Mural celebrates Manny Machado’s 2000th hit!

This mural was painted in National City last year after Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres recorded his 2000th Major League Baseball hit!

It reads: El Ministro 2000! Manny got the name “El Ministro de la Defensa” (Minister of Defense) for his defensive prowess when he played for the Dominican Republic in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

His absolutely amazing plays at third base are so smooth and routine they appear almost effortless. If you’re an opposing hitter running to first base, you’d better hurry, because Manny’s laser throw will probably arrive before you do!

The artwork was spray painted in 2025 by the Padres-loving artists of Ground Floor Murals (@groundfloormurals).

If you’d like to see this cool mural firsthand, head over the intersection of 8th Street and B Avenue in downtown National City. It decorates the east side of the Andrade’s Thrift Store building.

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A very rare Challenge Caber in San Diego!

That long wood pole you see in these photos is extremely rare. It’s one of only two Challenge Cabers outside of the United Kingdom. It makes its home in San Diego, inside Balboa Park’s House of Scotland cottage!

What’s a caber? It’s a heavy tapered pole that competitors try to toss end over end at Scottish Highland Games. The Braemar Challenge Caber proudly displayed here in San Diego has a further distinction. It has never been successfully flipped (turned).

Beginning in 1976 competitors have tried to turn this particular caber at the San Diego Scottish Highland Games and Gathering of the Clans. A successful turn would require extreme strength and skill. Many accomplished athletes have tried. None have succeeded!

This very heavy Braemar Challenge Caber was a gift from the Braemar Royal Highland Society. It was cut from a larch tree and sealed while still green. It’s 19 feet long and weighs a daunting 175 pounds.

As you might notice, I took these photographs during the holiday season.

Visitors can view this rare, historic caber on most weekends at Balboa Park’s International Cottages. Simply step into the House of Scotland cottage!

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The revitalization of Love City Heights.

I’ve learned work is being done to revitalize the organization Love City Heights. I support this effort.

I don’t live in City Heights, but I’ve been honored to support Love City Heights over the years because I’m impressed by the positive work they’ve done for the community.

The experiences have been inspiring. Whether it’s painting beautiful murals along University Avenue or organizing community cleanups, Love City Heights does precisely what its name describes. Its mission is to spread love.

I have a proposal:

A revitalized Love City Heights could coordinate so much good in the community. For example, Love City Heights could organize a special event every year that would bring together local charities, churches, schools, community organizations, and government agencies and programs. The main purpose would be to benefit the often underserved residents of City Heights. A large scale charitable event of this type could provide a lot of tangible good for so many people.

More public murals, cleanups, festivals and educational programs would be great, too!

So that’s my hope. I’m looking forward to bright things in the future!

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Art classes in Balboa Park during 2026.

A variety of art classes in Balboa Park will be available during 2026. Hands-on workshops, guided by professional artists, will welcome creative people at Spanish Village Art Center.

For a fee anyone can learn to create Art Journals, Collage, Chinese Brush Paintings, Paper Art, Silk Paintings, and more!

I saw that making Silver Metal Clay Jewelry would be taught today. Workspaces and materials were being prepared on tables in Gallery 21 when I happened by. (Students would mold material that combines fine powered metal with a pliable binding material. Each piece is then fired in a kiln, and the sculpted metal remains. How awesome is that?)

Would you like to learn a new craft or style of art, or perhaps improve a skill? Check out the Village Arts Center classes on their website by clicking here.

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Char Car brings books to kids in hospitals, schools!

I ran into these good people this morning before the start of San Diego’s annual Holiday Bowl Parade. They operate the Char Car!

What’s the Char Car? A vehicle that celebrates Pokémon character Charmander, and that delivers books to kids in hospitals, schools and libraries!

Dr. Elizabeth Valles is a member of this smiling gang. She works at Rady Children’s Hospital. You might have seen her on KUSI television the other day. She was honored as KUSI Community Champion for her #ReadingonFire literacy campaigns. She and her team make the lives of children so much better, by promoting child literacy and spreading happiness.

Follow the Char Car’s Instagram page by clicking here. You can learn about their future events and perhaps even help them out!

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Big dreams at 2026 Holiday Bowl Parade!

Dreams were absolutely gigantic this morning in San Diego. That’s always the case during the annual Holiday Bowl Parade. In 2026, those watching the balloon parade along Harbor Drive were dreaming very big things.

There were the dreams of college football fans, who’d gathered in San Diego for the evening game between the Arizona Wildcats and SMU Mustangs. The booming sound of their marching bands would stir dreams of a victory at Snapdragon Stadium.

There were the dreams of young and old, viewing beloved characters soaring overhead. Garfield, Mr. Potato Head, Horton the elephant, the Grinch, Mother Goose and Humpty Dumpty were like marvelous visions, parading past the eyes of thousands as the sun broke through morning clouds.

There were the dreams, as well, of those who are more philosophical. If so many different people can gather together for a fun and harmonious celebration, why can’t the people of the world live together this way?

I walked around and took photos before the Holiday Bowl Parade began, then positioned myself on San Diego’s iconic tall ship Star of India, to enjoy the “best seat in the house” for the big parade!

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Clocks in San Diego as time flies!

I remember as a young man thinking–with disbelief and amazement–that one day I would be alive for the big year 2000! Now it’s 2026 already.

Yes, time flies. It seems the older you get, the faster it goes.

Here we are on New Year’s Day, January 1, 2026, and this old world just keeps spinning around, like the hands of an old analog clock. (In this advanced digital age, some of you might remember what I’m talking about.)

I thought it would be fun today to link to a handful of past blog posts. They concern clocks and other instruments that tell the time. I’ve made discoveries and taken photographs while walking all around San Diego.

Click the following links to make these discoveries, too…

A closer look: Koester Memorial Sundial at SDSU.

Swiss clock tower rises above San Diego!

The forgotten Seiko clock in San Diego.

The famous Jessop’s Clock coming to Balboa Park!

Clock and flag Welcome to Allied Gardens.

Time (and a cow) flies in Escondido!

History and holidays at Coronado Rotary Plaza.

The oculus at Chula Vista’s Sweetwater Park!

Happy New Year!

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Fencing trees and space at UC San Diego.

UC San Diego’s outdoor public art can be surprising. That is certainly the case with Two Running Violet V Forms. The 1983 installation by artist Robert Irwin is part of UCSD’s Stuart Collection.

Located near the center of the La Jolla campus in a eucalyptus grove, stretches of blue-violet chain-link fencing form two elevated v’s that students can walk beneath. These linear geometric forms pierce the complexity of living eucalyptus trees.

I walked into the grove yesterday and paused for a few minutes to take in the effect.

The sky at the moment was cloudy gray. Had the sky been bright blue, the Two Running Violet V Forms might have been more intriguing–even spiritual–showing different qualities of light, seeming to blend with the upper air, providing a more subtle contrast with the organic grayish eucalyptus trunks and high green leaves.

Under a colorless gray sky, however, and among grayish trees, the fencing’s stark color was too garish, too harshly artificial. At least for me. Sorry to criticize. Keep in mind I’m no art expert.

When I finished reading an essay concerning of this unusual art, I completely understood the intention. I’ll have to return on a sunny blue sky day.

The sculpture and artist are explored in depth on this Stuart Collection webpage.

Robert Irwin‘s work is held in high esteem. His unique creations focus on human perception, engaging different environments and effects of light. His work includes the Central Gardens at The J. Paul Getty Center in Los Angeles.

His cut glass windows overlooking the ocean at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego produce interesting contrasts of light. See those photos here.

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Morning views from the Cliffhanger Café.

These photographs were taken this morning. I found myself at the Cliffhanger Café and Bar, overlooking the ocean at the Torrey Pines Gliderport in La Jolla.

It was cloudy but predictably beautiful. The wide Pacific Ocean and sky above was painted with complex light and subtle variations of color. Green grass in the foreground, below the deck of the café, produced a stunning contrast. No gliders were up yet. A happy dog was running about.

In all of San Diego, is there a more amazing place to sit outdoors, eating a bite? Take a look at the scenery! Imagine a typically sunny day.

I posted an elaborate blog concerning the Torrey Pines Gliderport almost ten years ago. (Time flies.) From what I observed today, not a whole lot has changed. Just as amazing. See those many past photographs here.

After finishing a snack on the deck, I wandered down to the bench you see in the above photo…

This bench with an amazing view beyond many potted plants has a plaque…

Morgan Meredith Rohde… Drawn to the ocean and kissed by the sun, radiant, exuberant, always smiling, Morgan lives in our hearts forever.

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Donal Hord special exhibit in San Diego.

A special exhibit at the San Diego Central Library was recently installed in a large display case at the Special Collections Center. It concerns the work of San Diego’s world-renowned sculptor Donal Hord.

Historical photos concentrate on Hord’s creation of the Literature East and West bas-relief panels, which still exist on the library’s previous, now-vacant building. Photos (such as the one above) show the preparing, casting and hanging of the sculptural panels back in 1953. I blogged about these panels and other art at that old downtown library many years ago. See that past blog post here.

This special exhibition also showcases a few small but very beautiful works, and covers Donal Hord’s public art that can be found all around San Diego. I’ve covered most of these iconic sculptures. Click here and here and here and here and here and here and here!

Would you like to go see this fascinating exhibit yourself? Head up to the 9th floor of the Central Library and look for the door to Special Collections. You can also enjoy amazing rooftop views of San Diego!

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