Audible’s popular audiobook series Harry Potter and Dungeon Crawler Carl are being promoted on a new San Diego trolley wrap for Comic-Con 2026!
I caught sight of the new trolley wrap this morning and captured these photographs.
…
If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
An awesome festival in advance of the big NASCAR race at North Island was held today at Waterfront Park in San Diego.
The Garage, presented by Toyota Racing, featured race cars and cool vehicles, racing simulators, a Tundra covered with 143,021 rhinestones, music, food trucks, photo ops, merch, art and even a skateboarding half pipe with Team Toyota athlete Jordyn Barratt!
The Padres happy mascot Swinging Friar gave me a high five! I said hello to Phoebe Nelson of (@pandrdesign), a local muralist whose work I’ve photographed around San Diego over the years! I tried out a video game simulator and took 40th place!
Loads of NASCAR fun!
My photos…
…
To follow my blog, find the “Follow” box in this website’s sidebar. Or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing this on a phone, open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
A pirate ship was observed this afternoon sailing through San Diego Bay. What were these pirates up to?
The pirate ship pursued tiny, helpless sailboats competing in a regatta. The rascals!
Fortunately, the shore battery on the barge behind the Maritime Museum of San Diego noticed the mayhem. A gunner quickly prepared several cannons.
(Yes, the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier was entering the bay at the time. Did they notice these sneaky pirates?)
Cleaning the cannons and inserting cartridges with a ramrod.
Two swords and an axe were kept within reach. Just in case dangerous pirates must be repelled hand to hand.
Uh, oh. The pirate ship has come about and is steering toward the Maritime Museum’s defensive shore battery!
A shot is fired across the pirate ship’s bow! Will the brazen invaders retreat?
They promptly fire back with a ship’s gun!
The shore battery fires once again. Is there any hope for San Diego?
A miss! The situation now appears hopeless!
We wave the white flag and surrender!
Fortunately, those swords weren’t put to use. The pirate ship, triumphant, would sail away in search of treasure at Skull Island.
OKAY! What happened here?
Maritime Museum of San Diego visitors on the barge got to watch a sailing adventure that takes place on their Spanish galleon replica San Salvador. The fun shipboard event is an interactive experience called Boarded!
Families and kids sail with a crew of pirates out on San Diego Bay. This hilarious interactive pirate show in San Diego puts visitors right in the middle of the action. Participants will be sworn in as part of the ship’s crew, trained how to navigate, sword fight, bail water from a sinking ship, escape from the King’s Jail, swab the deck, and learn other pirate skills.
Whew! I was worried there for a moment!
…
To follow my blog, find the “Follow” box in this website’s sidebar. Or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing this on a phone, open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
Once Upon a Fair is this year’s theme at the San Diego County Fair. What exactly does that mean? The fair in 2026 is celebrating reading books–and popular fiction and the classics take center stage!
The fair’s theme exhibit is filled with the wonders that readers find in books. The Wizard of Oz, Winnie the Pooh, Charlotte’s Web, Treasure Island, Harry Potter, Jules Verne, fairy tales we all know, Peter Rabbit, Superman, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Alice in Wonderland, Sherlock Holmes . . . visitors encounter all the great characters and timeless stories generations have come to love!
There is reading aloud story time for the very young ones. There are opportunities for visitors to contribute their own writing. Everywhere you turn you’ll find tributes to famous authors and illustrators. Renowned authors with a San Diego connection are recognized. Visiting libraries is encouraged. The shelves of your local library are like open vaults where endless treasures await.
It was exciting to observe children running from display to display, breathlessly recognizing the books they had come to know. One large, playful section of the theme exhibit is dedicated to La Jolla’s own Dr. Seuss.
It was awesome!
…
To follow my blog, find the “Follow” box in this website’s sidebar. Or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing this on a phone, open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
Perhaps you saw these guys on television news. When I noticed them at the San Diego County Fair yesterday, I recalled their unique offer. Any member of the public can adopt an avocado tree on a 34-acre organic Hass avocado farm in Bonsall, California!
Years ago, when you drove up Interstate 15 north of Escondido, the steep hillsides would be absolutely covered with avocado trees. Not so much anymore. As the Heal the Earth website explains: San Diego’s avocados are celebrated as the best in the world for their creamy texture and rich flavor—but that heritage is disappearing. Local acreage has dropped by nearly 47% since 2008 as rising water costs and wholesale pressures force family farms to close… Meanwhile, 90% of U.S. avocados now come from imports, crowding out local growers.
These friendly people have developed a solution that helps local avocado farmers. You can adopt a tree at Wild Acres Farm!
You’ll learn all about your unique tree, including a photograph and updates on it growth. Most importantly, you’ll receive shipments of hand-harvested organic avocados from your tree! I was told you can visit your tree on the farm, too, and harvest avocados by hand. By supporting a direct-to-consumer connection between farm and table, you’re keeping San Diego’s organic avocado tradition alive—while enjoying the world’s finest organic avocados, shipped fresh from our groves to your home.
Cool idea!
…
To follow my blog, find the “Follow” box in this website’s sidebar. Or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing this on a phone, open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
The San Diego County Fair is always tons of fun for the entire family. The Fun Zone features so much pure, unadulterated fun, however, that the sanest, most self-controlled visitor might be tempted to go completely berserk!
I headed up to Del Mar today. The free shuttle from the train station dropped us off at the fair’s West Gate, which leads directly into the Fun Zone. My camera got busy right away!
So many cool, colorful sights! I arrived in the late morning shortly after the fair opened, so the crowds hadn’t grown too much yet. What most caught my eye were the flashy graphics splashed on the carnival rides and games.
Walk through the Fun Zone and you’ll encounter superheroes, rock stars, dinosaurs, race cars, pirates, spooky ghosts, circus animals, friendly carnies challenging you to knock over bottles or shoot a basket to win a big prize, not to mention sugary, fatty treats galore!
Is it possible to have too much fun?
…
To follow my blog, find the “Follow” box in this website’s sidebar. Or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing this on a phone, open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
Check it out!
The second trolley wrap for San Diego Comic-Con 2026 promotes the new Nintendo Switch game Splatoon Raiders!
Cool graphics will greet Comic-Con goers this year who happen to take this trolley car.
The Splatoon game launches July 23, 2026, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2. Players take on the role of a “mechanic” working with the musical trio Deep Cut to explore the Spirhalite Islands, hunt for treasure, and battle Salmonids from a customizable “hideout ship” hub.
Sounds fun to me!
…
If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
Tattoo parlors often attract attention with bold, colorful murals. That’s certainly the case with Hustle Tattoo in City Heights, at 4503 University Avenue.
Skulls, flowers, a butterfly and a parrot have been painted on the exterior of the shop by @hannasmurals.
Remember my recent blog post about a football player scoring at a City Heights bus stop? I found that a few steps away down the sidewalk! A lot of “hustle” on this city block!
…
To follow my blog, find the “Follow” box in this website’s sidebar. Or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing this on a phone, open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
Walking through Seaport Village this morning, I can definitely see the Alamo Flags shop is stocked up and ready for America’s 250th anniversary!
Our nation’s big birthday bash is coming up soon!
Lots of flags, banners and shirts featuring Statues of Liberty, bald eagles, fireworks, patriotic red, white and blue…
A banner has been hung outside the Edward J. Schwartz United States Courthouse in downtown San Diego. It celebrates the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding.
Freedom 250 is proclaimed among images of four Founding Fathers. You can see the banner up high overlooking Broadway.
Can you believe Independence Day is now less than a month away?
