Solana Beach to Birmingham train

Solana Beach is a small coastal city in San Diego. Its name directly translates to 'warm wind' due to its sunny position by the beach. Some of the best activities in the city involve the sunny coast, like visiting Fletcher Cove Beach Park or going to Seascape Surf Park. You can also enjoy snorkeling, surfing, and fishing trips out on the Pacific. The area is well-known for its classic Californian hiking, with trails such as Annie's Canyon and the Coastal Rails Trail. When you've worked up an appetite, head to the famous Fish Market, which serves fresh-caught Californian seafood.

For air travel, the San Diego Airport is the closest. The city is also on Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner route, which runs from Los Angeles, Fullerton, and Santa Ana to Solana Beach. If you'd prefer to take the bus, the Amtrak Thruway also operates in Solana Beach to connect from nearby cities like Los Angeles, Bakersfield, and Santa Barbara.

Birmingham may not be the capital of Alabama, but it does hold the crown as both the cultural and entertainment capital of the Cotton State. The second-most populous city, Birmingham was founded during the Reconstruction Period, which followed the American Civil War.

Quietly going about its business as an industrial powerhouse, producing much of America's iron and steel, Birmingham didn't enter the world's consciousness until the Civil Rights Movement one hundred years later. It’s one of the 8 iconic cities on our Martin Luther King, Jr. road trip, as it’s the city where Dr. King wrote his famous “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.” When visiting, be sure to stop at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute to learn more about the city’s civil rights history.

Today known as America's 'Magic City,' new life has been blown into downtown Birmingham in recent years. Its streets have been cleaned up, allowing the city's historical gems such as the Alabama Theater to shine once more both by day and by night.

The Birmingham Museum of Art contains the most extensive collection of artworks in the southeastern United States. It's connected to the nightlife districts of Five Points South, Lakeview, and Uptown by a series of charming tree-lined public squares. Close by Five Points South also lies Red Mountain's Vulcan Park, home to the world's largest cast-iron statue. It was made for the St. Louis World Fair of 1904.

Birmingham is an important regional hub linking the Deep South, the Appalachian Mountains, and Piedmont. Travelers can easily reach other noteworthy destinations in the U.S., including Dallas, Phoenix, and Montgomery, thanks to the hundreds of bus and train routes to and from Birmingham.