflowers in bloom across the hillsides.
About 8,000 different plant species can be found in California—that's more than one third of all plant species in North America! Perched on the western edge of the continent, California is isolated from the rest of the country by mountains and desert. This isolation, with its extremes of climate and topography, has encouraged an amazing diversity in plant and animal life, especially a tremendous variety of flowering plants. Several areas of California are renowned for their displays of spring flowers. Fields of purple lupines or yellow daisies, white popcorn flowers, orange poppies—or mixtures of color—grow in abundance throughout the Bay Area and in places a short drive away, such as the San Antonio Valley in Santa Clara county and Bear Valley in Colusa county. In the exhibit, you'll see photographic examples of several varieties of wildflowers—and a few of the pollinators who frequent them—alongside a map of the Bay Area Regional Parks district. The tiny, bright, red-headed hummingbird from the Oakland Museum of California's Natural Sciences collection of specimens, is worth stopping to admire and the iris print reproductions of the wildflowers are stunning.
Three local photographers are represented in the exhibit. They are John Game, a Berkeley biologist, Galen Rowell, of Emeryville's Mountain Light Photography and long-time resident of Berkeley, and Bob Walker, a well-known environmentalist and photographer for the Parks system. Each has spent countless hours photographing the California landscape and their love of the environment is apparent in the body of work each has produced. Enjoy a piece of the outdoors by taking a look at California Wildflowers. It's like a breath of fresh, California air. |
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Oakland
Museum at the Oakland International Airport
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2000 Oakland Museum of California
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