A covered wagon in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is decorated with autumn colors.
After walking a bit downtown, I took the trolley up to Old Town to enjoy the colorful Fall Festival!
I never tire of the wonderful events that can be found almost every weekend at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park!
Kids at the Old Town Fall Festival learn to make art with colored beans!Later in the day folks at this table would demonstrate how to make applesauce.Making environmentally friendly bird feeders using corn cobs, peanut butter and seeds.Folks young and old were trying their hand at making corn husk dolls.Lady with old-fashioned parasol walks through Old Town San Diego State Historic Park’s central Plaza de las Armas.Colorful leaves and a bountiful harvest frame the Welcome in an Old Town shop window.A smiling señorita walks near some pumpkins.An elaborate Día de los Muertos decoration standing beside the Fiesta de Reyes stage is bright with fall colors.A flower-filled wheelbarrow in front of Seeley Stable.Ceramic pumpkins line shelves at an outdoor Old Town marketplace.Ladies work on a quilt inside the Threads of the Past Living History Activity Center.Kid learns how to plant seeds in front of the Wells Fargo History Museum.A Wells Fargo chest full of golden treasure!
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Flower vendor at the Saturday Little Italy Mercato Farmers’ Market.
Several walks today.
This morning it was around downtown, mostly near the water. I saw many colors, much life, and even a little bit of history.
Banner at Civic Center Plaza celebrates Office of the City Clerk’s Archives Month. Images include glimpses of San Diego history. (Click to enlarge.)
The above Archives Month banner is hanging from the City Administration Building. It shows interesting bits of San Diego History, including the 1887 Circus Parade, construction of Balboa Park for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, and aircraft over downtown celebrating the end of World War I.
Members of Navy Band Southwest entertain visitors to the Broadway Pier during Fleet Week San Diego 2017.People fill the Embarcadero near the Broadway Pier during Fleet Week.Waiting in line for the weekend Fleet Week event, which includes a ship tour of the amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage.Banner along the Embarcadero promote the Breeders’ Cup, which is coming to Del Mar in November.A sailboat out on San Diego Bay.Relaxing at the Waterfront Park on a beautiful October Saturday in San Diego.Lots of yummy food is found at the Little Italy Mercato Farmers’ Market.
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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!
One of the metal Wind Palms in front of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront catches golden light at the end of an autumn day.
I walked along the Embarcadero late today. As I reached the Hilton San Diego Bayfront the sun was beginning to set. Looking up, I observed that golden rays of waning sunlight had been magically captured by some peculiar palm trees…
Sunset begins behind the trees of Embarcadero Marina Park South.Late sunlight on one of the rotating Wind Palms created by artist Ned Kahn in 2008.People walk and jog along San Diego’s Embarcadero as evening approaches.Waning rays of sunlight, magically captured.
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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!
This member of the San Diego Sabers has personally made many lightsabers. Some examples lie on the group’s table during Maker Faire in Balboa Park.
The last couple of years at Maker Faire San Diego I’ve watched a group of Star Wars enthusiasts entertain audiences with lightsaber duels. They have engaged in their elaborate play on the main stage, swinging their illuminated lightsabers in mock combat, to rousing music from the Star Wars movies.
This year, as I walked around Maker Faire, I happened upon this group’s cool lightsaber exhibit. These local Star Wars fans call themselves the San Diego Sabers. They are one of many similar groups all around the world that make their own lightsabers and engage in mock combat.
I asked all sort of questions and learned more than I expected. Most of the extremely elaborate lightsabers used by the members produce colored light, illuminating a long clear tube that can be attached, thereby appearing much like the Jedi and Sith weapons made famous in the movies. Most of the mock weapons also generate that distinctive lightsaber sound. I learned that it’s also possible to order a variety of lightsabers from several online vendors.
Regional competitions are often held between groups, and the method of scoring is similar to that used in fencing. The sport is lightning fast, highly athletic and incorporates various styles of martial arts. The San Diego Sabers provide demos free to the public, teach all ages including kids (often using foam lightsabers for safety), and encourage acceptance, respect, and a positive attitude.
And it’s obvious they have a lot of fun!
Many DIY lightsabers are surprisingly elaborate, generating light and sound, while appearing as authentic as any movie prop.The San Diego Sabers provides full contact lightsaber training based on fencing, HEMA, Kendo and Wu-shu. Kids are welcome and it’s free!Someone picks up one of the cool lightsabers on display.Members of the San Diego Sabers demonstrate mock combat using foam attachments. Together they’ve got enough lightsabers to take on General Grievous!A kid checks out one of the cool lightsabers. As you might have noticed, I took these photos on two different days during Maker Faire San Diego.Kids have a lot of fun with the foam lightsabers.Members of the San Diego Sabers arrive at the Maker Faire main stage in the Plaza de Panama. A combat exhibition is about to begin.As Star Wars music plays, two members of the San Diego Sabers simulate an epic battle between the Jedi and Sith.
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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!
A group called Give Love New York is in San Diego this weekend during 2017 Maker Faire. You can find them near the Old Globe in Balboa Park, passing out carnations and inviting passersby to dance and converse and smile and sing and play games and write messages containing kindness, positivity and wisdom!
This unique Give Love project is the brainchild of Alive Worldwide. Their mission is to use creativity to encourage and spread human compassion.
Very cool! Events such as this could be held in every corner of the world! It’s very easily done. Why not?
Two smiles and free carnations from Give Love San Diego, at 2017 Maker Faire in Balboa Park!With the help of the Old Globe Theatre, spreading kindness worldwide @givelovenewyorkGiving words of wisdom. Share your thoughts on a written note, then come back later and retrieve new wisdom to take home.Try it!Challenge yourself daily.Freedom is found by sacrifice. Question the unknown.Love hard. Love strong. Love always.Be open. Treat others with understanding. Give Love San Diego!
Flames rise from the fingertips of Robot Resurrection at 2017 Maker Faire San Diego in Balboa Park.
Balboa Park has been invaded! Cool robots of every size and description are roving throughout the park during 2017 Maker Faire San Diego!
Maker Faire San Diego seems to grow bigger every year. During this amazing event, eye-popping inventions and marvels of technology take over the heart of Balboa Park and many of its museums.
This morning I walked around feasting my mind on all sorts of creative stuff. Students, inventors, hobbyists and local clubs were proudly showing off their unique ideas and feats of engineering. Examples of 3D printing and robotics were everywhere.
Maker Faire San Diego continues in Balboa Park through Sunday. If you can, check it out for yourself!
Here are a few of the cool robots you might see!
2017 Maker Faire San Diego features lots of very cool robots, including 28 foot tall Robot Resurrection.A human operator emerges from the chest of the gigantic flame-throwing robot! If this thing could walk it would be a formidable battle robot!Human and robot fingers meet.Robot Resurrection has a couple of tiny pals. Here’s one.Here’s the other!The very cool Electric Giraffe has returned to the annual Maker Faire San Diego.The Electric Giraffe can move about while using an array of sensors in its head. When the neck is raised, this crowd-pleasing robot is 17 feet tall!This cute cow robot is named Milky White. It can move its eyeballs, eyelids, ears, tail and jaws!People at San Diego’s annual Maker Faire in Balboa Park check out a very creative robot designed by a friendly young man.Many schools from around San Diego demonstrate robots and other engineering projects during Maker Faire.The Robotics Society of Southern California has a sophisticated humanoid robot that moves realistically.The Glendale Robotics Academy had their Party Rover on display in the Japanese Friendship Garden.Kids check out another robot in the garden.A performance artist becomes a fun robot. People walking down El Prado posed for photos!This robot named Darth Zamboni was created by the Top Hat Technicians of High Tech High North County. It launches balls!Small autonomous cars on a track inside the San Diego History Center. They were being controlled remotely in order to gather navigational data.Autonomous car technology being developed today utilizes deep computer learning.A student participating in the First Robotics Competition demonstrates a small vehicle that their team built. Many robots can be seen up close in the San Diego History Center.This competitive robot corrals balls and then launches them.Cool robots of every size and description are on display throughout Balboa Park during 2017 Maker Faire 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!
Perhaps the greatest, most difficult quest of our intelligent species is for a simple Theory of Everything. Everything–the entire cosmos–explained: easily, elegantly.
I just finished writing a short story concerning this. I’ve titled it The Perfect Snowflake. You can follow the link if you’d like to read it.
My writing blog Short Stories by Richard is the home to many small works of provocative fiction.
This morning I walked past a variety of small shops in Hillcrest. Several had placed mannequins dressed up for Halloween in their windows. On a whim I took photos.
When I goofed around a bit this evening editing the images, concentrating on the creepy faces, I managed to terrify myself.
Now it’s your turn!
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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 at these photos! You’ll be surprised by some of the super cool art that greets local skateboarders at the Washington Street Skate Park!
I’ve always known there was some sort of outdoor art near this public skateboard park–many times I’ve glimpsed it while passing by on the trolley. So this morning I finally decided to check it out.
And I was blown away!
In addition to some simple metal rebar art along the enclosing fence, there’s a bunch of awesome mosaic tile artwork near the skatepark’s east entrance and on a dark, seldom seen wall along unused railroad tracks under Interstate 5. The above photo with the large word RESPECT was taken as I stood on the other side of the tracks. The additional photos you see were taken from a closer range.
There’s even more cool art inside the Washington Street Skatepark (which is also known as WSVT) and my camera captured one example of it. But unfortunately the park was closed this morning, so I couldn’t explore further.
In case you want to see this surprising art for yourself, the Washington Street Skate Park is located under Interstate 5 between historic Mission Brewery Plaza and Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego. Look for the intersection of West Washington Street and Pacific Highway, northeast of Lindbergh Field.
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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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 