Very early this morning I woke from an unsettling dream. Parts of it coalesced into a short story that I finished writing a few minutes ago.
The title of the story is Vacuuming the Dust. This one might be difficult to read. It’s about denial. It’s about stars, dust and memory.
I think the story is done, but I might change a few words when I read it again.
If you’d like to read about life and time’s passage, click here.
Today I headed up to Old Poway Park to enjoy a very cool event. Scenes from the 19th century were being reenacted at the annual Rendezvous in Poway!
History enthusiasts had set up tents and tipis under large beautiful sycamore trees in the park’s grassy area. I learned that the rendezvous participants had been camping in Old Poway Park for several days already, and that local school students came by during the week to learn about life in the Old West during the 1800’s.
The Rendezvous in Poway, which continues this Sunday, features people in costume representing vaqueros, mountain men, cowboys, pioneers, and even members of the cavalry during the Civil War. For a few bucks kids can pan for real gold and families can ride the park’s fun Poway-Midland Railroad loop and watch a mock train robbery! Many of the attractions are free to the public, including a realistic cannon firing demonstration and Professor Tru Lee Bogus’ Traveling Medicine Show.
I also discovered that the Heritage Museum in Old Poway Park is open on weekends. There are many fascinating exhibits inside, and visitors can learn a good deal about the early history of Poway, back when people reached the once-tiny town by stagecoach.
On a pleasant early October afternoon I walked about the Rendezvous in Poway, enjoying many unique sights–and of course I took photos!
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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 fantastic sculpture by renowned French-American sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle presently stands at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido. Those who pass by the cultural center on their way up North Escondido Boulevard can’t fail to miss it.
I stopped by to have a look at the monumental sculpture, which is titled Grande Step Totem.
A plaque near its base is weathered and cracked and is difficult to read now. I’ve tried to transcribe the English portion of it accurately:
Grande Step Totem
Based in Native American spirituality, Saint Phalle’s Totem is more solemn than much of her work. With a muted color palette and subject matter, this piece encourages introspection. The Totem returned to Escondido on December 19, 2012 after spending the summer on view with several other Saint Phalle pieces on Park Avenue in New York City.
NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE
2001
Polyurethane foam resin, steel armature, ceramic tiles, stained glass, tumbled stone.
As you can see, some construction work was being done around the base of the sculpture when I visited last weekend. Here are my photos…
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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!
Last weekend I walked up Coast Highway 101 through a good slice of Leucadia. The following photos are of various cool sights I spotted. I saw lots of great murals, too, but those I’ll feature in an upcoming blog post.
Come along and join me on a very misty, occasionally drizzly morning! We start a bit south of Marcheta Street in Encinitas and work our way north up the west sidewalk of Coast Highway 101 to a place around Avocado Street.
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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!
The construction of the new Portside Pier on the Embarcadero is well advanced, and the new structure is beginning to look really cool!
This morning I walked along the Embarcadero near the Cruise Ship Terminal and Star of India. As I approached the Portside Pier’s over-the-water construction site, I was so intrigued by what I saw I decided to take these photos. I was particularly fascinated by the work being done from a floating platform beneath the building!
This project of the Brigantine Restaurant will eventually replace the demolished Anthony’s Fish Grotto, a San Diego landmark that produced many fond memories in the minds of locals and tourists alike. I’m hopeful the new two-story Portside Pier, with its multiple eateries and public observation deck, will produce many more such great memories in the not-too-distant future.
Check out my super cool last photo! I took it through a convenient hole in the surrounding fence!
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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!
During my walk through Leucadia on Saturday I stumbled upon a whole bunch of cool murals in one place. They were painted around the parking lot of Priority Public House on North Coast Highway 101.
Check it out!
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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!
Autumn arrived about a week ago. You can see signs of it throughout Balboa Park.
As I walked around the park today, I aimed my camera here and there taking fun seasonal photographs.
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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!
Do you love Balboa Park? Check out my other website Beautiful Balboa Park!
Yesterday, before heading to Escondido where I enjoyed watching the magical Zoppè Family Circus, I walked in the gray morning mist along the coast. I started in Encinitas and headed north up Coast Highway 101 through Leucadia, where I photographed many murals and other fun stuff. Finally I reached my destination: Ponto State Beach and the entrance to Batiquitos Lagoon.
I walked to the end of the two rock jetties that stretch a short distance into the Pacific Ocean on either side of the lagoon’s channel.
Some surfers were out, and a few people strolled slowly across the beach. Incoming surf splashed up near where I stood. Gulls wheeled in the overcast sky.
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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!
Today I was wowed by amazing, dazzling, stupefying performances at the most magical circus in the world!
I know for a fact that I experienced the most powerful magic. I saw it, heard it, smelled it, got goosebumps. I felt magic in my sudden laughter and in my soaring heart. I saw magic in the joyful smiles of each circus performer.
The Zoppé Family Circus is performing this weekend at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido. They are a circus whose history goes back to 1842, when, according to their website:
“. . . a young French street performer named Napoline Zoppé wandered into a plaza in Budapest, Hungary, looking for work. There, his eyes glanced upon a beautiful equestrian ballerina named Ermenegilda, who captured the hearts and minds of the crowd with her grace and showmanship. More important, this talented beauty captured Napoline’s heart.
Unfortunately, Napoline was a clown, and Ermenegilda’s father saw him as beneath her and disapproved of their relationship. The two ran away to Venice, Italy, and founded the circus that still bears their name . . .”
Today, the Zoppé Family Circus is filling our world with the time-tested magic of an Old World traditional circus. As Giovanni Zoppé explained when he welcomed the audience to the show, an authentic circus is all about family, tradition and struggle, and happiness and heartbreak.
I could see that the performers are also motivated by passion and a very deep love for what they do.
I spoke to Giovanni briefly, and he was such a nice person. I mean really nice.
After I got home, I did some reading and learned: “Giovanni Zoppé, the director of the circus and a sixth-generation performer, says the show aims higher than what passes for circuses these days. ‘We try to touch every emotion during the show,’ he says. ‘They’ll laugh, they’ll cry, and they’ll feel for the characters. It’s more of an event than a show.’
His performance as Nino the clown was hilarious, winning and utterly human. It was perfect. It was masterful.
The entire spectacle was fantastic.
Under the big top, in the spotlight at the center of the ring, the magic of the Zoppé Family Circus never ceased. There was magic in the acrobats, trapeze act, jugglers and tightwire act. There was magic in the trick horse riding and the lady who shot an arrow with perfect accuracy using her feet while doing a handstand. There was magic in the mustachioed fellow who flew through the air absurdly with a rope tied to his hair. He spun like a top, circled high above the ring, soared like a bird. There was magic in the glittering costumes, and the smell of sawdust and buttery popcorn, and the excited chatter and laughter of children. There was magic when Nino couldn’t find his hat, then couldn’t reach it when it dangled from the top of a broomstick that he held.
There was magic in every single moment.
My camera failed to take good photos in the subdued light under the big top. But I got some photos in front of the tent during a humorous pre-show performance.
In my photos you can see a little bit of that magic. And much of the humanity.
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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!
Look what I discovered today!
While driving down Qualcomm Way, I noticed a couple of new signs by the San Diego River indicating that “The San Diego River Discovery Center at Grant Park” is coming to Mission Valley!
The San Diego River Discovery Center at Grant Park is a project of the San Diego River Park Foundation. The following is an overview taken from their website:
“Imagine a place that provides hands-on science based nature education and experiences to 25,000 kids each year! For many of these kids, it will be their very first experience!
Imagine a place which celebrates the San Diego River as an important ecological resource and inspires the next generation of River and nature stewards.
In May 2009, this vision of a new place where people could enjoy and connect with the San Diego River took a major step forward when the San Diego River Park Foundation signed a donation agreement with a remarkable family, the Grants. This longstanding San Diegan family decided to donate their 17-acre river-fronting property to benefit the community of Mission Valley and San Diego in general.
With this inspiring action, the San Diego River Discovery Center at Grant Park was born.
This 17-acre site is in the heart of Mission Valley. Prominently located at the northeast corner of Qualcomm Way and Camino del Rio North, the site is easily accessible by foot, bicycle, trolley, bus and automobile.
Grant Park is being designed to serve as a nature-based park, learning center and a gateway to exploring our San Diego River.”
All the legal hurdles to begin grading have been cleared–now the San Diego River Park Foundation just needs to raise some additional funds.
After work I walked around the general area where the park and nature center will be built and took photos.
To learn how you can make a donation, click 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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 