A wrinkly dog stands eternally inside the front door of Korky’s Ice Cream and Coffee in Old Town San Diego.
Here’s a fun blog post!
Once in a while during my walks I come across art depicting dogs or cats. And sometimes it occurs to me to take a photograph!
Today I rode the trolley to Old Town, where I discovered some more dogs and cats running about my field of vision!
Some of these photos were taken elsewhere in San Diego and have been sitting in my computer waiting for the right moment.
Enjoy!
A cool cat bench outside the entrance of the Coronado Veterinary Hospital.Two dogs stand guard on a downtown San Diego sidewalk.This realistic cat seems ready to jump from a flower pot.Pottery pooches on a shop’s shelf in Old Town.An army of ceramic pooches!Beautiful dog art for sale inside Seaport Village’s fantastic The Tile Shop.A curious cat observes a blue moth on a flower.u mad bro?A very colorful cat bag.Two dogs run in circles at the Balboa Park Carousel.A dog with a sore head. A funny image on the side of downtown San Diego’s Banfield Pet Hospital.A chalk cat in Balboa Park waves to passing visitors. Fun art outside the Mingei Museum’s Collectors Gallery.A fat cat who loves treats!A dog at Dick’s Last Resort tugs wildly at his leash!Two cats in one window!
Today I also revisited the Old Town Model Railroad Depot, and I took more photos of the awesome O-Scale layout! To see them, click here and check out that old post’s update!
I’ve been busy! Coming up will be blog posts concerning the famous Whaley House, the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center in Balboa Park, and something super amazing inside the San Diego Automotive Museum. But it takes time to choose and prepare photos—-and to do necessary research–give me a few days!
Thanks for following my blog! I hope you all enjoy these glimpses of San Diego as much as I do!
Curious tourists take the Coronado ferry across the bay to downtown San Diego. What will they see?
Yesterday I bumped into a few unexpected sights. No different than any other day. A walk through the world with open eyes can tickle both one’s funny bone and heart.
A pedicab advertising marijuana delivery!A walking, smiling iced coffee!Upside down visitor information!A heartfelt welcome on the bow of the USS Midway. Welcome home to the troops.
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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!
Looking across San Diego Bay toward downtown. A spectacular view from Coronado’s beautiful Centennial Park.
Spring will soon become summer. I had to wear shorts for my long walk around Coronado today. A very warm sun was shining and the island was abloom.
Walking west through Centennial Park. Flags line the pathway for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.Gazing from a sheltered area with benches across the green grass. The skyline of downtown San Diego rises in the background.Words on one bench. Don’t be afraid to lean into the wind, love the earth in all of its glories, and take care of each other.Gazing north along the bayside beach toward Navy ships docked at North Island.Roses bloom near the old ticket booth of the original Coronado ferry.A spring bloom in Coronado.Some patriotic art on a wall by the Little Club on Orange Avenue.Walking west along Orange Avenue. Coronado is pleasant, friendly and inviting wherever you roam.Bench near the front of the Coronado Public Library.Plaque on the bench. In memory of June Lenz, founder of Crown Garden Club, whose legacy was to encourage the love of flowers and the beautification of Coronado.Flowers in front of the stately but welcoming Coronado Public Library.The big Torrey Pine on the left side of this photograph is a Coronado Heritage Tree.Flags by the library fly proudly on a spring day.A plaque on a boulder by the flagpole. The Stockdale Tribute. Vice Admiral Stockdale and his wife Sybil were distinguished Coronado residents.A shining, kinetic sculpture by the library turns in the breeze.A flower vendor brightens Orange Avenue.This life-size Marilyn Monroe by an Orange Avenue shop is in her iconic pose. The famous actress starred in the movie Some Like It Hot, which was filmed at the nearby Hotel del Coronado.Flowers along fence of a pleasant house in affluent Coronado.Looking out across the wide beach toward the Point Loma peninsula and the Pacific Ocean.A peek at John D. Spreckels’ “beach house” on Coronado.
On the beachfront, at 1043 Ocean Boulevard, you’ll find one of two historic Spreckels Mansions: his “beach house”. John D. Spreckels’ more impressive “bay-side house” is now the Glorietta Bay Inn, across from the Hotel del Coronado. The successful and very wealthy businessman helped to transform San Diego into a bustling city and center of commerce. One of his business ventures included the world-famous Hotel del Coronado.
Concrete sidewalk in front of the Spreckels “beach house” is stamped 1898.Heading south along the beach toward the Hotel del Coronado, one of the world’s finest resorts.Coronado has one of the best beaches in the United States. It is regularly rated in the nation’s top five.Hotel guests and visitors enjoy the San Diego sunshine on a broad white beach.This cool sand sculpture was built near the Hotel del Coronado by The Sandcastle Man!The Hotel del Coronado is an architectural gem. Numerous world leaders, dignitaries and celebrities have stayed at the resort over the years.Sign by the beach. Hotel del Coronado continues to safeguard this magnificent stretch of Southern California coastline.This is paradise.Biking down toward the Coronado Shores.Old and new maps of Coronado Island on a portable restroom.The Hotel del Coronado’s old boathouse, on Glorietta Bay, built in 1887. It’s now home to the Bluewater Boathouse Seafood Grill.Bicyclists ride down Glorietta Boulevard, part of the Bayshore Bikeway around San Diego Bay.Golfers enjoy a sunny spring Saturday at the Coronado Municipal Golf Course.Photo taken beneath the San Diego-Coronado Bridge, which opened in 1969. Locals often call it the Coronado Bay Bridge.Boats moored between Coronado and the bridge. San Diego’s shipyards can be glimpsed on the other side of the bay.Colorful boats piled on the sand near Coronado Tidelands Park.A silly bench by the playground at Coronado Tidelands Park, created by sculptor Douglas Snider of Studio 15 in Balboa Park’s Spanish Village Art Center.I believe this fellow down by the water is a great blue heron.My walk will soon come full circle. What a perfect late spring day.
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Families, generous supporters, and many young heroes converged on Embarcadero Marina Park North this morning for the 2017 Celebration of Champions!
During my walk along the Embarcadero this morning, I encountered a legion of amazing young heroes! Courageous children who are fighting cancer–and those who have defeated cancer–were gathering with their families for the 2017 Celebration of Champions!
I learned the emotionally moving event is in its 22nd year. It features young cancer battlers passing a simulated torch, from one hand to the next, as participants run a very short distance. Money raised supports Rady Children’s Hospital’s social, psychological and emotional support programs.
Parents of brave children who lost their battle with cancer also attend the event, in a tribute to loved ones whose smiles and hopeful hearts were in this world too briefly.
Folks head to the annual Celebration of Champions event, which honors young people who are fighting and have fought childhood cancer.A youthful honor guard arrives before the ceremonies begin.I learned that later in the day, many young cancer-fighting champions would carry a simulated torch around the grassy park at the edge of beautiful San Diego Bay.Some very young children were excited to be greeted by princesses!Young champions would hand off a simulated torch once they finished running a short length of the park’s looping walkway.Go Champions!
Late this afternoon I discovered strange and wonderful beauty.
As I relaxed on a comfortable wooden bench on the poop deck of the Star of India, enjoying the sea breeze and sunlit bay, my eyes were drawn to the riot of ropes that were coiled, knotted, stretched and dangling all about the deck, in every direction. How strangely beautiful they appeared.
I took a few photos.
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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!
Someone rides a bicycle along B Street during San Diego’s Bike to Work Day.
This morning, on my way to catch the trolley downtown, I saw lots of people heading to work by bicycle. Today was Bike to Work Day in San Diego!
I snapped a few photos just for the fun of it. I also took a photo of a cool map showing designated places to bike in San Diego’s downtown and uptown areas. Make copies of it for your own use if you’d like!
The Donut Bar had a Bike to Work Day pit stop in downtown San Diego. Many morning riders swung on by.There were tables full of goodies for those who commuted to work by bike.Another pit stop at Civic Center Plaza. The City of San Diego has a special program that encourages bicycling.A map of the San Diego downtown and uptown bike loop. (Click image to enlarge.)Even a blogger who is more into walking received big smiles!
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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!
Ion Theatre artist Kate Schott paints a cool mural on a wall in Hillcrest.
A mural is being painted on a wall next to the entrance of the Ion Theatre in Hillcrest. I first saw the new artwork a few days ago, so I snapped several photos. Today I swung by again after work to see what progress had been made.
By comparing photos, you can get a glimpse of the creative process. Kate Schott, the muralist, is a multi-talented Ion Theatre artist who is bringing this cool vision to life.
I hope to swing by on a later day to see the finished work! I’ll post photos!
A few days later, a human figure in the mural is coming to life. I look forward to seeing the finished work!
UPDATE!
On June 7th I walked by the Ion Theatre again. More painting has been completed! The mural is gradually coming to life!
Detail has been added to the first figure. And a second figure has now been painted in the forest of green trees.A third figure on the left side of the developing mural. Many colors outline the form of a sitting woman.I don’t know what this is. We’ll have to wait a little longer and find out!Finally, a singing face has emerged in the lower right corner of the new Ion Theatre mural!
ANOTHER UPDATE!
I took this photo on June 19:
The left side of the new Ion Theatre mural is taking form!
FINAL UPDATE!
The mural is finished! Here are a few elements that have come to life:
Declaration of Independence on a wall, altered to condemn instances where power is abused.A seeing eye in hand.Standing across water from a fiery skyline.Lady Liberty shines light from atop a piano keyboard. Ignite.
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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!
Bat ray rises against glass of an outdoor tank at the Living Coast Discovery Center in Chula Vista.
Before my hike through Sweetwater Marsh, I enjoyed a visit to the Living Coast Discovery Center, which is located inside the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Exhibits inside the center and clusters of wildlife tanks and enclosures outside allow visitors to see and learn about the animals that make this refuge their home. The place is just right for families, with kid-size educational displays, short, easy paths, and even some picnic tables. If I were a young kid, having a birthday party here would be really cool!
After checking out the exhibits at the Living Coast Discovery Center, I ventured over to an adjacent building that is the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex headquarters. Some great displays outside provide more information about the unique and beautiful wetland that stretches in all directions. Not far from this building, one can easily find a hiking trail that leads across the marsh to San Diego Bay.
The Living Coast Discovery Center, located in the Sweetwater Marsh Unit of the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, is where to get Back to Nature.A short bus ride takes one from the parking lot near Interstate 5 through the protected Sweetwater Marsh to the kid-friendly education center.People near the green sea turtle exhibit at the front of the Living Coast Discovery Center.Many species of reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and fish are on display inside the small center. There’s even a mouse house popular with kids.Outside, visitors can explore exhibits featuring sharks, rays, birds and tortoises. One can also look across the surrounding Sweetwater Marsh.Actions on land affect San Diego Bay. Pollution runoff flows via creeks, rivers and storm drains into the marsh then out to the ocean.A leopard shark. They are plentiful in the waters off San Diego.This 3-million-year-old fossilized tusked walrus skull was found in the area. 470 different species have been found as fossils here, including sperm whales and now extinct flightless auks!Enclosures in the aviary area contain clapper rails, shorebirds and ducks.A blue-billed ruddy duck swims in a pool of water at the Living Coast Discovery Center.In other parts of the aviary area one can see vultures, hawks, eagles and owls.A red-tailed hawk.Beautiful artwork on one building’s side shows a beach and birds in flight. Swallows have built nests above it near the roof.Bronze sculpture of a coyote. Many other works of wildlife art can be viewed around the center.Sign near an enclosure describes the Sonoran desert tortoise.A tortoise take a slow stroll outside the Living Coast Discovery Center.This amazing art depicting marshland birds is just outside the entrance to the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex headquarters.Large signs explain the role of a wildlife refuge.National Wildlife Refuges are safe havens for species. The first one, at Pelican Island in Florida, was created in 1903 by Theodore Roosevelt.Map of the extensive San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge.The wildlife refuge contains great biodiversity. The animals and plants are all parts of a complex and sensitive ecosystem.Different forms of life can be found in subtidal channels, mudflats, the low marsh and high marsh. The changing tide allows birds to feed and variously adapted species to thrive.Wildlife can find it hard to thrive in urban areas. The conserved habitat of this refuge is a critical safe harbor for many native species.This place is special. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helps to protect its wild residents.A green sea turtle, one of those residents of San Diego Bay!
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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 begins an easy nature hike down a trail at San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
On Saturday I visited Gunpowder Point, just south of where the Sweetwater River empties into San Diego Bay. The marshy area is a wildlife refuge. It’s part of the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge, to be exact, and home of the popular Living Coast Discovery Center.
After visiting the Living Coast Discovery Center, I enjoyed a guided nature hike down a short trail through the Sweetwater Marsh.
I was pleasantly surprised by the bare natural beauty. I didn’t see a whole lot of wildlife during this visit, but I know our region’s marshes and estuaries are often teeming with birds. San Diego is part of the Pacific Flyway, a major route of migratory birds that stretches from Alaska to South America.
A map inside the nearby Living Coast Discovery Center shows the location of the Sweetwater River and the marsh where it enters San Diego Bay.Hiking through Chula Vista’s protected Sweetwater Marsh on a sunny day. It’s mid-May and the once green and flowering plants have begun to dry out. In this photo I see some prickly pear cactus. During the hike I also recognized black sage and coastal sagebrush.Our guide shows us saltbush. It is adapted to the type of salty soil in this coastal marsh. Its leaves taste salty!Sign by the trail. This area is called Gunpowder Point. During World War I, Hercules Powder Co. extracted potash and acetone here from kelp harvested offshore in the Pacific Ocean. These were used to make cordite, also called smokeless gunpowder, for the British.A sail on the bay beyond a drying field of San Diego Sunflowers.The short, easy hike is ideal for families.Some sunflowers are still yellow.The San Diego Sunflower, or Bahiopsis laciniata, is often found in a coastal sage scrub environment.The Silver Strand and Coronado Cays can be seen across San Diego Bay.We’ve arrived at the wildlife refuge’s narrow sandy shore. Birds could be seen here and there in the distance.As the group continues on, I linger to take in the sunshine and wide views. I notice what appears to be remnants of the potash manufacturing operation from years ago. Some benches allow rest and meditation.Stones and debris on a beach in the wildlife refuge.Some mysterious (to me) concrete ruins on Gunpowder Point.I arrived at a bird observation structure. All was very quiet. I saw a California least tern hunting small fish along the water’s edge. Few people seem to come out here.Depending on the tide, the area near the shore can be open water or a mudflat that supports shorebirds searching for food.Bird’s beaks are specially designed for feeding. Some beaks filter plants from the water, some grab flies out of the air, and some probe the mud.The tide must have been out, because this platform stood above a drying mudflat. I believe that might be bright green eelgrass in the shallow pool of water.Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, or crystalline ice plant, is salt tolerant. My hike through the marsh produced some beautiful surprises.Hiking through an expanse of green in San Diego’s South Bay.
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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!
Bronze sculpture of a mountain lion and cub near the Lake Poway concession building. Pride of the Wilderness, Richard Becker, 2007.
This morning, before checking out the new Tony Gwynn statue, I took a short hike up the Lake Poway Trail.
Here are some photographs…
Sign near beginning of Lake Poway Trail shows how to continue on to the summit of Mt. Woodson, location of the famous Potato Chip Rock.On a Sunday morning some people along the shore are trying their hand at fishing.Starting up the Lake Poway Trail. The natural scenery is beautiful.A trail marker.I believe this is wild mustard. Various flowers could be seen along the trail.Bright green foliage above silver water.Hikers climb the Lake Poway Trail on an overcast weekend morning.Looking back at how far I’ve come so far.Several boats containing fishermen were floating on the lake below.More hikers climbing skyward.This is as far as I came. I enjoy a breathtaking view as a ray of sunshine comes through and touches a hill across the lake.As I head back down, my eyes feast on more beauty.A small bunny is out on the trail.Almost back to lake level.Some kids were fishing.These kids who are fishing huddle together to check out something on the lake’s shore.Someone caught a huge fish! One of the kids runs over to see!During my short hike I turned around at this bench. It’s dedicated to John Finley McMinn, naval aviator who won the Distinguished Flying Cross.
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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! 