Category: Uncategorized

Cool photo memories from March 2018.

Five years ago, back in March 2018, my camera captured hundreds of colorful photographs around San Diego. Festivals, street art, nature walks and exhibitions provided a very wide variety of subjects.

The big event in late March was the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s 2018 OPEN HOUSE. The public was invited to tour and learn about notable buildings all around the city. I took full advantage of the opportunity!

Oh, and Rex the Lion debuted during an exciting ceremony at the San Diego Zoo, too!

If you’d like to revisit some of those past blog posts, lots of links are coming up!

Click the following links for many colorful memories!

Fun, laughs and thrills at Busker Festival!

Exquisite flower arrangements at ikebana show.

Sexy space warriors and aliens in North Park!

Photos of 2018 Cherry Blossom Festival!

Museum exhibit shows evolution of fashion.

Art from different colleges across San Diego.

Art and history at Lemon Grove Trolley Depot!

Beautiful sanctuary of historic San Diego church.

Amazing views from sky deck of The Barcelona!

Rex the Lion sculpture debuts at San Diego Zoo!

Architecture and light at Timken Museum of Art.

A tour inside the historic Spreckels Theatre.

The fun 2018 Padres Opening Weekend Block Party!

A short architectural tour of the Santa Fe Depot.

The natural beauty of Sweetwater Marsh.

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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 game of Telephone with words and visual art!

A brilliant exhibition can now be enjoyed in the 9th Floor Art Gallery at San Diego’s Central Library. The exhibition is called Lost in Translation: A Game of Telephone!

You know the game called Telephone? It’s that verbal game where somebody conveys a message to a second person, who then the conveys the message to a third person, and so forth, on and on, until the message becomes so changed that it bears little resemblance to the original.

Well, imagine Telephone being played with written words and visual art!

The several “messages” in this unusual art exhibition morph strangely and unexpectedly.

Sequential threads can be viewed on the gallery walls. Each thread begins with a poetic passage written by a local writer. Those words are then interpreted by a local artist, whose resultant creation is then interpreted by another writer, whose words are then interpreted by another artist . . .

Cool idea, right?

I found it interesting that some of the threads maintained a certain amount of cohesion when it came to the conveyed message. But other threads mutated wildly, with subjects and themes lurching in completely different directions!

This is one very unique exhibition that you really have to see for yourself!

Check it out before April 15, 2023.

The following is part of one thread…

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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!

Online exhibit: the Warner-Carrillo Ranch House.

Warner’s Ranch — West Elevation of Ranch House. 1960. Historic American Buildings Survey. Public domain image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Anyone interested in the history of San Diego and the surrounding region should visit the Warner-Carrillo Ranch House near Warner Springs. If you can’t, there’s an online exhibit filled with photographs and detailed information concerning this National Historic Landmark, including its construction in 1857, its fascinating history and restoration.

I subscribe to the Save Our Heritage Organisation email list. Their most recent newsletter is how I learned about this.

To view the excellent online exhibit concerning the Warner-Carrillo Ranch House, click here.

I visited the old ranch house in 2021 and took some photos, which you can see 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!

Signs of Spring’s approach in Balboa Park!

Spring is less than three weeks away. And signs of the coming season are “springing” up in San Diego’s amazing Balboa Park!

I walked through the park today and took a variety of photographs…

Lawn bowlers were out on a sunny day.

San Diego sunshine on the iconic California Tower and California Building’s dome.

A tour group takes advantage of a spring-like day in Balboa Park.

Under a Baseball Sky at the Old Globe? Yes! Spring Training has begun!

Some flowers are already blooming in the Alcazar Garden.

The Cherry Blossom Festival is coming to the Japanese Friendship Garden in a couple weeks.

Cherry trees are beginning to bloom in the Japanese Friendship Garden’s lush Lower Garden.

This 1932 Morgan Super Sports would be the perfect ride on a warm Spring day. Meanwhile, it’s on display at the San Diego Automotive Museum.

Blossoms have appeared at the San Diego Potters’ Guild in Spanish Village Art Center!

Blossoms have also appeared in Spanish Village’s Studio 26, flowing from the paintbrush of friendly artist Edward Juarez!

And fresh flowers have appeared in some hand blown glass in Spanish Village!

Last, but certainly not least, I learned huge news will be coming this Spring from the San Diego Natural History Museum. But I’ve been sworn to secrecy! Stay tuned!

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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!

The many birds of Lakeside’s Lindo Lake.

Those who love to watch birds are in for a treat at Lindo Lake County Park in Lakeside.

Walk along the shore of beautiful Lindo Lake and you’re almost certain to see hundreds of birds. What’s more, some of the birds seem fearless in the close presence of humans.

An informative signs shows a variety of birds one might encounter, including Cooper’s Hawks, Red Shouldered Hawks, Red Tailed Hawks, Great Blue Herons, Black-necked Stilts, Killdeer, Snowy Egrets, Black-Crowned Night Herons, American White Pelicans, Canada Geese, Mallards, and Wood Ducks.

Even though I’m far from an expert, during my walk yesterday I also identified Red-winged Blackbirds, American Coots, a distant Double-crested Cormorant, Domestic Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese, Brewer’s Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackles.

Yes, and a whole lot of pigeons–I mean Rock Doves.

Enjoy these photographs!

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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!

Lakeside’s beautiful Lindo Lake east basin!

Lindo Lake in Lakeside is a beautiful, peaceful retreat in San Diego’s East County.

Recently the lake has become even more beautiful!

A year ago when I took a walk at Lindo Lake County Park, the east basin was fenced off and closed to the public. That’s because numerous major improvements were then being made.

Today the paths around the large east basin are wide open!

Improvements include new plants and trees, wide ADA accessible pathways, scenic viewing platforms and a couple of bird-watching stations with blinds facing the water.

If I lived nearby, I’d be walking here often. There are native flowers, birds, shady trees, sunshine and the tranquil, shining water. Nearby mountains rise into blue sky.

Even on this winter’s day the lake was filled with life. (I’ll be blogging about the many birds coming up!)

I took the following photographs as I walked around Lindo Lake’s newly improved east basin…

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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!

Defending Freedom in a San Diego rain.

In San Diego this afternoon, blue and yellow umbrellas sheltered a tight-knit gathering from the rain. Supporters of Ukraine met near the El Cid statue in Balboa Park’s Plaza de Panama, waving flags, giving heartfelt speeches, asking for help.

It’s now a year since Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine, and in San Diego many are appalled that dictatorship and murderous barbarism can rise again in the 21st century.

Powerful images and messages that concern one year of Defending Freedom surrounded the group.

As I stood in the crowd listening, a young person voiced her optimism that Freedom, in the end, would prevail.

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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!

Amazing 270-foot mural in San Diego completed!

An absolutely amazing 270-foot mural has been completed in San Diego’s diverse City Heights neighborhood!

The colorful mural, titled Unity in the Community, has been painted along the long wall at the south end of Teralta Neighborhood Park.

This epic mural was begun by San Diego graffiti artist Sake, then very beautifully finished by artists Melody De Los Cobos (@chicanalilly) and GMONIK (@gmonikart)!

Melody explains her experience painting the mural:

The mural has been 6 or 7 years in the making. I only joined the project the last 6 months. In that time we ran into many challenges. The biggest was about a month in. I had a stroke while painting the end section of the wall in early October. In trying to find why I had a stroke so young, doctors found also a hole in my heart. So after a few procedures I was able to get back to the wall. I was out about 3 weeks. It could have been much much worst but I’m grateful to be alive and am able to walk and talk…
While I was out, GMONIK had to move forward with the mural which in turn put a lot of pressure on him. In the end, we completed the mural December 23rd, 2022.

This mural, as you can see, is extra special.

Today I walked through Teralta Neighborhood Park and took these photographs. I began on the left end of the long mural and worked my way right.

There are many outstanding murals all around San Diego, but in my opinion this ranks right up there as one of the very best. And one of the most inspirational!

A big Mural Dedication and Celebration event is coming up on March 25th at 1:00 pm in Teralta Neighborhood Park. Speakers will give the history of this mural and explain how the City Heights community contributed to its creation. The neighborhood’s diversity and progress will also be celebrated!

Check it out!

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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!

Sculpture honors City Heights visionary advocate.

A beautiful work of metal art now stands in the City Heights Tierra Central sculpture garden. It was created by local artist Spenser Little (@spenserlittleart). The sculpture honors Jim Bliesner, Visionary Community Advocate.

Jim Bliesner was a driving force behind the creation of Tierra Central, an outdoor event space on University Avenue, just east of Interstate 15. For 40 years he’s worked for the betterment of his community, from planting trees to starting a local newspaper. He’s a founding member of the City Heights Community Development Corporation.

Jim is both activist and artist. His works of public art can be seen around City Heights and our Southern California region. You might recall some past blog posts featuring his work. Here and here and here!

I was so surprised and gratified to see this amazing new sculpture honoring such a wonderful person and inspiration to many!

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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!

San Diego Bird Festival 2023 this weekend!

Looking for a fun adventure this weekend? Do you love the great outdoors? Do you love birds?

The San Diego Bird Festival 2023 has kicked off at Marina Village Conference Center and continues through the weekend!

The annual event is presented by the San Diego Audubon Society. The public is invited to attend a variety of educational lectures at Marina Village and bird-watching activities around the city.

The cool thing is many of the activities on Saturday and Sunday are free, including outdoor birding adventures along the San Diego River and at Santee Lakes!

Never gone birding before? Don’t know much about it? That’s fine! Bird lovers are a friendly, knowledgeable bunch and very welcoming. I happened to meet a few of them this morning during my quiet walk through Marina Village about an hour before the day’s activities began in earnest.

The San Diego Bird Festival also has a bookstore with every sort of bird-related resource one could ever need. And for those who are curious, there are displays of binoculars and other gear. There’s also an auction that features some very cool collectible items!

Who are those bicyclists I photographed? They were just setting off for a ride along the San Diego River. I wonder how many birds they identified?

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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!