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.

World Lacrosse Championship action in San Diego!

The 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship tournament is presently underway in San Diego. Thirty international teams are competing to play in the Gold Medal Game at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, July 1. Learn more about the World Lacrosse Men’s Championship at their website here.

This afternoon I watched the first half of play between Uganda and France at San Diego State University. I know practically nothing about lacrosse, but quickly became excited by the fast-paced play. Fans cheered from the sidelines. Flags waved. I was impressed by the intensity, athleticism, passion and sportsmanship exhibited by both teams.

The lacrosse action was so rapid, in fact, that taking photographs was a challenge. I envy the skills of professional photographers who capture great moments with regularity.

If you love lacrosse or want to experience the sport for your first time, I suggest you watch these very high level games. You can find the 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship schedule here.

So who won? When I left at halftime, the score was a close 4-3 in favor of France. I see they ultimately won the game 13-5.

Those four guys posing for my final photograph play for Ireland. They won earlier in the day in a thrilling double-overtime game! No wonder they were smiling!

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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 Twitter!

Help end hunger: plant a vegetable garden!

Would you like to begin a project at home that is fun and beneficial to others in need? Why not plant a vegetable garden, grow healthy produce and donate your harvest to a local food bank?

I was walking through the Garden Show at the San Diego County Fair when I came upon a “Homegrown Hunger Relief” display. I stopped to read what that meant.

The organization Healthy Day Partners works to feed the hungry with healthy food, and encourages the creation of home and school gardens. They offer gardening workshops, and support a number of different hunger relief programs.

Healthy Day Partners has collaborated with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) to plant fruit trees in many communities throughout San Diego County.

They also offer Grab & Grow Gardens to aid people grow their own food. A small selection of vegetable and/or herb seedlings are handed out in an easy to carry bag, along with instructions in English and Spanish.

Sounds like a good thing? Check out the Healthy Day Partners website and perhaps become involved 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 Twitter!

A fun Garden Show at the County Fair!

This year the theme at the San Diego County Fair is Get Out There! Throughout the Del Mar Fairgrounds visitors encounter displays that celebrate recreation in the Great Outdoors.

This theme works perfectly with one of the most popular attractions at the San Diego County Fair: the outdoor Paul Ecke Jr. Garden Show!

Gardening clubs, local students and civic organizations have created their own themed landscape displays. In the spirit of Get Out There, many of the small gardens that I saw during my visit include camping tents and lawn chairs, nestled among native Southern California plants. There is also a fun potted garden competition.

I also found a gigantic animatronic snail. And model trains running through a representation of Yellowstone National Park. And a display that pays tribute to Route 66. And there are old wagons filled with flowers. And a plant sale. And art, too!

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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 Twitter!

Bold art at the San Diego County Fair!

Wonder Woman, by artist Yhoshua Gutierrez.

Should you wander into Grandstand East at the San Diego County Fair, you’ll find yourself surrounded by great paintings and other works of art. There are literally hundreds of pieces in the fair’s Fine Art Exhibit.

Because artists are competing for ribbons, the exhibition has been divided into various categories. One category which really caught my attention is titled Be Bold!

Comic-Con is less than a month away, so an awesome painting of Wonder Woman caught my eye. A nearby representation of the iconic Euclid Tower in City Heights then convinced me to blog a few photos of these Be Bold creations!

Creation, by artist Lydia Twigg.

Celtic Horse, by artist Michael Markopoulos.

Tower Bar, by artist Sarah Conley.

Banje Beach, by artist Rick Lepire.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I’ll be covering Comic-Con again this year. It’s almost here! To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!

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

Artist creates unique playing cards, games!

Brilliant! That’s what I thought when I met artist Jeff Daymont and observed his uniquely designed playing cards and original games!

I was walking through the Seaside Pavilion at the San Diego County Fair–you know, where vendors sell unique wares, demonstrating salad choppers and knives that will cut through a brick–when my eyes fell upon an unusual table. That’s a lot of playing cards, I thought. Then I looked more closely…

Jeff has created playing cards that are truly unique. The Kings and Queens illustrated on cards depict actual monarchs, rulers and royalty from world history. Many of the playing cards are also designed to support all sorts of original games, such as Rock, Paper, Scissors, Water and Lizard!

You can see a bunch of games invented so far for the versatile King’s Keys deck by clicking here. If you think up a new game, submit it!

Not only are these playing cards works of art, but I absolutely love the concept that inspired players can dream up new games!

Do you want to check out Jeff Daymont’s very cool playing cards?

Click here for his website!

Speaking of inventing games, have I ever mentioned that I wrote interactive game software in the early 1980s?

As a young man in high school and college, I created computer games that were published by Softsync and packaged as Double Feature Adventure: Quest for the Holy Grail & The Elusive Mr. Big. The two text adventure games were coded in BASIC for the ZX-81 and TS-1000. My creations were very early versions of open-world role-playing games!

You can read a review of one of my games here!

A similar game I wrote for the Commodore 64 was titled Super Clue. It can be played freely on your computer right now by visiting the Internet Archive here!

Here’s a screenshot of a new game beginning:

Hints: the characters in Super Clue move about randomly, randomly drop and pick up objects, and can randomly leave clues at each location. There are several possible murder weapons. You can search characters and locations and interrogate the roaming characters. Use objects that you pick up like a magnifier, rope and flashlight. The initial character positions are randomly generated. To make a new move, type in a simple two or three word command. Enter “help” to see which words are recognized. One character is initially designated the murderer. Deduce who it is and make an arrest before midnight, or before there are more victims! I’m very proud of the sound effects I created. Be patient! As the ancient program runs on a computer emulator, every move’s resulting text can be a bit slow to appear, so wait a few seconds. Map out the mansion as you move about. Have fun!

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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 Twitter!

Deep fried EVERYTHING at the County Fair?

Is there anything edible not deep fried at the San Diego County Fair? Walk past the endless food stands and it might seem that way!

Of course, there are many non-deep fried offerings everywhere you turn at the fair, like burritos, hot dogs, hamburgers, barbeque, turkey legs, cinnamon rolls or ice cream. But who hasn’t made a joke about the numerous, sometimes bizarre deep fried treats that might tempt curious fairgoers?

Deep fried pizza.

Deep fried decadence: Mexican funnel cakes.

Totally fried Oreo.

Fried s’mores on a stick.

Fried shrimp with French fries.

Totally fried avocados.

Totally fried Twinkies.

Fried chicken, of course.

Fried veggies. (Is that more healthy?)

Bacon wrapped pickle totally fried!

Deep fried pork sandwich.

Yum!

Lip smacking good!

Where’s my bottle of antacid?

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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 Twitter!

Flower Show at San Diego County Fair!

Every year the San Diego County Fair attracts a good crowd to its Flower Show. This year was no exception.

Today I meandered past tables of beautiful floral displays at the Paul Ecke Jr. Flower Show inside the fairground’s spacious O’Brien Hall. Don’t ask me how ribbons are awarded in a competitive show such as this. The flowers all appeared perfectly amazing to me.

I saw different types of flowers and some carefully assembled floral arrangements. I took these photos as I walked along.

I spent several hours at the 2023 San Diego County Fair today and now have a boatload of fun and interesting photos coming up! Stay tuned in the next few days!

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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 Twitter!

A peek into the Japanese Friendship Garden gallery.

The Japanese Friendship Garden in San Diego’s Balboa Park has more than beautiful trees, plants, waterfalls and streams. The garden is home to a gallery containing Japanese cultural artifacts.

Not to be confused with the Exhibit Hall, which houses rotating art exhibits, the museum-like gallery that I visited today is located near the outdoor courtyard in the Upper Garden. You’ll find it inside the Deborah Szekely Activity Center.

The diverse pieces you can admire in this gallery are very fine. Anyone can take a close look at several colorful kimonos, an exquisite Mizuya Tansu (kitchen chest), the elaborate model of a Japanese-style cargo ship, and a jinrikisha dated circa 1868-1912. You’ll also find traditional works of Japanese craft and art.

The next time you walk through the breathtaking natural beauty of the Japanese Friendship Garden, remember to enjoy this great gallery!

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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 Twitter!

Walk under a famous San Diego flying boat!

Inside the central Pavilion of Flight at the San Diego Air and Space Museum you’ll find a gigantic airplane with a bottom that resembles the hull of a boat. This impressive amphibious airplane is a PBY-5A Catalina, one of the many PBY Catalinas that were built in San Diego by Consolidated Aircraft around the time of World War II.

During my last visit to the museum, I walked around and under the huge aircraft and found a nearby plaque that describes the history of this particular plane.

The PBY was the most successful flying boat ever designed, and it was in continuous production for over ten years. It was built in larger numbers that all other flying boats combined, and the majority of these planes were produced in San Diego… Early on the morning of August 8, 1988, the PBY was towed through the San Diego streets to Balboa Park…

Check out the impressive size of this famous flying boat and the span of its broad wings! Taking off from the broken ocean surface, where the attainable speed can be limited, requires a lot of lift!

Most of the PBY Catalinas were built at Consolidated Aircraft near Lindbergh Field, just a short distance from San Diego Bay where the flying boats were tested. Are there any old timers out there who recall seeing these flying boats out on the bay?

Here’s a Wikimedia Commons public domain image of a PBY-5AG in San Diego from 1948:

Also from Wikimedia Commons, here’s the PBY-5 production line at Consolidated Aircraft in San Diego from 1942:

These flying boats made important contributions to Allied victory in World War II, particularly in the Pacific. They were used in anti-submarine warfare, patrol bombing, convoy escort, search and rescue missions (especially air-sea rescue), and cargo transport.

If you love history or aviation, make sure to visit the world-class San Diego Air and Space Museum in Balboa Park. Your eyes will pop!

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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 Twitter!

A second side to the Futurama trolley wrap!

Look what I discovered today on my way home from work. There’s a second side to the Futurama trolley wrap that recently debuted for San Diego Comic-Con 2023!

I photographed the first side of Hulu’s promotional wrap yesterday and posted those photos here. On this second side there are four more crazy Futurama characters!

I see Amy Wong, Hermes Conrad, Kif Kroker and Professor Farnsworth!

Comic-Con 2023 is now only a month away! As I continue to discover cool Comic-Con sights, I’ll share them. Stay tuned for more pop culture fun!

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I’ll be covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!

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