Today history was made in San Diego. This evening, the San Diego Symphony performed their opening concert at the new Rady Shell at Jacobs Park.
I arrived a good hour before the concert began and wandered around. I even walked out onto the nearby pier. From the Embarcadero Marina Park South fishing pier The Shell is gorgeously framed by San Diego’s skyline.
The Shell is simply wonderful. It has immediately become one of our city’s treasures. Its beauty, the sparkling bay views, the sunset and sailboats, the world-class music…
Large screens on either side of the stage allow guests to watch the performers up close. You see their facial expressions. You see the emotion.
The photos I took this evening provide just a small taste of the incredible experience you’ll have should you attend a concert at the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park.
One great thing about this fantastic new outdoor venue is the public can freely watch and listen from the periphery. I found a bench beside the water and simply melted into the music.
Please enjoy a few photos of this evening’s historic event taken by my small camera.
Young volunteers greet visitors in line for the concert.People eagerly file in for an historic concert.Some guests walk up to the box office to purchase tickets.The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park has many places to sit, eat, or simply relax before or during a concert. All sorts of food is available–from gourmet to pizza.Friendly waves from San Diego Symphony folks!A wave and smile!A few are already seated well before the concert begins.Martha Gilmer, Chief Executive Officer of the San Diego Symphony welcomes guests to the historic concert.Meanwhile, people have found a great place to sit and listen at one end of the fishing pier.Sailboats pass on San Diego Bay. During the concert, many boaters anchored nearby to listen.A photo taken from the pier. The Marriott Marquis becomes silvery as the sun falls toward the horizon.Musicians arrive carrying their instruments.I’m back near The Shell and its sloped seating area. People awaiting the concert gaze out toward the bay.Many have taken their seats. Anticipation builds…The sun will soon be setting.The silhouette of San Diego Symphony conductor Rafael Payare appears on The Shell’s curtain! Everyone applauds!The curtain suddenly drops open!And there is the San Diego Symphony!Beautiful music begins…
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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 beautiful metal sculpture stands in front of the Ramona Library on Main Street. It’s called Wings of Inspiration.
The sculpture is dedicated to M. Elyse Kuhn, President of the Friends of Ramona Library, who passed away in 2015.
Literacy gives everyone the means to soar. That was the idea expressed by the local artist, Leslie Souza. You can read more about Wings of Inspiration, and the efforts of Marion Elyse Kuhn to see the Ramona Library built 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!
Here are more photographs of fantastic art that I discovered during my recent adventure in Azalea Park.
This neighborhood on the south end of City Heights is full of surprises, with murals, sculptures and mosaics just about everywhere one turns!
If you’d like to see more public art in Azalea Park that I’ve already shared, you can click here or here or here or here.
Large mural at intersection of Poplar Street and Jamie’s Way by Gloria Muriel.Mural shows map of City Heights Urban Wilderness Trail.
If you’d like to see a detailed map of the City Heights Canyons Loop Trail, which connects four urban canyons, click here!
One of these days I’ll go hike it!
Natural beauty and wildlife one might see exploring the canyons of City Heights, including nearby Manzanita and Hollywood Canyons.Teach the Youth above graffiti and Mexican sweet bread, painted on the side of a bakery near the entrance to Azalea Park.I learned from local artist Jim Bliesner that these colorful palm trees on Poplar were originally located on University Avenue in City Heights.Murals on The Brown Building community center.Abstract mural with eyes by Isaias Crow.Mural on building’s southwest side by @SART95.A suspended leaf on a street corner. A common sight in Azalea Park, whose street names come from plants and trees.Amazing artwork on the fence of a very artistic resident of Azalea Park!Shipping containers by the playground at Azalea Community Park are covered with fantastic murals!Cool spray paint art by muralist Maxx Moses.A wall just east of the Azalea Park Water Conservation Garden has been decorated with beautiful murals. Gloria Muriel teamed with several other artists.Calla Ditos and Gloria Muriel, aka Glow.Amandalynn and Lady Mags together are known as Alynn-Mags.
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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 Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park was filled this evening with uplifting music. Mariachi Estrellas de Chula Vista performed in front of a large crowd!
Lively traditional Mexican music turned this free Twilight in the Park Summer Concert into a special, memorable event. Many families filled the pavilion benches. There was much clapping and singing along with popular songs.
An elderly man behind me sang words he knew by heart joyfully. So did a very young boy sitting next to him.
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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!
Magee Park in Carlsbad is a special place where both history and beauty thrive.
I enjoyed a walk through the park recently, pausing frequently to admire its several historical structures.
Everywhere I walked, it seemed, beds of roses greeted me. Magee Park’s rose garden is so beautiful and extensive that the American Rose Society called Carlsbad “An American Rose City” in 2002.
The centerpiece of the park is the 1887 Magee House, a handsome Craftsman-style house built by Samuel Church Smith, one of the founders of Carlsbad Land and Water Company. Today it is home to the Carlsbad Historical Society and their museum. Unfortunately, the museum was closed when I walked past. Read more about the Magee House’s history here.
Other historic structures in Magee Park include the Shipley-Magee Barn, Heritage Hall, the Twin Inns Granary and the Twin Inns Gazebo.
During my meandering walk, I photographed many of the informative signs and plaques that I came upon.
During Carlsbad’s agricultural past a variety of barn styles were constructed.The barn at Magee Historical Park is the oldest Carlsbad barn in existence. This sign on the barn’s side details its history, and tells a little about the life of Florence Shipley and her husband Hugh Magee.Vast areas of present day Carlsbad were once used to raise cattle and horses.Heritage Hall in Carlsbad, California.
HERITAGE HALL
HERITAGE HALL WAS BUILT IN 1926 AS THE ORIGINAL SANCTUARY OF ST. PATRICK’S CATHOLIC CHURCH. IN 1952 IT BECAME CARLSBAD’S FIRST CITY HALL AND POLICE STATION; IN THE 1960’S THE FIRST LIBRARY, THE FIRST CHILDREN’S LIBRARY AND LATER A BALLET STUDIO. IN 1979 THE HALL WAS MOVED TO ITS PRESENT SITE WITH THE HELP OF FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY, THE CARLSBAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND VOLUNTEERS. IT IS NOW A COMMUNITY MEETING HALL.
The Twin Inns Granary.
THE TWIN INNS GRANARY
ORIGINALLY BUILT BY EDDIE KENTNER, PROPRIETOR OF THE WORLD FAMOUS CARLSBAD TWIN INNS, THIS GRANARY WAS DONATED TO THE CITY OF CARLSBAD BY NEIMAN’S VILLAGE FAIRE AND MOVED TO MAGEE PARK IN 1985. IT WAS RESTORED THROUGH THE GENEROUS ASSISTANCE OF THE CARLSBAD EVENING ROTARY CLUB.
Now I’ve begun to walk around the Magee House…
A time capsule in front of the Magee House placed by the Carlsbad Historical Society. It will be opened July 4, 2076, our nation’s Tricentennial.Roses by the Magee House’s welcoming veranda.Circular patio with birdbath beside the Magee House. More roses.The old Twin Inns Gazebo nearby.Continuing my walk around the Magee House.
As I walked through wide, grassy Magee Park, I noticed it has several trees with dedication plaques.
I found three of them…
25 years of friendship with sister city Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic.In loving memory of Doris A. Gordon.Mary Jane Joseph. Proud resident of Carlsbad.
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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 back at Cool San Diego Sights five years ago, it appears there was a stretch when I was taking it easy. I attended few events that August, unlike the month before, when San Diego hosted both the Major League Baseball All-Star Game and Comic-Con.
How different from my very busy summer this year! Right now I’ve got so many photos waiting on my computer that I hardly know what to post next!
This evening I enjoyed a twilight concert in Balboa Park featuring Marine Band San Diego. They were amazing. Standing ovation. Two encores. But I gave my camera a rest. I just wanted to listen.
So as I begin to prepare my next batch of photos, which were taken during a walk in Carlsbad a few weekends ago, please enjoy the upcoming few blog posts from August 2016.
(If you’d like to learn about the early history of San Diego, click the link concerning the McCoy House in Old Town!)
This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
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Yesterday I arrived in Ramona in the morning, a couple hours before the start of the Ramona Country Fair.
I parked near the McDonald’s on 16th Street and walked east up Main Street to around 4th Street, watching for the many H.E.A.R.T. murals that have been painted in Ramona’s downtown. I found many and will be sharing those photographs before too long!
I also spotted a beautiful sculpture and an interesting historical building, but I’m not posting those photos quite yet, either.
Today I’d like to share photographs of painted street art that decorates electrical boxes along and near Main Street! You can find artist names in a couple of the images.
I probably missed other colorful boxes, but you might enjoy the ones I found!
As you might guess, this street art was next to Ramona’s public library. Book titles on the painted shelves reflect unique aspects of this rural community.
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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!
I arrived at the Ramona Country Fair about half an hour before it opened on Sunday, so I continued walking beyond the fairground and explored the nearby Ramona Pony Baseball Fields.
As I wandered among various structures next to the ball fields, I discovered this fun artwork depicting baseball players in action.
At first glance the art might seem simple or generic, but upon closer inspection each small work has really great personality!
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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 learned yesterday! How to easily build a compost bin and grow worms!
Two super friendly ladies at the Ramona Country Fair showed me how its done. They were at the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation booth, displaying ways people can bring environmental sustainability to their homes.
The Solana Center has a great website with lots of informative resources. Check it out here. You can even become a Master Composter! They have a wide variety of educational programs and host sustainability events all around San Diego County. They also feature special programs for schools and businesses.
Okay. Are you ready? To compost in a small yard, apartment or condo, all you need is a couple of plastic storage bins with holes drilled a certain way. And some shredded paper. And some starter worms. Then begin adding food scraps to your vermicompost bin.
You’ll end up with excellent potting soil, plus lots of wiggly bait for fishing, if that’s your thing!
For the exact step-by-step details, check out the instructions I photographed below! (You might be able to read the words more easily by using a computer, rather than a phone. Open the images in a new tab and they’ll enlarge somewhat.)
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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 headed to the annual Ramona Country Fair and stepped through their gateway to adventure!
In addition to lots of friendly people and a fun slice of Americana, what did I find?
At the Ramona Country Fair, which is held each summer in rural San Diego County, there is plenty of adventure! And it’s free!Young and old were trying to shoot bows and arrows, just as folks did once upon a time.I was greeted by a smiling medieval archer! I declined to pick up a bow. I’m bound to shoot myself in the foot.Members of The Sovereign Kingdom of Terre Neuve, a subdivision of The Adrian Empire, had gathered at the Ramona Country Fair. Perhaps they arrived by time machine. But seriously, this friendly group recreates Western European culture between the First Viking Raid on Lindisfarne in 793 to the death of King James I of England in 1625.Chain mail, steel helmets, swords and other instruments from the Age of Chivalry displayed on one table.A demonstration of medieval combat fascinates those watching.Getting a bit more intense…That was a close call!Meanwhile, adventurous shoppers had much to explore on the grounds of the Ramona Country Fair.These super friendly folks from the California Avian Health Education Network were informing the community about prevention, early detection, and rapid containment of foreign animal diseases. They also had to endure a couple of my awful chicken jokes. Artists had their work for sale at the fair. I spotted a cool Yoda created by Boyd’s Crafts!These two cool guys represented Triple B Adventures, an organization that takes Veterans, including wounded warriors, on hikes, campouts and other adventures around San Diego County.It’s the 50th Annual Ramona Country Fair as you can see from their poster! Entries into the fair’s art show were displayed nearby.Some tape prevented my closer approach, but you can see these are winning art entries!Talk about a gastronomical adventure! Super Burritos. Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs. Decisions, decisions…The Ramona Chamber of Commerce, who puts the annual fair together, greeted me!Love Ramona is a bunch of friends and neighbors who do good deeds in the community. They began as a local church group.And, of course, what is a country fair without a huge Fun Zone! I couldn’t believe all the carnival rides. I was told it really gets active later in the day, and in the evening when the outdoor temperature cools. (It was in the 90’s during my late morning visit!)Look at all the fun prizes!This four-legged fair-goer was having more fun than some of the two-legged types.Folks were bringing in horses for the noontime Cowboy Challenge. I’m afraid I didn’t stay for that. Places to go. Things to do.A good photo caught by sheer chance.Folks get the arena ready for cowboy action!
Not only did I miss the Cowboy Challenge, but I was disappointed that the Irish Dancing in the fairground’s pavilion had been cancelled for Sunday. Oh, well. I guess that means a future adventure awaits!
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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! 