At 11.10 AM on Cinco de Mayo I board the Surfliner, Amtrak’s southbound train to San Diego. Leaving Union Station in downtown Los Angeles we pass junkyards, small housing projects, warehouses and the Concrete River. A hill of busted gravel at least five stories tall, power lines, flood control bridges, parking lots filled with buses. The view continues, homeless encampments next to the river, the poured concrete Sears Tower, dump trucks, smokestacks entering the city of Vernon - LA’s industrial heartland. Welcome to the blood and bones of the city, the city of Commerce - wood pallets, 710 freeway, Santa Fe trains, the paved banks of the Rio Hondo River, Pico Rivera. The Surfliner’s path essentially follows Interstate 5 the entire trip to San Diego. Industry hugs the rails all the way to and through Orange County, Santa Fe Springs, Norwalk, La Mirada and Buena Park.

The Venice Boardwalk, with its two plus miles of street performers, vendors, artists, psychics, weight lifters and incense sellers, is almost as famous as Disneyland or Hollywood Blvd. During the summer months and warm weekends throughout the year, thousands of pedestrians walk the eclectic promenade. There are rack and racks of cheap sunglasses, t-shirt bargains and no trip to Venice is complete without seeing the turbaned Venice street musician Harry Perry playing his electric guitar as he skates by on rollerblades. Venice is one of the few places in LA where you see a wide cross-section of incomes and ethnicities. This is all excellent common knowledge but it’s the many other overlooked and significant aspects of Venice that make it even more amazing than it already is.

Despite the millions of people that currently reside in San Diego, the bustling city was once a barren desert, so it's not surprising that the Pacific Ocean is the main attraction! Both residents and tourists alike flock to the sea for surfing, swimming, snorkeling and to bake in the sun, but how many people know that it's also possible to explore natural sea caves while paddling a kayak?

“Why would I want to do that?” you may ask.

Well, where else can people experience abundant wildlife in natural surroundings while visiting different marine environments on a guided tour?