San Diego: A Golden City

INTRODUCTION
During the early to mid-1500's, Portugese born Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo while exploring the coast of California ~ sailing under the Spanish flag ~ guided his flagship San Salvadore into what is now known as San Diego Bay. His goal was to discover a trade route between the North Pacific and the North Atlantic. In addition, like other explorers of his era, he hoped to find the fabled "Seven Cities of Gold," or the Seven Cities of Cibola. Little could he possibly know that his efforts would eventually result in the founding of a city that, by the twentieth century, can be easily perceived itself as a genuine "Golden City," and the destination of millions of visitors a year.