P is for Perris, CA

This is my stomping ground. We moved to this area more than 20 years ago and found that while it has it’s problems, there is a lot here to do and see.

We are less than five miles from the Lake Perris State Recreational Area. The lake offers boating, swimming, fishing, horseback riding, and camping. We often camp there because we can spend a week at the lake while the boy still goes to school and baseball practice. They have summer camps for kids where they learn to swim, water skills, and have a overnight camp-out. This is Niles learning how to navigate a kayak.

The Orange Empire Railway Museum is 10 miles from our house. It is just beyond downtown Perris by the Perris Airport where all the skydiving is done. We love to go here and just spend time looking at the trains and trolleys. 

The building is the ticket booth and gift shop. For a reasonable fee, you can purchase a ticket to ride the trains and trolleys around the park. They have several different types that you can ride. I am partial to the electric buses because I remember riding those as a child in Los Angeles. 

 There are several barns where the trains are stored and a couple others where they are restored. It can take all day to see everything and admission is free is you choose not to ride the trains.

The grounds are a good place for a family picnic and on hot days, there is shade.

This is one of the exhibits in the "Signal Garden". Train signals have evolved over time and they have a nice selection. Kids love it because they get to push the buttons to make them work. (Even big kids)

Five miles in the other direction is March Field Air Museum. It sits on the edge of the former March Air Force Base. It has been decommissioned and is now the March Air Reserve Base. It is still busy because many times it is used to send troops and rescue worker around the country for national disasters. The museum sits at the edge of the runway, off Interstate 215. 

The museum continues to grow as new planes are added. They are currently working on the Van Buren off-ramp which will make it much more accessible and traffic may flow a little better.  

I reccommend this museum. It's a great place to learn about March Field and the history of the 70 some planes that reside there. As a bonus, many pilots use March Field to practice taking off and landing and to get their hours in. These "touch and goes"  happen all day long and are fun to watch. Across the freeway is Riverside National Cemetery. They have several displays of interest. I recently found the Civil War memorial. 

Within fifteen miles, you can ride trains, watch planes, and kayak on the lake. Pretty cool!