Point Loma was the first sight, of what was to become California, that greeted Europeans when they sailed up the coast from Mexico in 1542. The peninsula juts into the Pacific Ocean and creates the shelter for San Diego Bay. There are two lighthouses - the old one which is now a historical monument and the newer one (this pic) which still operates. The old lighthouse opened in November 1855, but was abandoned in 1891 because it was too far from the water. The light from the new lighthouse stretches more than 23 miles across the water. San Diego is about 5 hours from the desert scenes of Arizona.