A long mural painted on a building at the corner of National Avenue and Evans Street honors four lives that were lost during a tragic accident in Chicano Park on October 15, 2016.
Here are photos of the new mural in Barrio Logan that honors the lives of four people who died tragically last month in Chicano Park under the Coronado Bay Bridge. On October 14, the four–Annamarie Contreras, Cruz Elias Contreras, Andre Christopher Banks and Francine Denise Jimenez–were attending the annual La Raza Run motorcycle festival in Chicano Park when a car driven by a drunk driver suddenly plummeted from the bridge onto the crowd below. The news that four were killed and eight were injured was shocking. Many were shaken. So many hearts were broken.
The new artwork, which includes a tribute to the four victims, can be found at the corner of National Avenue and Evans Street, a block southeast of Chicano Park. Chicano Park is famous for its many colorful murals that depict the civil rights struggles of Mexican Americans and immigrants.
On Saturday, October 16, the day we started our mural, four members of the annual Raza Run lost their lives in the tragic accident at Chicano Park.The mural is titled Que Viva Barrio Logan, by artist Mario Torero. It’s painted on the side of Diego and Son Printing. Words proclaim: Making a difference in our community.The mural transmits great emotion. Many in the Barrio Logan community oppose gentrification.The mural also includes a message opposing the building of a new stadium downtown.Working under the Coronado Bay Bridge, home of Chicano Park.A few of the images in the mural. Breaking a chain of bondage. Music and pride. Protect the water.The face of Bob Dylan in Barrio Logan.Skeletons on bicycles. Symbols, I believe, of past loved ones.Withstanding with Standing Rock.The face of a migrant worker.Walking down the National Avenue sidewalk, past a new mural that celebrates life, memory and history in Barrio Logan.
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Horse rides in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. One of many fun attractions at the Fall Back Festival and Historic Children’s Street Faire.
Late this morning I walked down to the Gaslamp to enjoy the 2016 Fall Back Festival and Historic Children’s Street Faire. A very long name for a very cool event!
Before the Fall Back Festival begins, clocks are set back one hour, as Daylight Saving Time ends. When the festival begins, however, clocks seem magically set back over a hundred years! Several blocks in the Gaslamp Quarter are transformed into a scene from the Old West, complete with cowboys, horses, a working blacksmith and more! The festival provides an idea of what San Diego might have been like in the mid to late 19th century.
Every year, the family-friendly Fall Back Festival appears about the same, but that’s just fine. Each journey back in time is wonderful!
Kids rides horses, as the citizens of San Diego commonly did in the mid 1800s.The Horton Grand Hotel rises behind a crowd of people enjoying the 2016 Fall Back Festival, an annual event that celebrates a fascinating period in San Diego history.Families dressed in Old West attire had a lot of fun as photos were taken at the Fall Back Festival!All sorts of Western hats, cowboy gear and Victorian finery could be donned at this table.Participants in the Fall Back Festival, wearing clothing from San Diego’s past. I felt as if I’d been transported back in time.A friendly hog greets somebody at the Fall Back Festival.Two ladies smile for my camera at the front door of the historic William Heath Davis House in San Diego’s Gaslamp.A row of shiny vintage cars on display during the popular downtown San Diego event.Many organizations had tents along Fourth Avenue, including the Friends of Villa Montezuma, which is a famous Victorian mansion in nearby Sherman Heights.Fourth Avenue runs through San Diego’s Chinatown, which is officially called the Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District. A colorful lion dancer turns heads at the Fall Back Festival.San Diego’s relatively brief history is remarkably diverse. An informative poster at the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum’s table includes several photos.I doubt anyone produced bubbles this big over a century ago, but I might be wrong!A working blacksmith attracted a big crowd on Island Avenue in San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter.Hammering red hot iron. A very cool demonstration at the 2016 Fall Back Festival!
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People enjoy unusual aquarium displays at the San Diego Tropical Fish Society Annual Show in Balboa Park.
Time for a laugh! Here are some weird, funny, and wonderfully creative fish aquariums!
Today I photographed some of the most humorous aquariums on display at the San Diego Tropical Fish Society Annual Show in Balboa Park. I was delighted to see so much unleashed craziness and imagination. Looks like this fishy hobby can be a lot of fun. Check these out!
A very unique aquarium contains two upside down goblets and one upside down glass fish bowl. The latter acts as a sort of sky observatory for the finny inhabitants.Star Wars characters stand atop an aquarium from a galaxy far, far away. The space-like interior features a duel between a randomly drifting TIE fighter and X-Wing, while darting red fish appear to be laser blasts.Doctor Who and a companion have traveled by TARDIS into the strange, unearthly interior of this humorous aquarium.An old blender or coffee maker makes a fine tropical fish aquarium, I suppose. Just don’t turn them on.I’m sure a fish was hiding somewhere in the ruins of the lost city of Atlantis.Who said bonsai plants couldn’t be submerged? Makes for a lovely but rather fishy garden.And an underwater Buddha, too! These fish must be on the watery path to nirvana.An aquarium alive with silly Minions and Lego creations and jumbled color. Oh, and some shy fish, too.A yellow submarine in a Beatles-themed tropical fish aquarium. Another fun photo taken in Balboa Park during the San Diego Tropical Fish Society Annual Show!
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You could be the cure! Smiling ladies in Balboa Park register potential bone marrow donors. And there are other ways that you can fight cancer, too!
During my walk today, I was reminded of an important fact. There’s a heroic decision that many of us can make to possibly save another person’s life.
I’m sure many of you have heard about how certain types of blood cancers can be successfully treated with a bone marrow transplant. And you’ve probably heard about the National Marrow Donor Program, a registry where cancer patients can be matched with an appropriate donor.
Have you thought about becoming a potential donor? You might save somebody’s life!
If you walk through Balboa Park and notice a sign concerning a Marrow Donor Registry Drive, take a moment to check it out! Or simply click the Be The Match website now to learn of several things you can do to help save a life!
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A Disney princess has been captured in a large fishing net on the Tuna Harbor pier.
If you love a sunlit clutter of colorful surprises, Tuna Harbor’s G Street Pier is the perfect spot.
Curious eyes during a slow walk are sure to discover many wonders. Small humorous wonders that produce small smiles.
Enjoy a few photos.
Fishermen bike to their boat. Tuna Harbor is full of visual delights, odd clutter, humor and life.Floats with spear-like poles rise into the sky above downtown San Diego skyscrapers.A heron has taken sole possession of this boat in Tuna Harbor.Fish won’t be caught in here for long.An untidy fishing boat in Tuna Harbor. Sun, sweat, grit and real life. The source of your elegant dinner.Truth is, the Sea Nag likes to keep things cool.An indifferent gull.This live bait boat resembles an auto tire store.Who doesn’t love a houseboat? A small bird builds a nest in an odd place.
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Mural painted on the north side of 600 B Street, home of the San Diego Union Tribune. It depicts a man sitting on an actual wall reading a newspaper. Loose windblown pages transform into colorful butterflies.
A mural is being painted on the north side of the building at 600 B Street, a high-rise that is the new home of the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper. The large mural overlooks a fenced park-like space that once was the playground for a downtown child care center.
I saw the colorful new mural behind scaffolding this morning while walking to a nearby trolley station. The artwork cleverly depicts a person reading a newspaper, while “sitting” on a wall that juts from the building. The man doesn’t seem to notice that windblown pages are rising skyward, transforming into butterflies.
The image is quaint, almost nostalgic, as if it were lifted from the pages of a treasured children’s book. Undoubtedly the San Diego Union-Tribune is the inspiration for this mural. It’s a funny choice of images, considering the fact that physical newspapers seem to be gradually fading away. But whatever the digital age might bring, the written word, like language itself, will live on…
UPDATE!
Here’s a photo I took after the mural was completed:
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Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s new Research Vessel Sally Ride welcomes the public at San Diego’s Broadway Pier.
If you love science, technology and the study of our planet’s oceans, please enjoy the following photo tour of a very special ship. In this blog post we will visit the newest, most highly advanced oceanographic research ship in the world!
The world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, a part of UC San Diego located in La Jolla, debuted their new research vessel Sally Ride this weekend at the Broadway Pier. Today the public was invited to come aboard and learn about the future work of scientists at sea.
The R/V Sally Ride is equipped with technologically advanced equipment, sensors, labs and computer systems. In the years ahead, it will be tasked with learning about and preserving the oceans, studying and protecting the environment, and inspiring the next generation. Using satellite communication and the scientists aboard, students and teachers throughout the world will actively participate in ocean exploration.
Except in documentary films, the public seldom sees the interior of an ocean-going research vessel. So today was an opportunity not to be missed!
Please read the photo captions where I’ve tried, to the best of my knowledge, to provide accurate details. But I’m no expert. If you’d like to leave a correction or useful information in a comment, please do!
The public was invited to tour the new research ship Sally Ride. It was a rare opportunity to see how high tech exploration is carried out by UCSD Scripps scientists and oceanographers.The free public tours of R/V Sally Ride drew a good crowd on a Sunday in October, 2016. These people smartly arrived an hour early to reserve a time slot.The tour began inside the Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier. Many displays highlighted the work of UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.UC San Diego embarks upon a new journey of exploration and boundary breaking with America’s newest research vessel R/V Sally Ride. Sally Ride was the first American woman in space.A large display goes over the history of The Evolution of Climate Change Science. UCSD scientists have made important contributions in this field.People inside the Port Pavilion learn about science and technology related to the understanding of planet Earth’s oceans.These examples of what is found when taking sediment cores on the ocean floor include tiny elegant Radiolaria.The Autonomously Deployed Deep-Ocean Seismic System’s Wave Glider is powered by solar and wave energy. It links with satellites and ocean bottom seismometers to help predict earthquakes and tsunamis.Some advanced visual equipment on display during the public debut of Research Vessel Sally Ride in San Diego. Multiple underwater photos can be taken in quick succession to form a 3-D model.Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla monitors climate variability and change, coastal hazards, marine operations, and ecosystems, fisheries and water quality.Floating device used to measure ocean wave characteristics.Peering out of the Port Pavilion at the R/V Sally Ride, docked at San Diego’s Broadway Pier.Photo aiming toward the stern of R/V Sally Ride. The big A frame, winch shack, extending crane, and two retractable arms on the starboard side of the ship are visible.Visitors eagerly head up the gangplank to explore America’s newest, most advanced research ship.Here we go!Looking down to our left.This rosette frame can be lowered into the water with a variety of mounted sensors. We’ll see it again in a bit.Heading down steep steps to the research ship’s fantail and work deck.We are halfway down. Many distant sailboats can be seen on San Diego Bay this beautiful but mostly overcast Sunday.R/V Sally Ride is equipped with shops, labs, winches, launch frames, booms and the newest scientific instruments and communication gear. The busy fantail and work deck are where science meets the sea.The gigantic A-Frame at the stern of RV Sally Ride can lift loads up to 30,000 pounds! Wire and cable deploy towed instruments. Moorings and acoustic equipment are also deployed in this manner.Visitors on the rear deck of R/V Sally Ride learn about science on the sea from a crewmember.Looking forward and up, we see several levels to the ship. If I understand correctly, the electronic display indicates a cable’s tension, payout and speed.Turning a bit to the right, we see the big crane atop a staging bay that is sheltered from the weather. Inside, equipment can be carefully prepared before deployment out in the elements.Now we are heading toward the windowed winch shack, along the starboard side of the ship toward the two retractable arms.One of two mechanical arms used to lower sensors, nets, and other oceanographic equipment into the water. They are called LARS, which stands for launch and recovery systems.A member of the public reads a sign explaining that the LARS are controlled from the winch shack. Wire or cable is used to lower equipment overboard.This rosette frame is holding a CTD, or conductivity, temperature and depth sensor. It can be lowered to a depth of nearly 4 miles! Niskin bottles attached to the frame can capture samples to be analyzed on the ship or at a later time.A poster inside the R/V Sally Ride’s staging bay details the ship’s main characteristics.Heading through a watertight door into the Wet Lab. Water samples are brought here for storage and analysis. There are drains in the floor!Another poster contains photos taken during RV Sally Ride’s construction. (Click image to enlarge.)A look inside the Wet Lab.R/V Sally Ride is the newest member of the Office of Naval Research’s fleet. These ships are owned by the U.S. Navy, but operated by university employees and professional mariners. Science teams rotate on a regular basis every two or three weeks.Heading from the Wet Lab into the Main Lab.Lab stations on the R/V Sally Ride are optimized for the different types of research activities that take place at sea.Visitors have written comments near a sign that describes the legacy of Sally Ride, our country’s first female astronaut. Sally was on the faculty of UC San Diego.A diagram of R/V Sally Ride with detailed information about the ship.Now we’ve arrived at the ship’s nerve center, the control station for CTD operations. Here scientists monitor ship location, sensor readouts, and trip bottles to collect samples.After quickly passing the no-nonsense mess deck and through two rather bare state rooms, visitors head up stairs to check out the pilot house.The high tech pilot house, or bridge, attracted a big crowd of curious visitors!One of the seats where the ship’s captain can place himself. When at sea or holding station, a deck officer is present on the bridge at all times.The huge computerized control console looks like it belongs on a spaceship!Aft of the starboard side of the bridge is the chart room, where navigational plans are made for each expedition. Old-fashioned maps are still used as an emergency backup!Heading around the pilot house, back toward the stern of R/V Sally Ride.Looking down at the telescoping knuckleboom crane and other outdoor machinery used to carry out research on the often stormy ocean.People examine an oceanographic winch. Drums can have upwards of 10,000 meters of wire or cable spooled on them.As I understand it, this sturdy telescoping knuckleboom crane can be extended in all directions for multiple purposes, including lifting the gangplank!Two impressive winches aboard R/V Sally Ride.Looking back up toward the rear of the pilot house.One last look at the aft deck and impressive A-Frame of the amazing new Research Vessel Sally Ride.I’m not the only one who is impressed.Heading forward along the ship’s port side. Downtown San Diego buildings rise across the water.We’ve arrived at the ship’s bow, just below the pilot house, where we find the anchoring station. The big windlass mechanism lowers and raises an anchor.R/V Sally Ride has three anchors, each weighing 5,000 pounds. Two are on either side of the bow and the third is a spare. Each anchor is connected to 720 feet of chain, which is stored below decks.An orange life ring reads R/V Sally Ride, San Diego.One last photo of R/V Sally ride during her debut at San Diego’s Broadway Pier. She begins her first research expedition in a matter of days!
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Naturalist Mike Kelly leads a small group of hikers into Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve from the Del Mar Mesa trailhead.
Free guided nature walks in the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve introduce the public to unexpected wild beauty in the heart of San Diego. Yesterday I went on one of these easy walks.
Our guide, naturalist Mike Kelly, longtime member of the Friends of Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, has been an advocate working to safeguard this beautiful and historic San Diego canyon for over three decades. He’s a friendly fellow whose knowledge of the canyon’s flora, fauna and fascinating history made for an extremely enjoyable hike.
Years ago, Mike and others fought to save Los Peñasquitos Canyon from development. Their efforts resulted in about half of the canyon being protected. Fortunately, the preserve is connected to other similar natural areas in San Diego through various corridors, allowing wildlife to move about and thrive. Owls, woodpeckers, hawks, raccoons, bobcats, coyotes, mule deer, even an occasional mountain lion make the canyon their home. Native trees, chaparral, grass and spring flowers are abundant and the source of endless enjoyment.
I learned there are also wildlife tracking hikes, plus night walks, when deer are frequently seen. There are also free guided tours of San Diego’s second oldest residence, which stands near the east end of the preserve, the Rancho Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos adobe. To learn about all these wonderful adventures, which are ideal for families, click here.
To learn more about the Friends of Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, click here! Perhaps you’d like to become a member!
The Del Mar Mesa trailhead is located near suburban homes at the north edge of Los Peñasquitos Canyon.A sign posted at the trailhead shows future trails proposed in the Natural Resources Management Plan.Our small group of hikers heads down into the canyon through Coastal Sage Scrub habitat. We are passing California scrub oaks.We headed to Carson’s Crossing before checking out the popular waterfall.Approaching the central part of the long, narrow canyon, which runs from Poway west to Del Mar and the Pacific Ocean. Peñasquitos Creek lies beyond those coast live oaks in the distance.Carson’s Crossing is an historically important spot in Peñasquitos Canyon. Kit Carson crossed the creek here during the Mexican-American War. General Kearny’s US Army of the West was faced with formidable Californio lancers in San Pasqual, and the legendary frontiersman Kit Carson snuck away in the middle of the night to summon reinforcements from San Diego. He knew to come this way. The later 1857 Jackass Mail stagecoach line also ran through the canyon here enroute to San Diego.Heading west through the beautiful canyon in the shade of oaks, sycamores and willows. It’s an easy, pleasant hike.Looking north across a field in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve in late October. Summers are very dry. Many leaves and flowers are now brown, awaiting winter rains.Walking slowly, senses alert. I smell the nearby sagebrush. I hear acorn woodpeckers and quail. I see beautiful clouds.Mike Kelly is a guide and activist whose knowledge of Peñasquitos is deep. Here he shows us some poison oak which is growing a short distance off the trail.A peaceful walk through nature. Over several decades, activists like Mike have worked hard to preserve the canyon and protect it from development. Today it is maintained by volunteers and both the City and County of San Diego.Mike Kelly shows us some California broom. Native American Kumeyaay and pioneers used the plant like a broom for sweeping.Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve is a very popular place for jogging, hiking and mountain biking. Even marathoners use it for training.Now we’re approaching a trail sign and a large rock outcropping, which I learned is volcanic.Sign shows proposed San Diego Trans County Trail, which when completed would run from the Pacific Ocean over the mountains east of San Diego and out to the Salton Sea in the desert.I see lots of prickly pear cacti. Now we are getting close to the popular waterfall!Approaching the Peñasquitos Creek waterfall from the east.Descending rough stone steps to the waterfall. I learned the steps were a project of an Eagle Boy Scout.The small waterfall and its rocky pools are located near the center of Los Peñasquitos Canyon. It is the destination of many hikes. A great place to relax, cool off, and listen to the soothing water.Water spills over rocks. It isn’t Niagara Falls, but it’s wonderful nonetheless.Hikers pause above a pool of water which is captured by large blocks of volcanic rock. When the creek crests, it can rise many feet and submerge this area.A hiker up above seems to walk in the sky.Families wander down a pleasant trail in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve. There is much here to see and appreciate. So much to learn.Naturalist Mike Kelly shows us a poisonous flower of Datura. In nature, beauty and danger are often found together. One should be thoughtful when hiking, and be careful to wear sturdy footwear and bring water. We didn’t see any rattlesnakes or mountain lions!
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New light. Eyes reopen. The sky regains depth. Wings stretch.
In downtown San Diego, along the Embarcadero, morning light reflects from both clouds and water.
The first smile of the day.
Life is wonderful, and good.
A beautiful sky one October morning above Tuna Harbor in San Diego.Seagulls perched on a boat await the morning activity of fishermen.A seagull circles far away like a dream.Fishing boats and tinted clouds, reflected in the gentle water.A boat’s mysterious reflection in the rippled water.A sky full of fantastic clouds. Early morning above the Embarcadero near Ruocco Park.Magical light infiltrates clouds above San Diego.Clouds that seem like cotton in the blue sky.Morning birds take flight like windblown seeds in the air.Clouds are framed by The Riparium, public art created in 2012 by Roman de Salvo. The sinuous structure rises in one corner of San Diego’s Ruocco Park.Gazing skyward through The Riparium. A fine day has dawned in downtown San Diego.
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A cool work of art pieced together in Balboa Park’s Spanish Village. Anyone can do this!
My weekend walk in Balboa Park took me through Spanish Village Art Center. For a few pleasant minutes I paused to watch artist Kathi Vargo piecing together collages and unique assemblage at a table in the middle of the patio. Anyone passing by was invited to join in!
I learned that Kathi offers Paint and Paper Play classes where absolutely anybody can learn to create mixed media collages. If you’re interested, visit her website!
Kathi Vargo was having a fun Paint and Paper Play Collage Workshop in the middle of the Spanish Village Art Center’s colorful patio.All sorts of objects can be used to assemble this unique artwork.Applying some paint to a strip of material.Creating art expands the mind, enriches the spirit, and is just plain fun!You can make this!
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