Enjoy this collection of photographs. I took them late this afternoon in Little Italy at the inaugural Bella Vita Fest event, along India Street.
The Italian-themed event is produced by ArtWalk San Diego. Appropriately, it’s taking place during a sunny weekend in October, which is Italian American Heritage Month.
In addition to the work of some 30 chalk artists, visitors to the festival can enjoy live entertainment, wine tastings, great Italian food and lots of unique vendor booths. Bella Vita Fest continues tomorrow, Sunday, from 11 am to 5 pm. Learn more here!
These photographs include many of the chalk art works. Ones that were just begun or badly disrupted by shadows I might have skipped. Most chalk artists will continue their work during Bella Vita Fest on Sunday!
Chalk art by Tonya Neilson.Chalk art by Cecelia Linayao.Chalk art by Pappricci.Chalk art by Dawn Wagner.Chalk art by Meg Beverly Canilang.Chalk art by NIKIMEG.Chalk art by Joyce Hatzidakis.Chalk art by Gutierrez Family.Chalk art by Team Zamora.Chalk art by Isaiah Hernandez.Chalk art by Raziah Roushan.Kids create fun chalk art at Bella Vita Fest in San Diego’s Little Italy.Chalk art by Steele Canyon High School.Chalk art by Shawndell Smith Art.Chalk art by Kim sisters.Chalk art by Maddalena and Rogalski.Chalk art by Michelle Lubin.Chalk art by Jen Swain.Chalk art by Monika Petroczy.Chalk art by Canyon Crest Academy.Chalk art by Jose Noe Hernandez.Chalk art by Fia Soisson.Chalk art by Gloria Ing.Chalk art by Sarah Conley.
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The new Paleo Center had its soft opening today at the San Diego Natural History Museum!
The Tom Deméré Paleontology Center has opened in the museum’s basement, where visitors can view a huge number of fossils behind glass windows and scientists at work in their processing lab! The new Paleo Center is a state-of-the-art facility that provides adequate room for the museum’s extensive fossil collection and frees up space in the museum for other collections and exhibits.
Visitors this morning could enter The NAT for free as the museum celebrated its 150 year anniversary with a “block party” in Balboa Park. (I’ll be posting a blog about the big event shortly!)
I walked down stairs to the Natural History Museum’s basement not knowing what to expect, and look what I discovered!
In addition to the processing lab and fossil storage space, museum volunteers and scientists had assembled several puzzles and displays for both young and old.
The Paleo Center is still being worked on and is scheduled to fully open in Spring 2025. Visitors were asked for suggestions for the center’s name. I suggested The Paleo Vault!
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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 X.
Hundreds of smiling people participated in the Walk4ALZ 2024 walk this morning in Balboa Park. The annual event is a fundraiser for Alzheimer’s San Diego, a local nonprofit organization that helps many of the approximately 100,000 San Diegans living with dementia. Every dollar that was raised will stay in San Diego County.
I took these photographs as I walked near the group. I saw teams holding signs, many families in support of loved ones who have Alzheimer’s, folks along the route cheering on the walkers, and some fun costumes, too!
If you’d like to learn more about Alzheimer’s San Diego and perhaps support their efforts, or if you know someone with dementia and would like assistance, check out their website by clicking here.
The Rancho Bernardo Veterans Memorial is located in Webb Park. During a recent walk around small Webb Lake, I paused at the memorial to read plaques honoring military veterans who’ve sacrificed to defend our country and freedoms.
You can learn more about the Rancho Bernardo Veterans Memorial by visiting the Mission page of its website. You’ll read how the Veterans Memorial was designed and installed at a central location in Rancho Bernardo – Webb Park – and dedicated on 4 July 1994.
Engraved plaques along the sidewalk define the Patriots Walk. This feature, honoring veterans, was dedicated in 2022.
If you know of someone who ought to be included in the Patriots Walk, and you’d like to make a donation that goes toward maintaining the memorial, you can find a printable nomination form here.
These photos were taken on an overcast day.
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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 X.
Have you driven up Interstate 15 through Rancho Bernardo and glimpsed a small lake below the freeway to the east, tucked among several buildings? That’s Webb Lake.
The beautiful little lake is located in Webb Park. The private park, owned and managed by the Bernardo Town Center Property Owners Association, welcomes the public from sunrise to sunset.
The last time I was in Rancho Bernardo, I strolled around Webb Lake to see what I might discover. I found the Rancho Bernardo Veterans’ Memorial (which I’ll blog about soon) and green grass and benches and many birds in a place of tranquil beauty. I saw ducks, pigeons, egrets and more. I was surprised to see so many red-winged blackbirds.
Yes, going around the small lake is a very easy walk.
These photographs trace a clockwise walk. I started at the walkway that approaches Webb Park from the east side of the Courtyard Marriott hotel.
An old plaque under a tree refers to Schurr Lake, In Memory of William C. Schurr. Was that a past name for this lake? Please leave a comment if you know some of the history.
On a park bench… In Memory of Boyd H. GraeberOn a park bench… In Loving Memory Of Tyne Long, President, Rancho Bernardo Historical Society, 1989-1999Looking back…Webb Lake 2000. Thank you to the friends of Webb Lake for their generous contributions which have made it possible for all of us to share the joys of Webb Lake for years to come.Pathway of Pride – Rancho Bernardo Community FoundationOne last look back…Dedicated June 29, 2013 – Bob Wells – for establishing this Pathway of Pride which has helped and will continue to help fund hundreds of community projects that have been of enormous benefit to the community of Rancho Bernardo.
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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 X.
An important presentation was made this evening in San Diego’s Balboa Park. A thoughtful audience, assembled inside the World Design Capital’s Exchange Pavilion, learned how the organization Tijuana Access is working to make Tijuana and Mexico more accessible for the disabled.
Eduardo Lopez Ruiz explained how Tijuana Access is raising awareness and lobbying for greater accessibility south of the border. He explained that our neighbors to the south are a bit behind the United States when it comes to making buildings, streets and city facilities more friendly for those who have difficulty functioning in a world full of potential obstacles.
Working to make our world more accessible, Eduardo affirmed, is a matter of compassion. Not only are a significant number of people born with or develop a disability, but most of us become elderly–right?
There are all sorts of ways to make a city more accessible. Automatic doors, ramps, lifts, slip resistant materials and tactile paving can be adapted to enhance mobility. Handrails, rest furniture, properly placed buttons and switches, Braille printing and other changes can make life much easier and safer for many.
The presentation was mostly in Spanish with an interpreter helping us English speakers. I asked how I could link to Tijuana Access with my blog, because readers might like to help in some way. The Tijuana Access Instagram page is here. Their Facebook page is here.
To my readers in Mexico, perhaps this is a cause you’d like to support. Or simply spread the word to help to raise awareness!
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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 X.
Sweetwater Park is a large recreational park now being developed in Chula Vista, next to San Diego Bay. It extends between G Street and E Street. When completed, the 21-acre park will feature trails, picnic areas, nature and adventure play areas, and scenic overlooks to the bay.
Yesterday I discovered that one wide dirt trail is already open. It parallels the paved Bayshore Bikeway, with which it sometimes coincides. The trail begins at the north end of Chula Vista’s Bayside Park next to Marine Group Boat Works, and extends up to Sweetwater Park’s future entrance and parking lot, which is located across E Street from the Sun Outdoors RV Resort.
Walking north up the trail, I peered over construction fences to view Sweetwater Park’s progress. In upcoming photos you’ll see connecting trails that aren’t yet completed.
As I got started, I turned south for a moment. That huge structure in the next photo is the parking garage for the big Gaylord Pacific Resort and Conference Center now under construction.
Okay, now I’m heading north. I saw this sign concerning native coastal and salt marsh plants here near San Diego Bay.
Come along on my sunny Sunday walk…
A sign on the fence includes images of how the finished Sweetwater Park will appear.
Looking at the overall site plan, my walk north proceeded from right to left. I’m now at the park entrance and parking lot.
Embedded in the trail at its north end is a circular plaque:
Funding for this path provided by the Urban Greening Grant awarded in 2017 by the California Natural Resources Agency. Port of San Diego Waterfront of Opportunity.
Learn more about future Sweetwater Park by visiting the Port of San Diego website here. You’ll also see a plan for Chula Vista’s Bayside Park to nearly double in size and become Harbor Park!
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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 X.
Look how gigantic the Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center in Chula Vista has become! I walked around it on Sunday and the main hotel building is positively immense! Because I took photographs from a good distance, it might be hard to visualize exactly how large it is.
The resort and convention center, when completed next Spring, will feature 1,600 guest rooms and suites, plus a 4.25-acre water park on the property’s bay side. You can see two big blue water slides in the following photos.
To visualize the progress of this project’s construction, check out photos from almost two years ago, when there was practically nothing on the huge lot but dirt. See those here. Then I took photos about a year ago, which you can see here.
After walking around the Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center, I headed from nearby Bayside Park around Marine Group Boat Works, and discovered a beautiful new path along the edge of Chula Vista’s upcoming Sweetwater Park–a huge park that is now in development!
I’ll post photos of that walk coming up!
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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 X.
A big celebration was held yesterday at the San Ysidro Branch Library. It was the San Ysidro Library’s 100th Year Anniversary!
Refreshments, entertainment and plenty of South Bay history greeted those who stepped into the library’s community room or outside onto the patio courtyard. I arrived too late to hear a noon presentation, but I did enjoy a great performance by San Ysidro High School’s mariachi band!
In the library’s Lloyd De Llamas Community Room, the South Bay Historical Society projected images of old San Ysidro onto a wall, and the fourteen historical photographs displayed in the room attracted curious eyes. History was visible wherever one looked.
The original library can be seen in the above photograph. Built in 1924, the small but quite beautiful building became a Teen Center in 2022.
Concerning the above photo, which was taken in 1930, Jack Gechter of the South Bay Historical Society wrote:
In 1924 Frank Beyer donated money for the construction of the San Ysidro Library located at 101 West San Ysidro Blvd. The library was formally opened on October 16, 1924. The building had the unique distinction of being the First Branch Library building owned by the County of San Diego and the only library in the country to have a smoking room for men; Beyers insisting: “that most men wish to smoke while they read.” In 1957 San Ysidro was annexed to the City of San Diego. A remodel of the Historic San Ysidro library in 1983 kept the Historic Facade intact and expanded the building to its current size of 4,089 square feet. On November 11, 2000 the San Ysidro Library was added to the list of Historical Landmarks in the City of San Diego. It is designated as HRB # 451. In October, 2014 we celebrated the 90th birthday of our Historic San Ysidro Library and a Historic Plaque was added near the Easterly entrance to the building. On August 10, 2019 we celebrated again as it was the last day of business for the San Ysidro Library after 95 years of service to the San Ysidro Community. We moved to our New San Ysidro Library at 4235 Beyer Blvd and the Grand Opening was on September 7, 2019.
Five years ago the San Ysidro Library moved to its much larger, modern building on Beyer Boulevard. I’ve posted photos in the past, here and here, that show art inside and outside the beautiful new library.
I enjoyed the 100 years anniversary celebration yesterday and took these photos…
I saw many Friends of the San Ysidro Branch Library helping with the festivities.Lots of treats were enjoyed by those in attendance.The Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park has many educational STEM programs that serve San Diego area communities, including San Ysidro.Kids watch a balloon inflate with carbon dioxide from dry ice.Community organization Casa Familiar was on hand, providing a smile and information about their many quality of life programs for those who might be underserved.Students from San Ysidro High School pose for a photo!A mariachi musical performance at San Ysidro Library by students from San Ysidro High School.Cool cars had gathered in the library parking lot!A fine day to come together and celebrate!
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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 X.
Cool San Diego Sights! 