01/30/2020
2020 Annual Tour Rancho Santa Margarita Ranch House
Camp Pendleton Infantry Immersion Training Facility
On February 6, 2020, the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society is hosting the Annual Tour of the Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores Ranch House, the USMC Mechanized Museum and the Infantry Immersion Training Facility at Camp Pendleton. USMC Col.(ret) Jim Williams will be the onboard tour guide and will have many insightful stories about his career in the Marine Corps.
Your tour of the Ranch House Complex features more than half a century of traditional hospitality and generosity. Rancho Santa Margarita history includes key events and figures from the history of California and the nation. The Ranch House has provided shelter and an administrative center for inhabitants of the Rancho Santa Margarita since 1841. The wide adobe walls of the rancho, the rustle of eucalyptus leaves and the vivid purples of bougainvillea evoke mental images of early Native Americans, Spanish explorers, turbulent Mexican and American conquest, giant cattle drives, exciting rodeos, and fiestas enlivened by laughter and Spanish guitars.
The Infantry Immersion Trainer (IIT), is an 140,500 square foot indoor and outdoor mock Middle Eastern village designed specifically for infantry Marines, a training course developed to mimic the atmosphere of a hostile village. The Marines are subjected to stressful combat situations which test their ability to communicate with each other and develop critical mission objectives to achieve their goals.
The cost of the Annual Camp Pendleton Tour is $65 per person and includes luxury bus transportation, three tours and lunch at the Pacific View onboard Camp Pendleton. The bus leaves the Los Rios Park parking lot promptly at 8:30 AM and returns to the same location around 5:00 PM. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Society’s office in the O’Neill Museum, 31831 Los Rios Street or by calling the office manager, Chevon Vermeulen at (949) 493-8444. Tickets must be purchased in advance of the event and there is a limit of 56 available seats. Attendees are requested to wear comfortable closed toe shoes.
