California excites interest, envy, and longing throughout the world. It is a beacon for innumerable refugees, immigrants and tourists from all quarters of the globe, seeking freedom, excitement, or improved economic opportunity.

This tour is titled "San Diego – The Jewel on the Enchanted Island of California" and it draws thematic inspiration from those ancient, commonly-held dreams of myths associated with ideal islands, especially those through to be rich in gold, precious gems, and obliging women. The myth of the "island of California" has persisted ever since California's discovery. Anyone who has felt the irresistible pull of California will feel some affinity with this fascinating tradition. Though the dream didn't – couldn't – literally come true, California remains symbolically an enchanted isle.

California is often compared to a lodestone, or a magnet, or the moon drawing tides. On occasion, California is fancifully described as an enchantress – Circe, or one of the Sirens or the Lorelei. Every utopian name imaginable has been applied at some time — Atlantis, Arcadia, Avalon, the Garden of Eden, El Dorado, the Elysian Fields, the Garden of the Golden Apples, the Happy Valley, the Isle of the Blest, the Land of Milk and Honey, the Land of Prester John, Mecca, the New Jerusalem, the Pleasure Dome of Kublai Khan, the Promised Land, the Terrestrial Paradise, and Treasure Island.

These exotic names may sound like fancy metaphors to people who think the romantic appeal of California is found in the make-believe world of Disneyland, the glamour of Hollywood, the fun-and-sun cult and the glitter of a highly sophisticated modern state. But many of the above descriptions are far from being mere journalistic hyperbole. They are vestiges of dreams seriously associated with California. These dreams date back to a time long before the lust for gold and the hunger for land attracted newer kinds of dreamers into the state in the middle of the nineteenth century. In fact, they were part of the intellectual and emotional freight brought by Columbus and other explorers to the New World.

The focus and location of this program will be San Diego and environs where the California dreams began, then grew, flourished and took root. The dreams of the early explorers brought men like Cabrillo to weigh anchor in the harbor of San Diego which he described as "a very good place." The Spanish dreamed of empire and founded Old Town and Franciscan missionaries dreamed of a Christian empire and founded 21 missions to pave the way. Nineteenth century dreamers planned San Diego's Balboa Park and enthusiasts built a marvelous organ at its center. Entrepreneurial magnates constructed a world-class hotel on Coronado Island from where an aviator set out on his dream to fly across the Atlantic. On this tour of San Diego we will experience the fruits of past dreamers – now more reality than mere dreams.

You are invited to experience San Diego with us on this special program to see the unseen, to catch the wave of excitement that this dream island and jeweled city inspires in all who stand on her shores. This program has been designed for Blind people and individuals with low vision, their family and friends. To meet the special needs of our travelers, this program has been carefully crafted to provide a rich educational experience unavailable on regularly scheduled sighted trips. This program offers many unique opportunities for relaxation and socialization. This program will be limited to nine participants. Sighted guides will accompany the program.


Deadline for Registration: November 1, 2004.