Balboa Parks offers lots of fun for families in San Diego

Planes mark the entrance to the San Diego Air and Space Museum in Balboa Park (Photo courtesy of Air and Space Museum)

By Richard Irwin, Staff Writer

Bridal parties were scattered around Spreckels Organ Pavilion posing silently like the little grooms and brides you find atop fancy wedding cakes.
The newlyweds were enjoying the sunny skies and beautiful gardens at Balboa Park for their wedding pictures. They picked the beautiful pavilion in San Diego for its classic architecture.
No one seemed to mind when the giant outdoor organ began to play. Many probably didn't even know they were standing next to the largest outdoor pipe organ in the world. In fact, it has 73 ranks with more than 4,518 pipes.
But then everything about Balboa Park is big. Really big. This 1,200 acre urban park may be the cultural heart of San Diego, home to many wonderful gardens and interesting museums.
There's the Museum of Man, Museum of Art, Museum of Photographic Arts, Natural History Museum -- well, you get the idea.
Most are located along El Prado, a long promenade running through the center of the park. The museums are housed in Spanish Revival style buildings. Be sure to take some time to enjoy the detailed ornamentation on the beautiful facades.
But this time, I was visiting with my two younger brothers and a sister-in-law, so we each picked a museum that we really wanted to see.
With so much to see, we started at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center and worked our way down El Prado.
Our first stop was the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. Located in the basement of the Casa De Balboa, this is billed as the largest indoor model railroad exhibit in the world.
Having built many model railroads in our home in Pittsburgh, we wanted to see this world-famous layout.
They didn't have just one model railroad, this museum featured huge model layouts in different scales.
One 2,700-square-foot layout represented the rail route from San Diego to Sacramento in the large O scale. My favorite was the 4,500-square-foot HO layout based on the rail line from San Diego Union Station east through spectacular Carriso Gorge to the desert floor at El Centro.
The detail on the moving trains and scenery was amazing. Just watching the freight trains wend their way through the miniature world brought back childhood memories.
Children seemed to enjoy the toy train gallery, where a camera car gives the little visitors an engineer's view of the layout. There's also a coal mine at the kid's level, where children can push buttons to run the trains.
As we walked down the main boulevard, we stopped to visit some of the extensive gardens maintained by the park. These include Alcazar Garden, Cactus Garden, Casa del Rey Moro Garden, Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden, Japanese Friendship Garden -- well, you get the idea.
My brother wanted to stop at the San Diego Automotive Museum next. He's a car and motorcycle buff.
The car museum had a very nice collection of antique cars and motorcycles. It also some hot rods and one-off vehicles.
We'd never seen a 1924 Ford Model T Speedster before. It was a racing version of the 15 million Model T's that put the world on the road.
Exhibit placards provided many fascinating facts. We learned that Model T's didn't have fuel pumps; gas flowed to the engine by gravity. This worked well unless drivers encountered long, steep hills. Resourceful motorists turned their Fords around and drove up the hills backwards to avoid stalling.
We also enjoyed the 1948 Tucker Torpedo, a car of the future built by Preston Tucker. Tucker cars featured advanced safety elements like a padded dash, pop-out windshields and a "safety chamber" for passengers in case of a crash.
Tucker was immortalized in the 1988 movie "Tucker -- The Man and His Dream."
I wanted to visit the Aviation and Space Museum next door. This museum has a nice range of vintage aircraft.
The different galleries highlight not only the planes, but also the spirit of the time. The brooding World War I exhibit has Sopwith Camels battling German biplanes over sandbagged trenches.
Another exhibit traces Pacific Southwest Airlines, the world's first low-fare airline. PSA was founded in San Diego in 1949.
The World War II section has a German Messerschmitt looping over a colorful American Mustang and British Spitfire.
An interesting carrier exhibit honors San Diego's long history as a naval town. Climb up into the control tower to see how the war was fought in the Pacific.
Jet aircraft in the collection include the Skyhawk, Hornet, Phantom and Mig 15.
Unfortunately, time had run out before we had run out of museums. But everyone had enjoyed their day in the cultural center of San Diego.
Admissions range from $6 for an adult at the Railroad Museum to $8 at the Auto Museum and $15 at the Air and Space Museum. Children are free with an adult admission at the railroad, $4 at the car and $6 at the plane museums.
Or try the Passport to Balboa, a one-day pass good for adult admission to your choice of any 4 of the 13 museums on the same day. The $29 passports may be purchased online at www.balboapark.org or at the Visitors Center.