Tuesday, December 10, 2013, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA

San Diego, CA, was just a little more than an hour south, so we took a drive planning to see Balboa Park. The park is large and includes more than you could expect to see in a single day. We were able to visit three museums, a cactus garden and get in a pretty good amount of walking.

We parked next to the bandshell. One of two wings on this ornate structure is below. The detail was difficult to capture and we soon found every building in the park was as rich in architectural detail as this was, providing a lot of photo opportunities. 

Off to one side of the Spreckels Organ Pavillion. The organ was covered leaving us to wonder why it was named such.

We walked through the House of Pacific Relations Friendship complex where there was a small bungalow for each of several nations with ties to San Diego. Representatives from each country open their doors on Sundays, but we found a group of Norwegian wood carvers that met on Tuesday mornings, so they had that one house open. We were able to see some genuine Norwegian furniture and other items on display. 

David is lucky enough to have 50% Norwegian blood coursing through his veins.

Sam was happy to meet Chip (a little terrier mix - hiding behind the heater)

The Timken Museum of Art displayed a lot of rare old master's works. Quite a few of them dating from the 1600s. There were a lot of docents who liked nothing more than the chance to tell you all about the paintings. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside the museum.

They had an Albert Bierstadt and a Thomas Moran (two of my favorite artists).

The world's largest remaining wood lathe structure was home to a nice variety of plants managed by the San Diego Botanical Gardens. 

This was just sheltering the walkway.

San Diego Botanical Garden Foundation and Floral Association

Detail on the Museum of Photographic Arts/Model Railroad Museum/San Diego History Center

The San Diego Natural History Museum included an entire floor of nothing but skulls. I wonder what they will have in their upcoming Pirates display.

This Natural History Museum was part of our ASTC network, which means FREE!

David couldn't resist scratching him behind the ears. I think he misses Sam (who is napping in the car).

The inspiration for the SyFy mega-blockbuster movie, Megalodon. I think this guy could have swallowed a full-grown cow in a single bite. 

"Megalodon was the biggest prehistoric shark that ever lived and the largest predatory marine creature in the history of the planet," says about.com

I assume all of the magnificent covered walkways are to shield the sun since the annual rainfall is only about 10 inches.