A monarch butterfly has found some milkweed. I snapped this photo just in time.
Early this afternoon I managed to capture some elusive living colors. I caught them with my camera, during a leisurely visit to Balboa Park’s beautiful Zoro Butterfly Garden.
Created in 1915 for the Panama-California Exposition, the unique amphitheatre-like stone grotto features meandering paths tucked beneath some shady trees. An easy stroll down into the hollow reveals a lush garden full of flowers specifically planted to attract butterflies. That wasn’t always the case. In 1935, during the California Pacific International Exposition in Balboa Park, this partially hidden area was called the Zoro Garden Nudist Colony!
In this peaceful garden you’ll experience monarch, sulfur and swallowtail butterflies, fluttering quickly past your astonished eyes. Most of the time, my old camera finger reacted much too slowly! But I got a few pics!
An artistic bird bath in the garden depicts leaves, flowers and butterflies, naturally!A tiny insect takes a walk on a sweet sun-yellow carpet.Zoro Butterfly Garden contains rustic, ragged beauty along its stony walkways.This sneaky lizard would’ve been happy to capture a quick butterfly, too! I don’t know if he had any luck.Cool close-up photo of red passion vine flower.I’m not sure who this guy is. Is it a Mourning Cloak? Some kind of moth? If you know, leave a comment.Sunlight reflects from a butterfly winging past some weathered public art in a section of the garden.Painted mural in Balboa Park’s Zoro Butterfly Garden shows an Orange-barred Sulphur and Cassia.Another section of this informative artwork depicts Passionvine and a Gulf Fritillary.A third section shows that Monarch butterflies are attracted to Milkweed.The underside of this Gulf fritillary almost looks like a torn, crumpled brown leaf.A swallowtail butterfly takes flight!Looking upward from the lush hollow where butterflies thrive, toward blue sky and fluttering, living color.An Anise Swallowtail spreads its wings on a glorious day in San Diego’s wonder-filled Balboa Park.
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A small parade during 2015 Fiestas Patrias (September 16 is Mexico’s Independence Day) in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.
Here are some photos of Fiestas Patrias in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. Mexico began their war for independence from Spain on September 16, 1810, and the occasion was celebrated today with music, food, games, an equestrian demonstration and traditional Mexican dance. I caught a bit of it!
San Diego’s fascinating history includes a Mexican period, which followed the early years of settlement and rule by Spain. Mexico and San Diego share a common border and a great deal of history. A blending of culture and friendly people adds to the richness of our city.
Fiestas Patrias in Old Town San Diego included many cool events flavored with Mexican culture and history.Young musicians from Chula Vista High School Mariachi band smile for the camera!Many event participants carried photos and images of important Mexicans in history. This gentleman holds a tribute to activist Cesar Chavez.Tables contained interesting info and exhibits. This one featured sketches from the Battle of San Pasqual and some cattle brands from historic Mission San Diego de Alcalá.Here are many colorful, often spicy ingredients used in Mexican cuisine. Yum!A super nice lady demonstrates grinding corn with a stone metate, a common practice long ago.Someone paints during the lively festival. Historic Old Town is a picturesque place that inspires artists, at any time!The award-winning Chula Vista High School Mariachi performers warm up before going on stage.Everyone is ready for some traditional Mexican music!These student musicians were incredibly talented. Voices and instruments conveyed stirring emotion. They all received big applause!Beautifully costumed riders of the female equestrian group Escaramuza Las Golondrinas warm up behind Seeley Stable Museum in Old Town San Diego.One rider prepares her horse for a sidesaddle riding demonstration in the afternoon.This rider was nice enough to smile! It’s a perfect, sunny day for a fiesta!A smiling California State Park employee throws a rope over a tree branch, getting ready to hang a piñata. She’s got an awesome job!Fiestas Patrias in Old Town celebrates a rich Mexican heritage and the unique, diverse history of San Diego.
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Morning photo of the new Fault Line Park in San Diego’s East Village. The Central Library’s dome is visible in the background.
An incredibly cool new public park opened in East Village a couple weeks ago. It’s called Fault Line Park, and is located south of Island Avenue between 14th and 15th Street. The park is situated directly above a shallow rupture of the Rose Canyon Fault System, which stretches through downtown San Diego.
In addition to a children’s playground and places to sit and walk, the 1.3 acre Fault Line Park contains a really unique feature. A public art installation, titled Fault Whisper, by artist Po Shu Wang of Living Lenses, allows visitors to monitor our active planet. Large, shining spheres stand on either side of the fault line. At the west sphere, curious ears can listen to the Earth’s subterranean movements, which are recorded by a seismometer embedded below in the actual fault! They can also look through an eyepiece toward the opposite sphere, to see whether the Earth has shifted!
What brilliant, interesting artwork!
Even though I listened intently, I couldn’t hear the Earth whispering early this morning when I took these pics. Perhaps old Mother Earth was still sleeping!
This line marks where a part of the Rose Canyon Fault System has ruptured, just 14 feet below the surface. According to geologists, there’s no great earthquake danger here.Photographer records cool reflections in one of the large stainless steel spheres in Fault Line Park.Plaque describes Fault Whisper public art, created by Po Shu Wang in 2014. Two spheres stand on either side of the fault line. From one you can listen to the Earth and monitor movement.Here’s the opening where you can press your ear to listen. There’s a speaker just inside. The Earth’s movements are translated into musical notes.Looking through eyepiece at the opposing sphere. If the Pacific and North American tectonic plates have shifted since the art’s installation, it isn’t very noticeable.Stella Public House restaurant in East Village is located right next to the cool new Fault Line Park.If Stella Public House is as awesome as the super friendly employee I met, you’d better head over there at once!View of Fault Line Park in East Village from outdoor patio shared by Stella Public House and Halcyon coffeehouse and cocktail lounge.
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Masts of a few visiting tall ships during 2015 Festival of Sail, at the Maritime Museum of San Diego.
The 2015 Festival of Sail is underway! The cool event runs through Labor Day and takes place on the Embarcadero at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. This morning I got some photos!
The popular festival, which is held every year in late summer, features a large gathering of beautiful tall ships. A few belong to the museum; others are visiting San Diego for this very special occasion.
Last year I wrote several detailed blogs and covered many of the tall ships which I saw again today. So this year I figured I’d just mosey from ship to ship, taking random photos, not worrying too much about jotting down gobs of information. Here’s the result…
The brig Pilgrim, approximate replica of the historic ship Richard Henry Dana sailed in, is visiting San Diego again for the annual tall ship festival.Visitors enjoy touring the deck of the Pilgrim on Sunday morning. It’s another sunny summer day on blue San Diego Bay!Ship’s navigation light and galley. Signs on the Pilgrim describe life on the sea a couple centuries ago, when Two Years Before the Mast was written by Dana.Kayaks on the smooth water cruise past a collection of very cool tall ships.Plaque on tall ship American Pride indicates that down below is the Captain’s Quarters.Close look at wooden steering wheel of the American Pride.Volunteer crew members of American Pride assembled on deck as their fine ship visits San Diego.Lion’s head decorates spar projecting from hull of topsail schooner Amazing Grace.A visitor at 2015 Festival of Sail in San Diego looks down into the cabin of Amazing Grace.A second floating dock and even more cool tall ships can be seen beyond Amazing Grace.Curious eyes peer below deck of the Bill of Rights, perhaps wondering what it would be like to live in very close quarters while at sea.Bill of Rights tall ship crew members were dressed in seafaring garb. This pirate had a collection of pistols and a small cannon on display.Star motif on a block used by a single rope in some complicated rigging. Masts of another nearby tall ship rise in the background.To step off the Bill of Rights one must walk the plank!Stern of Bill of Rights seen from rear deck of the brigantine Irving Johnson.Photo of ship’s cabin containing shelves of books, a globe and navigational charts.Friendly crew member on the Exy Johnson was playing familiar seagoing tunes on a concertina.It appears this ladder has seen a great deal of usage and weather.Festival of Sail visitors check out many cool sights! I see someone climbing one of the Irving Johnson’s shrouds!Watch out! This wild-eyed pirate has two wicked swords! Run for it!Looking at more ships docked behind the Maritime Museum’s historic Steam Ferry Berkeley. I see masts of the San Salvador, Californian and America.American flag in deep blue sky curls in the pleasant sea breeze.I saw various folks in period costumes. This lady had a nice smile!Another photo of the ships behind the Berkeley. The red star is on the museum’s B-39 Soviet diesel submarine which operated during the Cold War.A land battery took part during the festival’s cannon battles. A beautiful tall ship heads across the bay.View of historic bark Star of India from deck of HMS Surprise.Someone checks out the high masts of HMS Surprise, the ship used in the filming of Master and Commander starring Russell Crowe.Written on the ship’s bell is HMS Rose, the original name of the Surprise.Two members of the Royal Guard enjoy a drink and snack on San Diego’s Embarcadero during the Festival of Sail. They must be on shore leave.White sails, wooden ships, blue sky and living visions of a rich maritime history.Kids on deck of Star of India watch a cannon battle on San Diego Bay.
A special thank you to everyone following Cool San Diego Sights. You all are the greatest! I just wanted to say that.
Where will we go next? I don’t know! Life is an adventure!
Many of the world’s best sand artists are in San Diego for the 2015 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge.
Right now, the world’s most amazing sand sculptures are standing on the B Street Pier on San Diego’s Embarcadero. They were created by a select group of international sand masters for the 2015 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge. These talented sculptors are world-class artists, as you can see from the following images. My photos were taken on Saturday morning shortly after the gate opened. All of the competing artists were on the pier adding the final touches to their incredible artwork. The sculptures will be officially judged this afternoon.
The theme of the U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge this year is the Olympic Games. Many of the sand masterpieces had a classic, sculptural relief appearance. Every one was sensational.
The competitive event, which takes place downtown at the edge of our beautiful bay next to the Cruise Ship Terminal, continues through Labor Day weekend. If you can’t make it, enjoy these photos!
John Gowdy, Jersey Boy, now living in Italy, has been sand sculpting since 1990. He was winner of Sand Wars on the Travel Channel.John Gowdy’s Olympics-themed sculpture features Bruce Jenner, men’s decathlon winner in 1976, and his transformation to female Caitlyn.Bruce Jender. I am Cait…now.Unzipping a past gold-winning athlete. A new person emerges.John Gowdy is interviewed by a video production crew at the 2015 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge.Sue McGrew, from Tacoma, Washington, is also accomplished in snow and ice sculpting.Sue McGrew’s sand sculpture titled Father of the Game, a statue-like image of Zeus, king of the Greek gods on Mount Olympus.Amazing artistic skill is required to sculpt sand so perfectly. These sand masters, like Olympic athletes, are the best in the world!Zeus seems to be sitting at the edge of the B Street Pier in downtown San Diego! The Port Pavilion and the Broadway Pier are in the background.JOOheng Tan, of Singapore, won last year’s competition! He has been called Vincent Sand Gogh!JOOheng Tan’s sculpture, Game Over, is a striking work of art that immediately caught and held my eye.Just an amazing, incredible work of art. You don’t see something like this everyday! In a few days it will be swept away.The artists are still at work, getting their pieces ready to be judged this afternoon.Ilya Filimontsev, from Moscow, Russia, is competing here for the first time, and I predict he will win an award! I voted for him and saw others doing the same.Ilya Filimontsev’s sculpture is titled Never Give Up!!! Wow! Now that’s an impressive sand sculpture. And he wasn’t finished!Carefully working beneath a wing and Olympic wreath on a sunny San Diego Labor Day weekend.A masterpiece of sand is being created as the public watches and takes photographs.Fergus Mulvany is from Dublin, Ireland. He studied fine art and became a sand artist as a student by chance!Fergus Mulvany is working on his creation called The Threshold of Momentum. It’s a fantastic piece, one of my favorites.Closer photo shows superb detail work of the kinetic sand sculpture.Back side of The Threshold of Momentum is simple and stylish.The artists were all friendly and didn’t seem to mind chatting with folks who were admiring their works in progress.Dan Belcher, of St. Louis, Missouri, is 14 time world champion sand sculptor!I can see why Dan Belcher has won so many world championships. The artistry of his piece, Citius, Altius, Fortius, is exceptional.Citius, Altius, Fortius is Latin for Faster, Higher, Stronger. It’s the Olympic Motto.Human figures shaped from sand have bold form and physical presence.Susanne Ruseler, from the Netherlands, studied biology and thereby learned to represent and beautify human beings and all creatures. She has won many contests.Susanne Ruseler’s sculpture is called Long Jump. An Olympic athlete leaps like a rabbit!Flowing hair made of sand. Incredible.I saw lots of water hoses, buckets, shovels and carving tools being used on the large sand creations.Morgan Rudluff is from Santa Cruz, California. She considers herself to be quite fortunate and rich in many ways. Sand sculpting has her heart.Morgan Rudluff’s sand sculpture is Perseverance. It appears to be a tower made of a Greek column and abstract human forms.We’re nearing the end of the B Street Pier, gazing out at blue San Diego Bay.Many hours of hard work and perseverance combined with imagination and skill produces a fine result.The steady hand of a world-class sand artist.Kirk Rademaker comes from Stinson Beach, California. His nickname is The Sand Guy. Fantastical mechanical machines are his trademark.Kirk Rademaker is creating a piece called Anchor Leg, which indeed resembles an anchor. How appropriate, because it’s by the water!The skyline of downtown San Diego can be seen to the east. It’s a warm day and promises big crowds.This sand sculpture was quite fantastic and left much to the imaginationMelineige Beauregard is from Quebec, Canada. Some believe sand sculpting is art, some believe it’s a sport. She believes it’s a spiritual experience.Melineige Beauregard’s artwork is called In The Zone. I believe it was the most original creation of all the entries. You’ll see why.An interesting face decorates one end of the complicated multi-part sand sculpture.The opposite end features a circle, like an eyepiece, through which visitors are meant to look.And this is what we see! An Olympic runner ready to race at the starting blocks!Jorvis Kivits, of the Netherlands, believes that in art, beauty should shine through. He has recently begun sculpting marble.Photo Finish is the name of Jorvis Kivits’ curvy piece. It’s an unusual, wonderful thing to behold!Gazing through some world-class sand art across San Diego Bay toward North Island.Eleven amazing works of art on the B Street Pier. Plus there are other team sand sculptures getting started, and a few finished sculptures by event sponsors. Lots of cool stuff all over!As of this moment, these are the finest sand sculptures in the whole wide world. In a few days…they vanish! Go see them now, if you can!
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Sailboat in a puddle of light behind the tall ship Pilgrim. Friday draws to an end at the Festival of Sail, on San Diego’s Embarcadero.
After work, I got off the trolley at Little Italy and walked down to the Embarcadero. I hoped to see a little of the Festival of Sail. Today was the first day of the big annual event!
Even though I missed the Parade of Sail across San Diego Bay, which took place in the afternoon, I managed to get a bit lucky! The day’s activities were over, the crowds had dissipated, and I didn’t need a ticket to enjoy a leisurely stroll alongside the many beautiful tall ships! Later this weekend I’ll buy a ticket during event hours and board the ships. Stay tuned!
Until then, here are some photos of what I saw…
The Port of San Diego and the Maritime Museum are presenting the 2015 Festival of Sail, with lots of cool visiting tall ships, cannon battles, and other nautical stuff.Photographer near the HMS Surprise takes a photo of masts along the waterfront. Many tall ships are docked just beyond the museum’s Steam Ferry Berkeley.I saw a number of people wearing old-fashioned costumes, including these folks riding a bike and a big-wheeled penny-farthing along the water!Members of the United States Navy came jogging down the Embarcadero as the day came to an end in San Diego!The sun descends behind clouds. Many high masts, yards, ropes and fluttering banners add character to beautiful San Diego Bay at the Festival of Sail.Two crew members work high in the rigging of the Amazing Grace tall ship.The 2015 Festival Sail runs through Labor Day weekend. You’ll find it downtown at the awesome Maritime Museum of San Diego!
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Grinning face of Tillie, symbol of Coney Island, on the back of a tour bus heading toward the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park.
An extraordinary exhibit recently opened at the San Diego Museum of Art. It’s called Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861-2008. Last Saturday, I enjoyed a very special tour, courtesy of my docent friend Catherine!
The exhibit features a collection of more than a hundred objects that depict 150 years of Coney Island’s amusement parks, boardwalk, beach and people. It includes paintings, photographs, videos, carnival posters, sideshow banners, carved wooden carousel horses, and a wide range of colorful, unique artifacts.
From its early days as a peaceful beach getaway for wealthy New Yorkers, to the rise and fall of amusement parks, years of decay, political wrangling, then modern renewal, Coney Island has been interpreted by artists through the years in a variety of surprising ways. Some artists portray an innocent playland for common people. Others, something more complex, and less innocent.
Most of the exhibit’s artwork centers on Coney Island’s legendary amusement parks. Many images resemble exuberant scenes from a carnival or circus. They’re full of energy, laughter, humanity, wonder–but often base, superficial, disturbing, despairing. Many painting are dark, almost gaudy with a crowded press of people seeking pleasure. A symbol adopted by Coney Island–the unnatural, exaggerated grin of Tillie–seems to be a taunting reminder that the purchased thrills are artificial. The grin is strangely maniacal and mindless, one part Joker, one part Cheshire Cat.
Fantastic imagery abounds in the exhibit, which is sure to delight many kids. They’ll see huge cyclops heads, videos of romping midgets, a banner promising a sideshow freak with inhuman tentacles. The adults will see images of lust, insatiability, scattered litter, dripping blood.
I suppose we humans like to be both excited and terrified.
One Impressionist painting by the important American artist William Merritt Chase shows a landscape of sunlight and natural, unspoiled beauty; the egg tempera painted canvases of Reginald Marsh are dark, crammed with unabated appetite, bold kinetic energy and human expression; photographs by Arthur Fellig (Weegee) show people crowded onto the beach like fleshy, happy sardines.
Personally, as I took my amazing tour, I saw life’s wonderful jumble and a sample of our world’s endless variety. All the emotions, the complexity–but mostly I recognized the sunlit memories of ordinary good-natured neighbors heading to the beach and boardwalk, and some exciting, brief amusements, on a sunny weekend day.
This isn’t a typical art museum exhibit. It’s more like taking an instant journey to a place you already know. A Coney Island in your mind. And your vivid experiences in the San Diego Museum of Art will make the journey seem very real.
Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861-2008, has come to San Diego from the Wadsworth Athenium Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut. This special exhibition continues through October 13, 2015.
Here are just a few things that you’ll see…
Reginald Marsh, Wooden Horses, 1936, Tempera on board. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.Pip and Flip, Twins from Yucatan with World Circus Side Show, Coney Island, 1929, Photographic reproduction. Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia Collection.Jeanie, Living Half Girl, 1940, Sideshow banner. Collection of Ken Harck.Mort Künstler, Coney Island, 1953, Gouache on paper. Collection of the artist.Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth, the Great Coney Island Water Carnival poster. Thrilling and daring feats of every description!Arnold Mesches, Anomie 1991: Winged Victory, 1991, Acrylic on canvas. San Diego Museum of Art.Joseph Stella, Battle of Lights, Coney Island, Mardi Gras, 1913, Oil on canvas. Yale University Art Gallery.
The San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park is simply jammed with fantastic, provocative Coney Island art. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So go see it!
Coney Island, Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008, at the San Diego Museum of Art.
The amazing replica of explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s galleon San Salvador is now docked at the Maritime Museum of San Diego, adjacent to their B-39 Soviet submarine.
The San Salvador, a full size replica of the historic Spanish galleon sailed by explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo up the coast of California, is now docked at the Maritime Museum of San Diego! I believe the museum’s newest ship arrived a couple days ago!
This morning was the very first time I saw the vessel on San Diego’s Embarcadero. Docked next to the museum’s B-39 Soviet-era Russian submarine, the San Salvador appears small compared to the other nearby tall ships. But the gentleman rowing the longboat in the next photograph informed me that she’ll really blossom once fully rigged and under sail. The San Salvador will then appear almost as large and amazing as the Californian, which is docked right across from it!
Looks like the San Salvador is ready in time for this Labor Day weekend’s Festival of Sail. On Friday she will lead a magnificent parade of visiting tall ships across San Diego Bay!
Gentleman from the Maritime Museum rows a longboat under ramp which leads to the HMS Surprise and other historic ships.Full size replica of Spanish galleon San Salvador, seen beyond the dock of Anthony’s Fish Grotto on San Diego’s Embarcadero.
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Cool San Diego Sights! 