This is the first weekend visitors to the Star of India can walk on the beautiful new poop deck!
We all are a part of history. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that.
The people at the Maritime Museum of San Diego are contributing to history by restoring the main deck of the world-famous Star of India. The poop deck is finished! Visitors can now enjoy the beautiful new wood deck and varnished helm and imagine putting to sea steering the romantic wheel. On a historic tall ship that is now 153 years old!
The beautiful new wood deck underfoot is meant to last another 50 or so years. The bench along the saloon’s skylight will be sanded and varnished next.The 1863 Star of India is a world treasure. Its amazing, varied history includes circumnavigating the globe 21 times. It’s the oldest active sailing ship in the world!A visitor rang the ship’s cheerful bell while his friends talked near the binnacle and helm.The helm’s new varnish is still drying! In my dreams I command this amazing tall ship while standing at the wheel!A super nice Maritime Museum docent showed me how the steering mechanism works. The two opposing screw-like worms were made with amazing precision over 150 years ago!The port side of the main deck has been caulked! Now just to sand and apply several layers of sealing protection.The people at the Maritime Museum of San Diego are working hard to keep an important part of world history alive.The finished main deck on the starboard side. Soon the entire ship’s deck will be shiny like new!Folks enjoy a sunny San Diego day on the newly restored poop deck of the historic tall ship Star of India.
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People gather near the beach to watch the 2nd Annual Ocean Beach Pier Surf Classic.
Here come some cool surf photos!
I went to the 2nd Annual Ocean Beach Pier Surf Classic today and enjoyed walking around and watching the action from atop the OB pier.
What a beautiful, perfect day. Check it out!
The OB Pier stretches into the Pacific Ocean on a beautiful morning in early February. A fun surf competition is underway.I believe these guys were signing up people for a beach cleanup.Catching a football on the beach while two surfers head toward the water.Considering the event is only two years old, a nice turnout was evident along the boardwalk.A musician plays in OB during a surf community celebration.I believe the winners in different categories would take home one of these small surfboards.Hanging out on the sea wall and the sand berm. The latter protects the nearby street and businesses from high water during winter storms.A horn sounds. The 10:30 heat is starting out across the beach! May the best surfer win!The surf competitors enter the water.One of the surfers has caught a nice wave. The surf was high today and not terribly choppy, making for some pretty good rides.Pacific Beach and La Jolla can be seen in the distance.Two surfers tackle a good breaker!OB is a haven for Southern California surfers. It’s fun to watch from the pier.A nice shot. This local surfer went under the pier and emerged near the competitors.A fun surf photo. (About the best my little camera can manage at a distance.)People on the pier look out across the foamy water.Keep having a good day!More cool action at the 2nd Annual OB Pier Surf Classic.A line of pelicans flies overhead.People enjoy a warm San Diego winter day on the OB pier. One of my favorite places.Leaning over the rail watching surfers below.The guys surfing the south side of the pier were catching some fairly big waves.Today San Diego beaches were under a high surf advisory. Perfect for experienced surfers!Surfer in a wetsuit about to paddle under the pier.Some photographers and videographers were recording the action.Wow! Check out this pic of the surf competition! Very cool!Riding smoothly in toward the shore.Meanwhile, along the beach people were simply enjoying life.An artist was displaying some colorful surf art at the competition.An announcer calls the action so everyone can follow along.A wonderful day at the 2nd Annual Ocean Beach Pier Surf Classic. Here’s to many more years of success!
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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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Gaslamp Museum at the William Heath Davis House and Park, 1850. Home of the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation.
These photos inside the historic William Heath Davis House Museum were taken a few months ago. I toured the fascinating house during the Fall Back Festival, which is held every year in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.
Dated 1850, the William Heath Davis House, like a number of other structures in early San Diego, was built on the East Coast and shipped around Cape Horn. At the time San Diego simply didn’t have the resources and tools required to build a fine wooden house. Various rooms inside the museum show what life was like in New Town a century and a half ago. It was a much simpler time. The small museum now sits in the middle of a gigantic, bustling metropolis.
Please read the photo captions for more info, and click the signs to read them.
Photo of the William Heath Davis House Museum taken from across Island Avenue.Tours of the historic house are available. A museum store contains fascinating gifts.The William Heath Davis House, built in 1850, is the oldest surviving structure from San Diego’s New Town. It is a prefabricated “salt-box” style home, shipped from Portland, Maine around Cape Horn.The 1850 Davis-Horton House was used as a military barracks, county hospital, and was home to New Town’s founder Alonzo Horton and several other families over the years.Looking down the stairs from the second floor. A lady in Victorian attire welcomes visitors to the museum during the Fall Back Festival in November.A look at the first floor living room where family and guests would gather.A small piano, sheet music, teacup and candle. Entertainment in the olden days was simple.The dining table is set for a grand meal in what was then a sparsely populated New Town San Diego.An old sewing machine can be found by a window upstairs.The nursery, with crib, chest and small bed.Three beds for the children have colorful quilts.A desk in the study, framed photos, and a cabinet full of books. No internet back then!An old-fashioned penny-farthing bicycle reminds visitors to the William Heath Davis House Museum of what life was like a century and a half ago in San Diego.
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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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Adopt Leticia! She’s a silly Chihuahua and Rat Terrier mix who loves fluffy beds and meeting new people!
Lots of potential furry friends are awaiting adoption at the San Diego Humane Society. They’d like to meet you!
I spotted some fun flyers while walking near Balboa Park yesterday evening. They feature some friendly four-legged folk who are waiting to be adopted. Visit the San Diego Humane Society website to find out more!
Adopt Ellie and Bob! These special kitties are best friends who seek a compassionate human who understands the nature of shy cats.Adopt Lacey! She is a calm, loving girl who is really smart.Hey there, I’m Regal! This social gentleman is ready for a home of his own! He loves belly rubs and tennis balls and being with his people!
Walking past public art in Chula Vista’s Bayside Park. The Fisherman is a sculpture of a great egret, created by Stephen Fairfield, 2006.
Look at these cool examples of public art! I spotted them Saturday during my visit to Chula Vista’s Bayside Park.
Some of the artwork, as you can see, is rather strange and surprising! Read the photo captions to learn more!
The Fisherman, by Stephen Fairfield, was a part of a past Urban Trees exhibition along San Diego’s Embarcadero. It’s now part of the Port of San Diego Tidelands Collection.Dark shadow of what appears to be a gigantic egret on a walkway in Bayside Park.One of several tables by San Diego Bay containing a tile chess board.Walking north along the beach area. Downtown San Diego and the Coronado Bay Bridge can be seen in the distance.Still walking north, toward more interesting public art at Chula Vista’s Bayside Park. This is Wind Oars by George Peters and Melanie Walker, 2004.Oars in the blue sky change position in the shifting wind. A kinetic artwork landmark in San Diego’s South Bay.Like rowing through blue water above.At the north end of Bayside Park, we now approach some unusual temporary art. Bench Party, by artists Jose Parral and Tasia Paulson, will be on display through May 20, 2017.Visitors to the Bayside Park might sit here and talk, or take in views of San Diego Bay.A large group of people could sit here and have a bench party!The huge travelift at Marine Group Boat Works in Chula Vista is seen beyond the benches. Super yachts and large boats can be lifted out of the water there.A breakwater by Marine Group Boat Works looks like strange art on the water. Rising in the distance we can see Point Loma.A bird swims past stacked rocks.Feeding birds at a park picnic bench.A second sculpture from an Urban Trees exhibition is also located at Bayside Park. This is San Diego Synergy, by Kent Kraber, 2007.Seabirds soar above fish, their food.A school of fish in the ocean kelp.A silvery tuna between a fishing boat and sailboat, at the base of the San Diego Synergy sculpture in Chula Vista.
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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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Early morning sunlight reflects from a building’s shining windows in Mission Valley, casting heavenly beams of light through a slight fog.
It was very foggy this morning in downtown San Diego. I had my camera out as I walked from the top of Cortez Hill to the Civic Center trolley station. By the time I reached Mission Valley, the fog had mostly dissipated. I was very fortunate to capture that almost heavenly first photo! Those slanting beams are exactly as they appeared to the eye!
A bird flies past Cortez Blu, which rises into a foggy downtown San Diego sky.Vantage Pointe in downtown San Diego rises into a fog illuminated by the rising sun.Fog and sunlight create a magical morning photo of skyscrapers on B Street in the heart of San Diego.Beautiful light on tall ghostly buildings.
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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!
Just sitting on a bench at the Chula Vista Marina. Masts of sailboats touch the clear sky. Another sunny day by the water.
Last Saturday morning I did some walking around the Chula Vista Marina and the neighboring Bayside Park. It was a perfect day for a leisurely stroll. Sunlight reflected from the water onto the smooth shiny hulls of boats. A forest of masts tickled the blue sky.
I sat down for awhile to drink in the calm and beauty. Another reason to love San Diego!
The Chula Vista Marina and adjacent Bayside Park are perfect places to relax and recreate.An abstract sculpture near the Dockmaster’s Office.The sculpture is titled To Remember Me, by Ross Barrable, 2001. In tribute to Ron McElliott who believed in the potential of the South Bay.Some street art on a nearby utility box depicts a tall ship on the ocean.Sitting at a table by the marina feeding the birds.Hundreds of sailboats and pleasure craft in the Chula Vista Yacht Harbor await an opportunity to glide across San Diego Bay.Walking the dog across Chula Vista Bayside Park’s fishing pier, next to the marina.A fisherman out on San Diego Bay. The Coronado Cays are visible across the calm blue water.A happy sun shines on the marina building.A beautiful fountain on the grass near the Chula Vista Marina office.
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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!
Colorful lion heads in a row. It’s the Year of the Rooster and many throughout the world are celebrating!
I enjoyed strolling around the San Diego Tet Festival today. I arrived a few minutes after the annual free festival, held at Mira Mesa Community Park, opened its gate. People were slowly streaming in, and everyone was happy. It’s the Year of the Rooster!
Here are some colorful photos…
Visitors enter the San Diego Tet Festival as it opens late Sunday morning.A free annual celebration of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, takes place at Mira Mesa Community Park.A dragon near the festival entrance.Many booths in the park had all sorts of glittering goods for sale.A representation of the Hoàn Kiếm Lake Turtle Tower.Model of a small fishing boat used by 69 people to flee the Vietnamese communist regime.History of the Escape Boat. Fleeing brutal communism, the refugees arrived at a camp set up by the United Nations on the island of Galang, in Indonesia. (Click the sign to enlarge it.)Large bronze drum with ornate design. These drums are a traditional symbol of power, used in religious ceremony, festival and war.The Year of the Rooster has begun. It’s the tenth in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac.Martial arts students demonstrate some moves for the gathering crowd.Taking photos of the stage on a sunny San Diego day in late January.The friendly martial arts group poses.A representation of the sacred Hùng Kings’ Temple, which is located on the Nghĩa Lĩnh mountain.Lots of Asian food could be found around the San Diego Tet Festival, as well as more ordinary American fare.Pikachu sits protecting a spot where food is picked up.Donations help keep the Tet Festival alive.More area in the park was dedicated to kids games and carnival rides than anything else! Oh, to be young again!A child rides a dragon.A beautiful wishing tree at the San Diego Tet Festival.A wish for abundance of love and health. Togetherness.
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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 lady with flowers in her long flowing purple hair.
Late this morning I went to the San Diego Tet Festival at Mira Mesa Community Park. (I’ll blog about that shortly.) Hoping to avoid crowds, I parked a distance from the park before the festival opened, then spent a half hour or so walking around the area.
I was happy to spy a whole bunch of cool street art in the vicinity of Mira Mesa Boulevard and Camino Ruiz! Naturally, I had to take some photos!
Lovely street art painted on a transformer box in Mira Mesa.A tree behind a white fence seems to bear pencils.Are mushrooms sprouting from the nearby grass?A seeming dream takes the form of mazy images. This street art is on a utility box near the intersection of Mira Mesa Boulevard and Camino Ruiz.Just a big heart and simple blocks of bright color.Looks like a Chargers bolt. Unfortunately, San Diego’s NFL football team bolted.One Love and many symbols atop a utility box in Mira Mesa.A painted Asian landscape. Mountains rise from turbulent water.Another side of the same dramatic box.A happy mug of coffee gives a wink near muffins, beneath musical notes.Happy food and drink!A happy face on a blue teacup!Kid with phonograph sits at base of a pagoda in this unique street art.A bunch of colored circles.A red, geometric, minimalist bit of street art.Colors pieced together like stained glass, and a rising koi on this utility box.Koi, water, sun and clouds.I can’t quite make out the beginning of what is written. I can read: Mira Mesa remain Strong, Brave and Proud!Two colorful electrical boxes along Mira Mesa Boulevard.Looks like a hip hop kid with a big funky cap.An old school phonograph!Looks like one of those trick squirting flowers.Two beautiful flowers.This puzzle-like street art looks both ancient and alien.A touching image of a young girl. She seems to sit alone on the sidewalk.Abstract hills, trees and blue beams of sunshine.More cool street art in Mira Mesa.A flying saucer cat and an orange tabby that doesn’t appear amused.A smiling girl astronaut among happy colorful stars.A dog in a space helmet joyfully rockets above a ringed planet.
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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! 