Things to Do in Usa

One of the most famous Catholic monuments in the city, Mission Santa Barbara has come to represent all that is historic and cultural in the area as one of the longest continuously operating missions in California. Visitors who venture to this 1786 Catholic outpost will find beautiful construction of stunning stonework, impressive columns and two sky-high domed towers, as well as plenty of local history.

This mission was originally established in 1716 as Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de los Hainais in East Texas with the purpose of converting  local Native Americas to Christianity. It was moved to San Antonio in 1731, and today stands as the best preserved of the Texas missions. An interesting fact about these missions is they were not churches but Indian towns with the church as the focus where Native Americans learned to become Spanish citizens -- a process that required becoming Catholic.

Visiting the site today, you’ll get a clear sense of what mission life was like hundreds of years ago. It’s also interesting to take in the stone building with its Spanish Colonial architecture. Notice the intricate Renaissance details, colorful Moorish designs, Romanesque attributes and gothic arches. On the grounds, you can still see the quarry from which the Native Americans collected the stone to build the mission. The preserved church is now an active parish where you can attend services and hear the choir sing beautiful Spanish songs. While much of the facade’s geometrical designs have faded, you can still view original symbolic and decorative frescos in several of the rooms. The most well-known fresco resides on the convento room ceiling, thought to be a rendering of God as a mestizo.

There was once a time when traveling by train was the image of American romance— galloping across the open plains on the back of a steaming steel horse. With the advent of planes and automobiles, however, the era of train travel in the United States has long since passed its twilight. Unless, of course, you’re at the Model Railroad Museum, where the power of locomotives is as clear as the trains are timeless. Here at this 27,000 square foot enclosure inside of Balboa Park, railroad clubs have created artistic scale models of classic American trains. Follow a train as it plies the rails of the historic Tehachapi Pass, and look at models for the Pacific Desert Line—a track that was planned from San Diego to the east but never came to fruition. The meticulous craftsmanship that’s gone into the models is nothing short of astounding, and in addition to the models and trains themselves, visitors can learn about the legendary history of traveling the U.S. by train.

Looking at the key stats that define Monte Carlo, it appears in many ways to be an average property in a sea of over-the-top, award-winning resorts, but its low-key vibe draws many people who prefer not to be swept up in the stereotypical Las Vegas madness.

Monte Carlo’s casino floor includes more than 100,000 square feet of gaming space, which includes more than 1,600 slot and video poker machines. The resort offers all the popular table games including blackjack, roulette, craps, several variations of poker and three kinds of baccarat. In the poker room, players can try their luck at Texas hold ‘em, limit hold ‘em, Omaha and no limit hold ‘em, and a variety of daily tournaments up the ante.

The resort’s high limit slots lounge is located off the casino floor and is fully catered. The maximum bet is $100. The high limit table game room offers mini baccarat with bets ranging from $100 to $10,000, blackjack running from $25 to $5,000 and single-zero roulette.

For those new to the casino scene, Monte Carlo offers craps lessons in the casino at 11:00 a.m. daily and poker lessons in the poker room Monday through Friday at 11:00 a.m.

When was the last time you had a snorkel adventure inside of a sunken Hawaiian volcano, or enjoyed a freshly cooked BBQ lunch on the deck of a sailing catamaran? Thanks to its calm, crystal clear waters, bright coral reef, and 250-plus species of tropical fish, Molokini Crater is the most popular spot for snorkeling tours on Maui. Spend a day on a snorkeling tour as you explore the protected marine preserve and come face to face with some of Hawaii's most colorful marine life.

Sky-high cliffs of pale limestone and sandstone give this spectacular natural wonder its recognizable color. Its shaded canyons, creeks and ledges, juxtaposed with brilliant blue skies and lush green plains, make for breathtaking photo ops of the American Southwest. Travelers can wander the Ponderosa Pine forests and revel at age-old growth here, or navigate the trails that follow Fossil Creek Canyon and Pine Canyon through impressive landscapes and breathtaking beauty. After exploring the Mogollon Rim, visitors can explore the nearby towns of Payson or Sedona, where red rock culture, Native American influence and desert life give way to an almost spiritual existence for residents. 

Mission Beach is a cozy, beachside community that rests on a sandbar between the Pacific Ocean and Mission Bay. It’s a perfect spot to indulge in a myriad of outdoor activities including sunbathing, horseshoes, surfing, bicycling, skateboarding, and tossing a Frisbee. With courts available for both, beach volleyball and basketball are also popular draws to the beach.

For activities away from Mission Beach, there’s SeaWorld in Mission Bay Park and historic Belmont Park in South Mission Beach, which features the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster as well as other rides including the FlowRider, Chaos, Vertical Plunge, Krazy Kars, and Tilt-a-Whirl. Also here is the the Mission Beach Plunge, once the largest saltwater (now freshwater) pool in the world and the only remaining structure left from the original Belmont Park structures.

Water activities at Mission Beach include sailboat, rowboat, and kayak rentals, as well as charter boats. On shore, gray whales pass San Diego from mid-December to late February on their way south to Baja California, and again in mid-March on their way up to Alaska.