Nature’s beauty between La Jolla Cove and Children’s Pool is stunning. Even on a gray Autumn day.
I walked along the ocean in La Jolla this morning and took photographs of rugged rocks, crashing waves, sea birds, and people quietly gazing toward the horizon.
Once in a great while I will experiment with my images and apply “artistic” filters using my graphics editor. I thought I’d try using the GIMP oilify filter for this batch of photographs.
Here they are…
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May the resiliency of the Kumeyaay forever be remembered.
At the north end of Cuvier Park in La Jolla you will find the above plaque. It’s set beside the sidewalk near the corner of Coast Boulevard and Cuvier Street.
A nearby boulder contains a pair of oval depressions, used long ago by the native Kumeyaay to grind acorns, seeds, roots and other food. The Kumeyaay call these grinding mortars ‘ehmuu, which means bedrock hole.
The boulder with its ancient history was restored to this location last year. It had been removed for a construction project. You can read about the Re-Internment of the Mortar That was Removed by the City by clicking here.
The plaque dedication ceremony included a Kumeyaay blessing and the performance of Bird Singers.
I took these photos during a walk today.
The sun was shining. Ocean waves crashed upon rocks a short distance from the place where I paused.
May the resiliency of the Kumeyaay forever be remembered.
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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.
You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!
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!
Have you read those classic nautical stories where sailors are tasked with tarring ropes in a ship’s rigging?
Well, if you visited the Maritime Museum of San Diego today, you might have seen this age-old activity in practice. A museum volunteer was tarring the shrouds of Californian, official tall ship of California!
As I walked about the museum’s historic ships, I noticed the forward hatch of the 1904 steam yacht Medea had been recently varnished. And another volunteer was busy applying the second of three coats of paint to the railing of the San Diego harbor’s 1914 Pilot boat!
Even in calm San Diego Bay, the daily weather, salt and sun slowly ravage ships. The sun’s ultraviolet rays eventually break down everything, even tar. To maintain the beautiful vessels of a world-famous maritime museum requires elbow grease!
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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.
You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!
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!
At Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, several popular trails (including the Beach Trail and Razor Point Trail) can be accessed from a small parking lot south of the Visitor Center.
At the trailhead visitors will see a wooden structure, the words Torrey Pines Docent Society, and many smiling volunteers who are happy to provide information or explain interpretative displays before you begin your hike. The structure is called the Trailhead Information Kiosk, or TIK for short. Docents greeting visitors here are called TIK Talkers!
I remember how, many years ago, this trailhead “kiosk” was nothing more than a portable table and EZ Up canopy. Today’s handsome, sturdy structure is a testament to what volunteer hands can create!
The Trailhead Information Kiosk is a great place to learn about Torrey Pines’ native plants and animals. There are signs detailing what hikers might encounter, photographs of wildlife, and cool models of insects, snakes and other animals.
Before beginning a short hike the other day, I paused at the TIK to absorb a little knowledge.
Reptiles of Torrey PinesBirds of Torrey PinesInsectsFlowering Plants of Torrey Pines
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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.
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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!
The Torrey Pines Lodge has been welcoming visitors for nearly 100 years. In 2023 the historic adobe building, nestled in the beauty of Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, will celebrate its centennial!
When I visited the Torrey Pines Lodge this weekend, several docents told me that plans are now being made for observing its centennial. I hope to attend public celebrations next year!
As I walked through the old building, which today serves as a Visitor Center, I viewed a few displays concerning its history.
I’ve taken photographs for you to enjoy. (If you’d like to see more of the Lodge’s interior, and several of it’s museum-like exhibits, check out an old blog post here.)
The San Diego Union newspaper article, dated January 1, 1923, describes the new Beautiful Adobe Lodge.Tableware from the days when the Torrey Pines Lodge served as restaurant.Dinner was one dollar! Motorists on their way through to San Diego or Los Angeles could also purchase Mexican and Indian rugs, blankets, pottery, baskets, etc. at the Lodge.The Torrey Pines Lodge was dedicated on April 7, 1923.
In the summer of 1922 when construction began on the Torrey Pines Lodge, this area consisted of a treeless and windswept sandstone bluff.
Miss Ellen Browning Scripps, a noted San Diego Philanthropist and the sole contributor to the acquisition of what was called at the time, “The Torrey Pines City Reserve,” donated the funds to build the Torrey Pines Lodge…
…Architect Richard Requa was noted for his pueblo and Mayan style of architecture, and designed many buildings in San Diego’s Balboa Park…
The Lodge was built from sun baked adobe bricks, made on the construction site from local clays. Miss Scripps also brought Hopi Indians from the Southwest to aid in the making of authentic adobe bricks…
The Lodge and its restaurant opened to the public in February of 1923 and was an immediate success, perhaps due to its stunning scenery and location adjacent to the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Highway…the main road between Los Angeles and San Diego until the mid-1930’s…
…the Lodge was a favorite day trip…as well as being a popular stop for tour buses of the era. The Model T Fords of the 1920’s found the highway’s steep grade a challenge…
Old photographs shows dining tables on the Lodge’s front terrace.The beautiful Torrey Pines Lodge in 2022. Some restoration work is visible.A wooden plaque inside the Lodge.The Torrey Pines Lodge is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.
You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!
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 large mural paying tribute to Mexican UFC Flyweight Champion Brandon Moreno was painted a couple months ago in San Ysidro!
The artwork was created by Mode Tijuana (@mode.awc). It shows the victorious mixed martial artist Brandon Moreno draped with the national flag of Mexico.
Drivers exiting from southbound I-805 onto San Ysidro Boulevard can’t miss it.
The mural, made possible by the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce and Border Public Art Committee, is on the same freeway wall as a big colorful LOVE mural that I blogged about here!
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
What will the San Diego region look like in the future?
Glimpses were provided today of future possibilities during a free family event at Ruocco Park. The SANDAG (The San Diego Association of Governments) Community Fair brought together a variety of public and private entities who are advocating and working for change–primarily when it comes to mass transit.
The projects previewed include a future Central Mobility Hub, which will connect regional transit to San Diego International Airport; a solution to relocate train tracks that run near eroding bluffs in Del Mar; and the upcoming Otay Mesa East Port of Entry. I also saw intriguing plans for a trolley station in Tijuana, Mexico.
Other SANDAG initiatives include advancing digital equity in neighborhoods, the Youth Opportunity Pass Pilot Program of MTS, and the creation of affordable housing.
I saw lots of charts, maps, infographics and smiles. I asked some questions and learned a few things.
I also walked by the kid activity stations, picked up a new bike map, learned about the trails of San Elijo Lagoon, and learned about butterflies, birds and replenishing beach sand.
Then I got some free popcorn and flavored ice, and watched Hanna paint a cool mural, which would eventually depict a scene of San Diego’s beautiful environment.
The SANDAG Community Fair was a great way for the public to interact with those making plans to shape our shared future. Public input, including concerns, were welcome.
And it all was fun, too!
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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!
Many incredible treasures could be found by visitors to Balboa Park today.
All anyone had to do is look about.
Treasure could be discovered all weekend in Spanish Village Art Center. The Art Glass Guild’s Fall Patio Show filled tables with glittering riches.
A golden work of art glass by artist Tom Marosz.Colorful art glass robots stand ready, created by Chris Stell.
Paella was a tasty treasure served up by the House of Spain during their lawn program at the International Cottages.
And here are two fancy Catrinas with sweet sugar skulls at the House of Mexico!
Kids in Balboa Park will bag lots of treasure this October 30th. The Trick or Treat Trail is mapped at the International Cottages!
Here’s a unique treasure that I hadn’t seen in Balboa Park for years, it seems!
It’s Brandon with his rare old-fashioned penny-farthing. He does riding demonstrations, bringing smiles to one and all. Good to see you again!
That precious bell is so rare it had to be brought in for the Sunday organ concert. A young musician rings it during a performance of The Typewriter.
(The actual bell, up behind the organ pipes, was activated with a key on the Spreckels Organ console. It sounded like an old manual typewriter’s carriage return–ding.)
Oh, wow! If there’s a pile of hidden treasure to be found in Balboa Park, it would probably be inside Draco’s Lair!
Draco the dragon is out of his lair!
Now’s our chance at the treasure!
Uh, oh! Mitchell sees what I’m up to!
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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 very special event was held today at the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. National Wildlife Refuge Week was celebrated! And the public was freely invited!
I arrived around noontime and started down the refuge’s nature paths toward San Diego Bay.
At one station near a brackish wetland pond, a friendly ranger was inviting kids (and curious adults) to play Bird Bingo! How many wild birds could visitors spot? I saw a beautiful Snowy Egret.
At a second station, rangers were encouraging people to dip a net into the nearby water. Netted plankton was then observed under magnification!
The event was a fun opportunity to learn about the value of wildlife refuges, where animal and plant life–some of which is endangered–can thrive undisturbed. And where we humans can reconnect with nature, absorbing all that goodness that awaits us in wild places.
San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge consists of the Sweetwater Marsh and South San Diego Bay Units, preserving coastal salt marsh and intertidal mudflat habitat.What’s in here?
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Living Coast Discovery Center, SeaWorld San Diego, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife are working together on a captive propagation program to rear the endangered light-footed Ridgway’s rail…
I checked out the Bird Bingo first.A Snowy Egret hunts for food in the pond.Now heading through the wildlife refuge toward the Plankton Netting activity. I see downtown San Diego in the distance.A curious kid was netting microscopic specimens.At the Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge today, there was much to experience and learn!
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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!
In San Diego, as in any city, the only true constant is change.
Trucks load and unload. Buildings fall and rise. Cars turn corners. People from every walk of life funnel through crosswalks. Lives intersect.
We travel down countless paths to futures unknown.
To curious eyes, the city reveals infinite complexity. And infinite mystery.
I took most of these photographs very recently.
In East Village, a new high-rise is being built above the old façade of the Farkas Store Fixtures building. A 2020 Carly Ealey mural still smiles.People walking very different paths cross the same street.Tearing down to build up.Millions of Dole bananas show up on schedule at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal. Some changes are predictable.Other changes aren’t quite so predictable. San Diego Padres make the Major League Baseball Playoffs in 2022!Old friends. New friends. Soon to be friends. TwitchCon at the San Diego Convention Center.I was told another track is coming by the Green Line platform at the 12th and Imperial trolley station.Heading toward the border. A life in progress.Pesos, Euros, Dollars and a bicycle. Where to?What change is coming to this corner of the Plaza de Panama in Balboa Park?
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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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 