F Line Streetcar in San Francisco

Postcard US-4010006 to Germany shows the F Market & Wharves line, one of several light rail lines in San Francisco, California, that runs as a heritage streetcar service. Distinctive from most other lines in the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) system, the F line's operation uses exclusively historic equipment both from San Francisco's retired fleet as well as from cities around the world. Market Street Railway, a nonprofit organization of streetcar enthusiasts, provides a support role by raising funds and helps to restore vintage streetcars.

Ojai Valley Inn, Ojai, California

Postcard US-3971375 to the Netherlands shows towering mountains and the scenic beauty of a valley of enchantment form the background of the 18-hole golf course at Ojai Valley Inn, a Spanish hacienda-style inn and spa dated to 1934. It is located 3 miles or 5 kilometers from the border of Los Padres National Forest and 18 miles or 29 kilometers from Ventura, northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara, California.

Purple Carpet, Pacific Grove, California

I sent out postcard US-3975289 to Australia early today, which shows a "purple carpet" of blossoms brightens this Pacific Grove coast in California with photo credit by James Blank.

Then the news came with the superstar Prince's passing at the age of 57. Soon the City of Las Vegas has turned purple to honor Prince. Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman directs the Las Vegas City Hall exterior to be lit in purple tonight. So do the Venetian and Palazzo hotels and casinos, and the High Roller at The LINQ Promenade on the Las Vegas Strip. Fremont Street Experience also honors the pop singer with a tribute at their Viva Vision canopy tonight.

I found a  video on YouTube showing Prince performing “Purple Rain” during downpour for the Super Bowl XLI Half-time Show, where producers described how Prince met the adverse weather head on and owned the show. (Update: unfortunately, that video later went private.)

Santa Monica Beach

Postcard US-3841697 to Germany shows a January, 2003 photo at Santa Monica beach near Los Angeles, CA when I was visiting from Florida. The picture was taken on the 100-year-old Santa Monica Pier, looking north. It was fascinating to see beaches on the Pacific Ocean side.

It was before the US-led Iraq invasion in May, 2003. I had just watched the debates about starting the invasion on TV in my hotel room before taking a walk on the pier. In less a month, then US Secretary of State Colin Powell would go to the United Nations Security Council to present his now infamous speech loaded with flaws on February 5, 2003. I can't help but wonder what if we could turn back time and change the course of history?  Without the war, we would be in a much better world today.

Mount Tamalpais, California

Postcard US-1994530 from California shows Mount Tamalpais, located in Marin County, California with a 2,574-foot or 785-meter peak. The mountain bike is said to have been invented here. Located on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge across San Francisco, it offers spectacular ocean views and city views of San Francisco from the top. Much of Mount Tamalpais is protected within public lands such as Mount Tamalpais State Park.

Today in History: The Chicago "L" commuter rail system began operation in 1892.

Yuccas Blooming on the Desert

Postcard US-3285001 to Finland was a vintage linen card Yucca Whipplei blooming with a background of mighty San Jacinto Mountain in California.

Native to southern California, United States and Baja California, Mexico, Yucca whipplei ( Hesperoyucca whipplei) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Hesperoyucca, but closely related to, and previously usually included in, the genus Yucca. It is extremely drought tolerant and thrives in clay soils. The fiber from its leaves was used extensively by Native Americans for making sandal, cloth, and rope.

Surfing Santa Cruz, California

Postcard NL-2915866 from the Netherlands shows a surfer drops into a powerful wave near Westcliff Drive in Santa Cruz, California. Autumn and winter storms in the North Pacific Ocean generate frequent large swells along the Central and Northern California coastline. Santa Cruz, 75 miles or 120 kilometers south of San Francisco, is a beach resort community with a population of 62,864 as of 2013 and home to  the University of California, Santa Cruz, a premier research institution and educational hub.

Separately, Garrett McNamara, an American professional big wave surfer, was featured in a previous blog.

Hedgehog Cactus, on the California Desert

Postcard US-3142509 to the Netherlands took 50 days to reach its destination. It was a vintage card showing the Hedgehog Cactus (Cereus Engelmannii), one of the most showy of all the cactus blossom with red and purple flowers. The species can be found in Baja California and Sonora, Mexico; and in Arizona, California and Nevada, USA at elevations ranging from near sea level to 2,400 meters or 7,874 feet. April is the usual time for it to blossom.

Volkswagen Samba Bus

Postcard US-3202842 from Los Angeles was a vintage travel postcard by Lantern Press showing a Volkswagen Samba Bus cruising along the Los Angeles coast. First produced in 1951, Samba-Bus, also known as Deluxe Microbus, was the most luxurious version of the Volkswagen Transporter T1 with panoramic windows and a fabric roof. It became popular as a hippie bus in the 1960s.

Salinas, California

Outgoing postcard US-3208614 to Slovenia shows Salinas, the county seat of Monterey County, California. Located at the mouth of the Salinas Valley, the city is about 8 miles or 13 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean with a population of 155,662 as of 2013. It serves as the main business, governmental and industrial center of the region, known as the nation's salad bowl for being the principal center of the lettuce industry - the "green gold." Shown on the card is the view of the city's Main Street, looking north.

Salad Bowl of the Nation

Outgoing postcard US-3169528 to California shows a lettuce field in Salinas, California. It reads on the back of the card: "Over sixty percent of the lettuce eaten in the nation comes from the Salinas Valley where they called it 'green gold.' With the longest growing season in the world, heavy shipments are made from April to December and lesser shipments during the other months."

Salinas is the county seat and largest municipality of Monterey County, California, known for its vibrant and large agriculture industry. It is the hometown of Nobel Prize in Literature laureate John Steinbeck.

According to Wikipedia, traditionally an Anglophonic European American settlement, Salinas attracted a significant Asian-American immigrants in the agriculture and fishing industries at the beginning of the 20th century. Hispanic immigrants primarily from Mexico drawn to opportunities in the area’s agricultural industry since 1960s and established a large Mexican-American enclave in the neighboring area. Along with the great influx of legal immigrants, it comes an influx of undocumented immigrants. By 2011, Salinas had one of the highest concentrations of undocumented immigrants in the state and nationwide.

Cypress Trees on Point Lobos, near Carmel, California

Outgoing postcard US-3109079 to Russia shows Point Lobos, a rugged point of rocks at the southern end of Carmel Bay in California. It is thickly wooded with pines and cedars and strikingly picturesque with its gnarled and twisted cypress trees that fringe this rocky coast.

National Geographic: Owls

Outgoing postcard US-2869244 to Ukraine, sent on July 3, 2014, has since expired. It shows a tagged northern spotted owl in a redwood forest in California.

After I saw a Youtube video of an owl attacked by a hawk, I was curious about the difference between owls and hawks, all birds of prey. Owls belong to the order Strigiformes, with more than 100 species. On the other hands, hawks belong to the Accipitridae family within the order Accipitriformes. Owls are more active at night while hawks rule the day. That probably partially explain the timing of the above "attack." However, hawks do appear to be more aggressive and territorial. Another popular Youtube Video shows the dramatic moment of a hawk attacking a drone over Cambridge, Massachusetts recently, sending the quadcopter plummeting to the ground.

Photo Credit: Michael Nichols/National Geographic Stock. The postcard was purchased at National Geographic store at Zazzle.

Golden Gate Bridge Gets Safety Nets

Outgoing postcard US-2849014 to Poland shows the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

The Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District's Board of Directors approved funding for a suicide barrier, a decades-long effort for the advocates, on the Golden Gate Bridge Friday, June 27, 2014. The 76-million-dollar project will install steel-cable nets 20 feet beneath the east and west edges of the bridge, with construction planned from 2015 to 2018. Once built, the barrier would deter people from jumping to their deaths or catch them in the nets if they have actually done so. At least 1,600 people have jumped to their deaths from the Golden Gate Bridge since it was completed in 1937, including a record high of 46 last year in 2013.

The plan was not without controversy, in the past critics have complained that a barrier would ruin the bridge's appearance. More important, with underlining crises unsolved, it would simply displace suicides to elsewhere. Nonetheless, as mentioned in a SFGate article, statistics from a study shows suicide barriers on other bridges successful in deterring jumpers. #LifeIsWorthLiving

California Wind Energy

Postcard US-2822274 from California is a multi-view card that shows wind farms in California. The description on the card reads "California contains the world's largest concentration of wind turbines. Every year the 15,000 wind turbines in the Altamont, Tehachapi, and San Gorgonio Passes produce enough electricity to meet the residential needs of a city the size of San Francisco. And they do so without producing any air pollution or contributing to global warming. California's use of wind energy has become a model for counties around the world." Photo credits by Lloyd Herziger and Ed Linton.

Carnegie Public Library in San Bernardino

Postcard US-2698983 to Wisconsin, US shows Carnegie Public Library in San Bernardino, California, with the Courthouse in the background. Efforts to establish a public library had continued intermittently since San Bernardino was incorporated in 1869. Carnegie offered a $20,000 grant in 1902.  An architectural competition was held where plans submitted by architects were displayed; and citizens voted for their favorite plans. Architects Burnham and Bliesner won the competition with a classical Revival style building plan.

The library was opened on August 10, 1904. In 1920, the Carnegie Corporation provided an additional $7,600 grant with the city issuing a $10,000 bond as the matching fund. The library was closed in 1957 as the building was declared unsafe; it was demolished next year. A new library was completed in 1960.

The postcard, a reproduction of a vintage postcard c. 1915, was purchased at Zazzle.

Run Disney

Outgoing postcard US-2540424 to Taiwan shows a running Micky Mouse that promotes Walt Disney World Marathon in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, January 12, 2014. The 26.2 mile or 42.195 km course runs you through four Walt Disney World theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot, as well as ESPN Wide World of Sports and the Walt Disney World SPEEDWAY. The race starts at 5:30 a.m with the Start/Finish lines at Epcot. It is billed as the most magical race on earth. In addition, there are other running events planned at both Walter Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California throughout 2014.

California Natural Wonders

Postcard US-2380934 from my neighboring state - sunny California features many treasures of its natural resources. I was fortunate to visit Lake Tahoe, the Yosemite National Park, the Joshua Tree National Monument, and many famous beaches. Death Valley has been on my to-go list for a while.