It’s Christmas Eve. It’s the perfect time to gather with loved ones, and create meaningful, lasting memories.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Here are some fun photos that you might enjoy. I took these while walking around San Diego the past few days.
I spotted lots of Santas greeting passersby from shop windows. I found Frosty, Woodstock and some ugly sweaters, too! And a magical unicorn that doesn’t mind the chilly North Pole!
Cool San Diego Sights will take a pause tomorrow. I’ll be mostly offline. Perhaps we can all put our phones down for the day and experience life as it should be.
We remember warm Christmas experiences for the rest of our lives–not moments on small screens.
…
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)!
Extraordinarily beautiful public art can be found in a seldom seen corner of San Diego’s Middletown neighborhood. A tile mosaic appears to depict a fiery, spiritual woman, rising above surging waves of colorful artwork composed of individually made tiles.
The mosaic is mostly hidden in a cranny by Kettner Boulevard, east of the Middletown trolley station, near the bottom of stairs that climb to the pedestrian bridge over Interstate 5. Few people use these stairs.
I can find no information about this mysterious public art. I took these photos today. The last time I observed it, about four years ago, the mosaic hadn’t been completed. You can see those images here.
If you know who created this stunning, very complex mural (perhaps a community project?) please leave a comment below!
…
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)!
The historic Whaley House in Old Town San Diego is widely considered to be the most haunted house in America. So it’s possible that what you see in these photographs (which I took today) is America’s most haunted Christmas tree!
When you think of Christmas ghosts you probably conjure up Ebenezer Scrooge’s visitation by Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. While those are literary creations, ghosts believed to have been observed at the Whaley House have many real life witnesses.
Over the years, I’ve been told about ghostly presences in the Whaley House’s small upstairs theater. The theater is located behind those balcony windows.
I spoke to several Whaley House Museum tour guides today and asked if there have been any strange incidents concerning their Christmas tree. They did say that the ornaments are securely fashioned, but one was found on the ground beside the street below.
Did a Christmas tree hating Scrooge-like ghost utter bah humbug and toss the ornament from the balcony?
You decide!
…
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)!
One of San Diego’s most beautiful Christmas displays can be enjoyed inside the Timken Museum of Art in Balboa Park. Jewels of the Season has returned for 2023!
Over a thousand uniquely hand-crafted, jewel-like ornaments dangle from the museum ceiling, frame bright windows, fill display cases, and decorate a large Christmas tree. Visitors stepping into the Timken might feel they’ve entered a twinkling Christmas wonderland!
Thank goodness a lady at the Balboa Park Visitors Center reminded me of this annual display. I really loved last year’s Jewels of the Season and blogged about it. Check out that past blog post if you want to read about the artists and learn why these ornaments are so special!
The photographs that you see here were taken today.
Would you like to experience this magic? Visit the free Timken Museum of Art before New Year’s Day!
…
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)!
The world of Batman features crazy, mad characters. So it’s not surprising that superheroes Batman, Batgirl and the supervillain Mad Hatter are lurking in one of Balboa Park’s most crazily creative corners: the San Diego Sculptors Guild courtyard in Spanish Village!
Batman and Batgirl together form a bench on which anybody can sit. Snap a selfie with two legendary heroes! The artwork, titled Bats United, was built by artist Kim Ogburn.
Across the courtyard of sculptures, a Mad Hatter chair invites fans of DC Comics supervillains. It’s the Mad Hatter Chatterchair!
Are you an Alice in Wonderland fan? Perhaps this Mad Hatter isn’t part of Batman’s rogues gallery, but merely mad. The chair might make the perfect accessory for a Mad Tea Party!
Both fun seats are for sale outside Studio 36, home of the San Diego Sculptors Guild!
…
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)!
The massive Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center now under construction in Chula Vista is looking very impressive. I walked past the project site last December and saw nothing but mounds of dirt and several large cranes. Look at how the main hotel building has risen since then!
When completed, the hotel will have 1,600 guest rooms and suites, as well as more than 477,000 square feet of function and convention space. Upper floors of the hotel will offer views of the Pacific Ocean across San Diego Bay and the Silver Strand.
I took these photos on a sunny South Bay morning, just before my visit to the Boston Tea Party anniversary event near the Chula Vista Marina. My first (and most picturesque) photograph is from the Bayside Park fishing pier.
…
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)!
I know some of my readers like to walk winding labyrinths. Here’s a new one that anyone can enjoy–under the elevated tracks of the San Diego Trolley!
The new river park at SDSU Mission Valley has many recreational features, from basketball courts to exercise stations to a large children’s playground. But I was pleasantly surprised to discover this cool labyrinth while I explored the newly opened park!
You can find the beautiful labyrinth by walking west from the Stadium trolley station about a quarter mile (my estimate). Look for a cluster of picnic tables.
A relaxing way to meditate while walking off lunch?
…
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)!
History is being made in Mission Valley. Two massive projects are being developed along the San Diego River: SDSU Mission Valley and Riverwalk San Diego.
The river park at SDSU Mission Valley is mostly complete, and large areas are now accessible to the public during its soft opening.
I walked around the river park the other day and found a number of fascinating information signs. One shows birds that might be found along the San Diego River. Another concerns stormwater management and the creation of bioretention basins. The largest such basin is located near the Stadium trolley station.
The signs that interested me most concern the history of Mission Valley and the San Diego River.
I took photos of several signs, which you can enlarge for easier reading…
The Native American Kumeyaay historically used plants along the river for food, tools and construction materials. They sustainably managed the land. Before World War II and the subsequent boom in urban development, Mission Valley was largely farmland. At one point there were 20 dairy farms in Mission Valley. Several Japanese American families operated vegetable farms.Early 1900s postcards of Mission Valley show large areas of green farmland on either side of the San Diego River.New plants for the new river park at SDSU Mission Valley.The San Diego River begins in the Cuyamaca Mountains and flows west to the Pacific Ocean. It is the source of important biodiversity. In 1971, plans to replace the sometimes flooding river with a concrete channel were thwarted by intense public opposition. The vision of a more natural San Diego River, with innovative safeguards against flooding, would eventually prevail.Photo of damaging flooding in Mission Valley circa 1980, before the adoption in 1982 of FSDRIP–the First San Diego River Improvement Project.The Kumeyaay were the first people to live in this region. This sign explains they understood the importance of caring for the land, water, flora and fauna that are all a part of this intricate ecological system that relates and sustains all life in balance and harmony. A map of Kumeyaay territory includes San Diego County and the northern portion of Baja California.A field without farms–playing soccer near Snapdragon Stadium at SDSU Mission Valley.
…
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)!
Have you wondered about an Honorary Adam T. Gastelum street sign in Barrio Logan? I recently noticed it on Evans Street, at the intersection of Logan Avenue.
Curious to learn more about Adam T. Gastelum, I did a little searching.
An obituary summarizes several accomplishments of the proud Hispanic American Army veteran. He is credited with helping to found nearby San Diego VFW Post 7420. It also explains: Adam joined the Army to serve in World War II. His campaign battles included Normandy, Northern Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe.
I also discovered that on October 22, 2018, a San Diego City Council Resolution designated the 900 block of Evans Street between the intersection of Logan Avenue and National Avenue to be known as Adam Trejo Gastellum Street.
Many in San Diego appreciate his service.
…
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)!
Do you knit, quilt or crochet? Do you know someone who does?
Project Linus would love your help!
Project Linus gives warm security blankets to hurting kids, particularly those who have cancer or have suffered trauma. The effort is named after the lovable Peanuts comic strip character who carries a security blanket at all times. Project Linus has more than 400 chapters in the United States. Over the years, more than 4.5 million security blankets have been distributed!
The San Diego chapter of Project Linus had a display at last weekend’s Boston Tea Party anniversary event in Chula Vista. I spoke to several ladies and learned about the wonderful things they do. I was told they could always use more volunteers. Even if you don’t knit, quilt or crochet, you can help in other ways, such as donating fabric or transporting blankets.
Please visit this page concerning Project Linus in San Diego. There is contact information near the bottom of the page.
…
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 San Diego Sights! 