Coronado exhibit: Vietnam POWs fifty years later.

Tomorrow, March 29th, 2023, marks an important anniversary. Fifty years ago United States troops completed their departure from Vietnam, and the last group of prisoners of war were freed.

A powerful exhibit at the Coronado Historical Association museum remembers the POWs who returned to freedom, and tells their moving stories. It’s titled Open Doors: Vietnam POWs Fifty Years of Freedom.

I wandered about the museum today and tried to imagine the horror. Displays recalled how prisoners of war in Vietnam suffered. It had been a struggle to merely survive.

I then gazed at portraits of freed POWs and read the accompanying profiles. I saw how differently each man adjusted to life after their experience.

Many successfully returned to a more “normal” life. Many, having risen out of hell, experienced a strengthened sense of purpose.

As the exhibition description states: Open Doors is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the power of human will, it is also a celebration of that second chance at freedom.

This same exhibit originally debuted in Coronado 20 years ago. Today, after traveling around the nation, it has returned.

Visitors are reminded that we all have the capacity for extraordinary strength.

…

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!

Restoring the old Coronado ferry ticket booth.

I had walked into Coronado’s bayfront Centennial Park this afternoon, making my way toward the Coronado Ferry Landing, when I noticed work being done on the historic old ferry ticket booth.

I paused to watch for a few moments, then asked some questions.

I learned this old ticket booth, dating from 1886, has suffered pretty badly from rot and termites. A substantial portion of the structure must be replaced.

I was also told this ticket booth, back in the day before the Coronado Bridge opened, was located closer to the water, where ferries crossing San Diego Bay would land. The booth also stocked newspapers that were sold to ferryboat passengers.

If you’d like to learn a little more about the booth and see its historical plaque, you can read a past blog post here.

…

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!

Petco Park readies for big Opening Day!

Can you believe it? Opening Day for the San Diego Padres is only two days away!

It seems 2023 is the most anticipated season in the history of Padres baseball. The team roster is loaded with superstars, and many fans expect a trip to the World Series!

Every game at Petco Park is likely to be well attended, and workers have been busy getting the ballpark ready for action.

I walked around Petco Park this morning to see what I might see.

First, I noticed the newly improved miniature baseball diamond in Gallagher Square was being readied. Kids are going to have a blast!

I then noticed new street banners featuring star players, new graphics behind the right field scoreboard, and newly planted beds of flowers along Petco Park’s east side.

Then I saw the big banner: BRING THE GOLD!

…

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!

Aztec mural on Escondido tortilleria.

A bold new mural recently debuted in Escondido. The colorful artwork, painted by local artist and teacher Charlie Mejia, depicts six ancient Aztec symbols: Malinalli, Atl, Ehecatl, Ollin, Xochitl and Quiahuitl.

You can find this public art on the north side of Tortilleria Santacruz, beside the Escondido Creek Trail bike path where it intersects with Rose Street, south of Washington Park.

When I was told about this new mural, I also learned internationally renowned muralist Mario Torero, one of the founders of Chicano Park, will soon be decorating a nearby wall!

…

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 spirit soars forever in Carlsbad.

In Carlsbad, there’s a special place where a spirit soars forever. That place is known as Dave’s Beach.

Hobbyists who fly radio-controlled gliders, or sailplanes, love to launch their small model aircraft from atop the bluffs at Dave’s Beach. Their gliders dance in the blue sky.

The upsloping ocean wind carries these surprisingly fast RC gliders aloft for sustained, acrobatic flights above the beach. Today, as I took these photographs, I saw as many as four zipping through the air at the same time.

I learned some of the hobbyists using Dave’s Beach as an RC glider port also launch their gliders at the Torrey Pines Gliderport in La Jolla, where similar wind conditions prevail.

In Loving Memory of Our Friend

DAVE KELLOGG

Whose spirit will soar on here forever

April 5, 1948 – October 18, 2006

The above memorial plaque explains why this spot is now called Dave’s Beach. Dave Kellogg loved to fly gliders from atop the bluffs here many years ago.

If you’d like to visit Dave’s Beach, you can find it right next to the intersection of Carlsbad Boulevard and Solamar Drive.

…

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!

City Heights celebrates Unity in the Community!

Something extraordinary happened today. Members of the City Heights community came together to celebrate the completion of monumental public art. A ceremonial ribbon cutting was performed for one of San Diego’s most amazing murals!

Unity in the Community is a 270 foot long mural painted along a wall at the south end of Teralta Neighborhood Park. The mural has been six years in the making. I’ve posted several past blogs as I’ve observed the artwork’s creation.

Have you driven on I-15 where it passes underground in east San Diego? If so, you’ve driven under Teralta Park and this fantastic mural.

Today’s celebration not only brought together members of the City Heights community, but many organizations and city leaders who’ve played an important role in the planning, approval, funding and making of this mural. I couldn’t possibly name everybody, and I haven’t closely followed the complicated process, but you can learn all about the mural’s history at this dedicated website.

Three local artists have played big roles in creating Unity in the Community. I once blogged about Sake, who produced the initial rendering and the first stage of the painted art. (I met him here.)

More recently, the mural was completed by artist Karl Gindelberger aka GMONIK, and Melody De Los Cobos, artistic director of Love City Heights. Both were present for today’s ceremony and ribbon cutting.

Several speeches told of how, with the work of many, a once neglected and crime-ridden park has been reclaimed and revitalized. We all celebrated how this mural, with its many positive images, will build pride and a sense of ownership in the community. How this mural conveys diversity, harmony and acceptance. How this mural will become a backdrop for future community events, such as a proposed Taste of City Heights!

Everyone in attendance today could plainly see how, in the coming years, this wonderful mural will positively impact many lives.

If you want to see the entire Unity in the Community mural, I took lots of photographs last month and posted them here.

Walking along one section of the long, amazing community mural.

GMONIK, one of the mural artists, posed for a photo!

People talked and enjoyed the moment before the ceremony would begin.

A fun photo with a skateboarding dog!

Thanks is given to the many community leaders and parties responsible for the completion of the inspiring mural.

Gratitude to those who boldly forge ahead and make our world better.

Cutting the ribbon. Finally passing the finish line!

A bright vision realized.

…

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!

Playback Theatre and real stories at Old Globe.

A live outdoor performance was enjoyed today at the Old Globe theatre complex in Balboa Park.

Audience members were asked to share stories from their own lives, then an acting and music ensemble interpreted those stories up on stage.

The program was titled Imagine Theatre Presents: Playback Theatre. The event was produced in partnership with Imagine and the Chrysalis–Monarch Performing Arts Center.

I sat in the audience for a time and experienced how three stories were courageously told then interpreted.

One story involved a man’s serious illness, frustration and anger, then the realization that he could live one day at a time, to the fullest, with optimism and a sense of adventure. A second story involved the loss of a loved one and precious memories. A third concerned forks in the road of life, and how new opportunities arise with change.

This wonderful, very powerful performance was part of the Old Globe’s free AXIS Performing Arts Series. Click the preceding link to learn about upcoming events!

…

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!

Japanese ink painting (sumi-e) weekend exhibition!

The 20th Annual Art Exhibition of Friends of Sumi-e can be enjoyed this weekend in Balboa Park. If you’re in San Diego and love Japanese ink painting or are merely curious, make sure to head over to the Casa del Prado tomorrow, Sunday, from 11 am to 4 pm.

Over the years I’ve enjoyed several of these fine exhibitions. It never ceases to amaze me how trained artists, with a few careful strokes of a brush, can create such profound beauty.

At the art exhibition, you’ll also be able to listen to Japanese flute, observe a live tea ceremony and meet some of the the artists! As you learn more about sumi-e, you can watch as your name is painted elegantly in Japanese!

…

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!

Girl Scouts explore STEM in Balboa Park!

Hundreds of Girl Scouts from around San Diego gathered in Balboa Park this morning to take part in the Incredible Race!

Many stations were set up around the park: along El Prado, in front of museums, even in the parking area behind the San Diego Automotive Museum. Girls were being challenged to explore STEM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

During the Incredible Race, teams would solve riddles and proceed station to station where fun, educational hands-on activities awaited.

As I walked through the park, I saw a lot of excited young people running energetically about, enjoying San Diego’s beautiful crown jewel and learning lots of cool stuff, too!

The San Diego Model Railroad Museum demonstrates how to plan and build a model railroad.

Emily Warren Roebling was an engineer who oversaw the construction and completion of the Brooklyn Bridge.

A table with activities near the Fleet Science Center.

Learning about constellations and Women in Astronomy.

In front of the Museum of Us, Girl Scouts could learn about Women in Math.

At the Casa del Prado, one could make binary bracelets and learn about Women in Computer Science.

By the San Diego Natural History Museum, there was a fun dinosaur fossil digging activity and information about Women in Paleontology.

On the platform under the Moreton Bay Fig, curious Girl Scouts learned about electrical circuits and Women in Engineering.

Above beautiful Palm Canyon, a station recognized historically important Women in Photography.

Behind the San Diego Automotive Museum, participants could change a tire on a cool race car!

At the San Diego Air and Space Museum, Women in Flight were recognized, including Anne Lindbergh, the first woman in the United States to earn a glider’s pilot license. She made her first flight in San Diego, at Mount Soledad in 1930.

Girl Scouts could make their own gliders!

…

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!

Fantastic fish on a building in Skyline!

Driving through San Diego’s Skyline neighborhood, have you noticed an enormous, fantastic fish?

I’ve seen this amazing fish mural the past few years while riding the Orange Line trolley. I finally walked over to the corner of Imperial Avenue and 69th Street to have a closer look and take photos.

The abstract fish is by San Diego artist Maxx Moses. You’ve probably seen his wildly creative murals around the city and at several trolley stations. Often cultural, technological, and organic imagery are fused together to create eye-popping art.

You can see other examples of distinctive Maxx Moses work by clicking here.

…

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!