Zoos and aquariums rely on visitors for most of their revenue. The coronavirus pandemic has closed their doors, but the animals still need care. They need to eat!
I just learned that someone is now walking from the LA Zoo to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park to raise funds to help out zoos and aquariums!
Dr. Monica Metzdorf, who loves animals, is approaching the Safari Park as I write this blog!
Help her raise funds for the animals! Proceeds will go to the LA Zoo, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and the San Diego Zoo, to purchase food for the fish and animals.
Go to her website and look for the PayPal link! Spread the word!
If you live in San Diego, it’s likely you’ve seen these three cool surfing murals. You can glimpse them beside Interstate 8 as you drive west toward Mission Valley through Grantville. They are painted on the A-1 Self Storage building.
This classic surf artwork has been greeting drivers for many years. I personally can’t remember when the murals first appeared.
I walked down a sidewalk past the three murals recently and took close-up photos that you might enjoy. I saw some faded writing at the corner of one, but I’m afraid I can’t say for certain who the artist is or how long ago these were painted. I probably should’ve visited the self storage office and asked whether they know. If someone out there has any information, feel free to leave a comment!
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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!
This morning I saw several workers in Little Italy painting over ugly, newly scrawled graffiti.
During my walks around downtown, I’ve noticed that vandalism has increased during the current coronavirus lockdown.
The friendly guys painting over the illegal graffiti indicated that because the streets are emptier than usual, those who go about tagging buildings, walls, signs and other targets have become more active, as there are fewer eyes outside who might witness their activity. San Diego has had a substantial increase in the homeless population in recent years, and unfortunately that means gang members who move about the city selling meth and other drugs. I might be a bit naive on such matters, but I reckon at least some of this vandalism is the marking of territory.
In any case, it’s obviously a disturbing and disheartening situation.
I took some representative photographs this morning during my walk through Little Italy and along the waterfront.
Thank you to the unsung heroes–like those guys in the first and last photo–who work tirelessly to make our city not only less ugly, but safer for everyone.
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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!
I finished writing another short story. This once has the simple title Twinkle.
Once upon a time I studied physics in college. Back then I learned that the elements composing you and I and the entire world were forged in the furnaces of stars. (Mostly, that is.)
A month or so ago I was out on one of my walks, moving through a poorer neighborhood, when I saw flowering weeds in the bare dirt of a front yard. And the seed for a philosophical story entered my mind.
The short story that finally grew and matured you can read here.
The Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park is one of San Diego’s most beautiful places. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has closed the garden to the public temporarily.
It’s spring. The world is newly green. Leaves stretch skyward to drink in bright sunlight. Flowers bloom.
Even though our eyes cannot admire the garden at the present moment, there is absolutely no doubt its great beauty persists.
Let’s enjoy some photographs that I took in past springs at the Japanese Friendship Garden…
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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!
One big reason the park is so wonderful is its many diverse museums. World-class museums. Museums that enhance the culture of our city and document the life of this planet. Museums that educate, entertain, highlight beauty and provide inspiration. Museums that bring our community together.
But these nonprofit institutions are always in need of public support. Especially during the present coronavirus pandemic, when Balboa Park is closed to all visitors. Today many of these beloved museums really need your help.
Would you like to make a donation to one or more of the museums of Balboa Park, or perhaps find another way to give them a helping hand?
I’ve visited each museum’s website and created the following list of links. These links will take you to web pages that explain how you can provide each museum with support.
An amazing mural depicting two hundred years of San Diego history can be found on a building in Point Loma. The long mural, which is located on the side of Zino’s Hair Designers at 2168 Chatsworth Boulevard, has a plaque that reads: “SAN DIEGO from 1769 to 1969 Painted by JORGE IMANA Commissioned by David G. Fleet.”
I’ve performed a variety of searches on the internet to learn more about the mural and the artist, but find little that seems reliable…
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UPDATE!
I’ve edited out my previous surmises because the truth has been learned and a few assumptions I made while searching the internet were misguided. Jorge Imana is, in fact, a famous Bolivian artist, who has lived for many years now in La Jolla! You can visit his website here.
Thanks to a comment from Joseph M, I was steered in the correct direction!
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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!
Looking at Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church from the intersection of Voltaire Street and Chatsworth Boulevard. The traditional New England style Red Brick Church was built in 1954.
First of all, I’d like to welcome new visitors to Cool San Diego Sights! I’m not sure how my website suddenly merited inclusion in Google News, but, what the heck, this amateur photo blogger will take it!
Cool San Diego Sights is mostly about a guy with a little old camera walking around our big city semi-randomly, experiencing the wonder of its neighborhoods, its people, and the world in general. Occasionally I’ll report something that’s newsworthy, but only if I happen to stumble upon it. All this walking and taking photos is really just a hobby and personal pleasure.
On Saturday I enjoyed a long walk that included several areas of Point Loma. After climbing those hidden stairs I blogged about on Saturday, I headed through residential Loma Portal and down into the tiny business district near the intersection of Voltaire Street and Chatsworth Boulevard.
I walked in a short counterclockwise loop, from the Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church, toward Point Loma High School, down to the Point Loma Library, and back up to the spot where I had begun.
I had no plan other than to take photos of whatever caught my fancy!
I spotted a long mural along the roof of the building at 2168 Chatsworth Boulevard.Part of the mural titled San Diego from 1769 to 1969, painted by Jorge Imana. (I took many photos of this amazing mural and will post them to my blog shortly.)An electrical box up the street was painted with all sort of guitars.More colorful guitar street art on another side of the box.As I walked by European Cake Gallery, I noticed the pastry chef peering out at Point Loma from the rooftop.Some fun but simple artwork on the windows of Coastal Sage Gardening.The front entrance of the James Edgar and Jean Jessop Hervey Library in Point Loma.Dedication plaque near library’s front entrance. Dated September 20, 2003.Looking back at where I was a moment ago. It’s a gray, overcast day.The other side of the architecturally interesting Point Loma Library. The glass near the roof resembles waves breaking on the beach.As I walked past the library I saw words written at my feet. It’s all good!Then I saw this rather interesting Padres fan.A mouse has a secret door near the ground by the door of a Point Loma business.That church looks familiar!I’m already back at the Red Brick Church. A simple but fun walk in Point Loma!
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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!
San Diego is lucky to have some very talented street artists. You’ve seen many of their incredible murals on my blog. Their diverse work appears in almost every neighborhood.
Flash Alley in Normal Heights, north of El Cajon Boulevard and east of 34th Street, is like a small outdoor gallery lined with spray painted graffiti art. As your eyes move across walls emblazoned with fantastic, colorful images, you can spot the names of several local artists.
Their work tells a complex story about human dreams and gritty reality. How unbounded imagination gets tangled up with life on the streets.
Enjoy these photos that I took yesterday…
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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!
On Sunday I enjoyed a long walk along El Cajon Boulevard, including a stretch through North Park and City Heights.
Look at all the cool faces I came upon between 30th Street and 35th Street! (Okay, one is beneath a motorcycle helmet–you’ll have to leave that face to your imagination.)
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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! 