Author: Richard Schulte

Downtown San Diego has been my home for many years. My online activities reflect my love for writing, blogging, walking and photography.

Dragons and lions invade San Diego’s Gaslamp!

Dragons and lions have invaded San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter this weekend!

The colorful “Chinese New Year Faire San Diego” is being held downtown, on 3rd Avenue and J Street near the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum. The annual festival is hosted by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. The event seems to grow larger every year!

It’s the Year of the Dragon, and there’s one enormous dragon moving sinuously through the crowd. And lucky, happy lion dancers parading down the street, too!

Up on the stage there are school kids in costume dancing and ladies smiling during a Chinese fashion show. Thao French, whose amazing Year of the Dragon art you’ve seen in Little Saigon recently, is spray painting another dragon mural. There are vendors everywhere, activities for young people, and no shortage of yummy food. Kung Fu Panda is greeting one and all, too!

(I won a beach ball spinning a prize wheel! Can you beat that?)

You can view the program schedule for this weekend by clicking here. The Chinese New Year Faire San Diego continues tomorrow–Sunday, February 25, 2024.

Enjoy these photographs from Saturday morning!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Save the Turtles mural in Pacific Beach.

Last June this beautiful environmental mural was painted in Pacific Beach. You can find it on the west side of Mission Boulevard, a block south of Grand Avenue. (It’s on a wall next to the anti-cigarette butt “Bunny Kitty” mural by Persue that you can see here.)

I took these photos into the afternoon sun, but with a little contrast tweaking they appear pretty good. The watery mural features a mermaid, sea turtle, tropical fish, and the two messages: DON’T USE PLASTIC STRAWS and SAVE THE TURTLES.

The artist is Aqua One (@aquaoneart), who describes himself as a Modern Chicano Graffiti Artist. If you check out his Instagram page, you’ll notice his other artwork has a very different look!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Protecting birds in the San Diego River Estuary.

Several signs posted along the edge of the San Diego River Estuary indicate: Endangered Species Predator Control in Progress. These signs were placed by the City of San Diego Public Works Department. I saw them today for the first time.

The Light-Footed Ridgway’s Rail uses the San Diego River Estuary as natural habitat, and efforts to protect this endangered subspecies involve trapping predators like raccoons, feral cats, and rats. The sign asks people to not feed feral cats, which are being trapped and relocated to the nearest Humane Society.

As I walked along the river on a beautiful late February day, I saw many birds in the water, among vegetation and on distant mudflats. I don’t believe I spotted any Light-Footed Ridgway’s Rails, but I can’t say for sure.

When I walked into the nearby Marina Village Conference Center, where Audubon’s San Diego Bird Festival is taking place all weekend, I asked an expert how the Light-Footed Ridgway’s Rail is doing. Hanging on, was the gist of the reply.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

A free Bird Friendly Home and Garden Fair!

A free “Bird Friendly Home and Garden Fair” will be open to the public this coming Sunday, February 25, 2024. It’s part of San Diego Audubon’s big five-day San Diego Bird Festival, which is presently underway at the Marina Village Conference Center!

The Bird Friendly Home and Garden Fair will feature local organizations and businesses that help you help birds. There will be exhibitor booths, educational presentations, and people can build a bluebird nesting box for the California Bluebird Recovery Project. The program schedule includes a family music program and a live birds of prey presentation. There will be information about native seed libraries, what to do if you find an injured or baby bird, and much more!

To read more about this unique weekend event, click here and scroll down. You can participate in other San Diego Bird Festival activities, too!

(If you’re curious about the above photograph–that’s a Great Blue Heron that was perched in a tree above the San Diego River. I spotted it yesterday while walking across the pedestrian bridge near the Fashion Valley transit center.)

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Watch art conservators work at the Timken!

Visitors to the Timken Museum of Art in San Diego have the rare opportunity to observe conservators working to restore and preserve a fine art masterpiece!

Two expert conservators have been working on François Boucher’s gorgeous Lovers in a Park (1758) in one of the museum galleries, and the public is invited to watch and ask questions on Fridays from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm.

When I swung by the Timken during my Balboa Park walk last weekend, I noted the conservation effort was in Week 18–nearing its end. So you might want to drop by very soon.

Visitors stand at a safe distance from the nearly 8 foot tall French Rococo painting. For almost seven decades Lovers in a Park has been displayed, and with time it has become somewhat discolored.

A sign explains how surface grime has been removed, old varnish has been removed, and there has been a deep grime removal. All the old overpaint has been removed, and a synthetic resin protective varnish has been applied. The current phase of work is inpainting–where colors are matched and areas of paint loss are filled with conservation pigments.

Read more about the Timken Museum of Art’s conservation program here.

On the opposite wall, a large graphic divides the painting into quarters, demonstrating how the canvas was carefully examined before conservation efforts using visible light, ultraviolet light, infrared reflectography, and X-radiography.

Anyone interested in art really should check out this special “interactive” exhibition. You’ll probably learn a lot!

You can read about the Timken’s current exhibitions by clicking here.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Farm coming to SDSU Mission Valley!

Believe it or not, a farm is being created at SDSU Mission Valley!

The future farm is located between the parking lot of Snapdragon Stadium and the SDSU Mission Valley river park. The above photo shows how produce is now growing a short distance east of the Stadium trolley station, where I made the unexpected discovery this afternoon.

Refugee and immigrant women and youth will be working the farm. They will gain work experience, and the produce they grow will be used at a restaurant in North Park, at 2920 University Avenue.

The undertaking is called Community Supported Agriculture. This farm is the creation of Make Project. As their website explains: The 30th Street farm has moved to a bigger, longer-term location at SDSU Mission Valley.

In 2017 I blogged about the previous farm in North Park here.

(It’s interesting to recall that before Mission Valley was developed–before shopping malls and freeways–this land along the San Diego River supported many farms–primarily dairy farms.)

A huge flock of crows was hovering around the new SDSU Mission Valley farm late this afternoon. Hopefully the coming crops are safe!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Free art contest for seniors in San Diego!

Do you love to create art? Are you a senior? Answer yes to both questions and you might want to enter a free art contest in San Diego!

I learned about this art contest by reading The Scroll, a quarterly newsletter for seniors published by San Diego Parks and Recreation AgeWell Services.

If you’d like to read the Spring 2024 edition of The Scroll, and discover all sorts of activities and opportunities for seniors, click here! You can find information concerning the art contest on page 7. Or check out the graphic I’ve posted above.

Art submitted for the contest will be on public display for an entire month at the Cathy Hopper Clairemont Friendship Center. Media include acrylic, drawing, pastel, mixed media, oil and watercolor. Time to get inspired!

My friend Mark greeted me last Saturday when I poked my nose into the Balboa Park Senior Lounge while walking around. Folks had just finished playing bingo that morning in the lounge.

Mark reminded me that seniors 65 years or better get free admission to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park during this month of February! If you want to learn more about that amazing offer, click here!

Spread the word!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Singing Patterns brighten Southeast San Diego!

A two-part mural titled Singing Patterns brightens a corner of Valencia Park in Southeast San Diego. The colorful public art decorates the west side of the Southeastern Live Well Center, which opened last year. Travel along Euclid Avenue near Market Street and you’ll see it!

Singing Patterns was created by artist, writer and activist Doris Bittar. Here’s her Instagram page where you’ll see photos of the mural panels being installed.

You can read about this installation and all the art inside and outside the Southeastern Live Well Center by clicking here. You’ll learn this outdoor mural honors the culture of San Diego’s dynamic and historic neighborhoods… The artwork metaphorically bridges regions, history and time together using patterns from all over the world.

The patterns are derived from Black, Latin, Syrian, Somali and Filipino culture.

Earlier this year, while walking in Valencia Park, I took photographs of other public art outside this large new San Diego County complex. See those photos here and here!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Cool mural at Fish Pit on College Avenue!

If you driven up College Avenue a block north of El Cajon Boulevard you’ve possibly seen this cool mural. It’s painted on the south side of a sushi restaurant called Fish Pit (I don’t know if they are still operating–their website no longer exists.)

The art is by graffiti artist Unity. It appears that a toothy octopus is enjoying a bowl of rice!

Unity is San Diego artist Jonathan Wenner. You can check out another mural that he painted here. He has a very distinctive style.

The Fish Pit mural was painted in 2021. I really like it!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

A painted memorial to Tibor in City Heights.

There’s a beautiful memorial to a cat named Tibor in City Heights. I noticed this painted rock beside the sidewalk as I walked with my camera last weekend. I was photographing the parade that preceded the Festival of Love.

The colorful stone honors the life of Tibor aka TT, a cat that was loved by the neighborhood.

I thought you might be touched by this small memorial.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!