Please enjoy these random pics of happy visions seen on various occasions in Balboa Park. Every day in this special place is magical!
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This afternoon in Balboa Park’s Spreckels Organ Pavilion, a very large crowd of people heard the singing of angels.
The great grandchildren of Captain and Maria von Trapp were live on stage, performing beautiful, exquisitely harmonized vocals during this Sunday’s free organ concert. Almost everyone loves the classic film The Sound of Music, which was based on the real life musical family’s escape from Nazi occupied Austria. Sofi, Melanie, Amanda, and August von Trapp are the grandchildren of Werner von Trapp, who was portrayed in the movie as Kurt, the youngest child. The four young musicians have obviously inherited the von Trapp magic.
The quartet of siblings have performed around the world to critical acclaim, appearing in the world’s top concert venues and on many major television shows. We in San Diego were truly fortunate to be graced with their music…and on a sunny, perfect day!
The von Trapps performed eight incredible numbers: Dream a Little Dream of Me; the old German folk song Die Dorfmusik (which was made famous by the German group Comedian Harmonists before being disbanded by the Nazis, because some members were Jewish); Storm, an original composition written by the group while living in Portland, Oregon and performed a cappella ; French pop musician Françoise Madeleine Hardy’s well known Le Premier Bonheur du Jour; The Sound of Music, by Rodgers & Hammerstein; Hushabye Mountain from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; a new piece (I missed the name) sung with ukelele from their upcoming album, due to be released on April 14; and, of course, Edelweiss. The four voices were so pure, so buoyant, so uplifting, and melded so deliciously, a standing ovation erupted.
Wow!
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This is my 500th post. I can’t believe it.
When I started writing this blog on a lark about a year and a half ago, it was a puny little creation, and I hadn’t a clue where it would take me. Alas, after many hours pounding away at the old keyboard, I haven’t earned one thin dime. But that’s perfectly fine. The riches I’ve received are immaterial, and far greater.
Writing a blog–one that involves photography in particular–opens your eyes, enhances your appreciation of all that is around you. To chronicle a walk through this world, one must carefully experience each step and turn curious eyes everywhere. One must note light, depth, and the color of things. One must listen to others. If I hadn’t begun to meander about San Diego purposefully, searching for “cool” material, I might never have seen some hidden rainbows. Or a small bit of street art. Or dogs surf.
Writing a blog encourages creativity. It’s casual and conversational. There’s no need to fret too much about editing. Readers are just friends. So you can yap freely and let the mind flow. I’ve always been a fan of science fiction writer Ray Bradbury. His great book Zen in the Art of Writing talks about the power of just letting thoughts flow, uninhibited, like gushing water from a wildly whipping dangerously uncontrolled hose. That water will irrigate one’s life, and the lives of others who are splashed.
Writing a blog leads the author to be more honest. More understanding. More compassionate. More vulnerable. Writing a blog, giving birth to a few silly words, expands the soul.
Thanks for coming along on my walks!
Where will I go today? I have a bit of an idea, but I’m not certain. Time propels us forward into the unknown. If you’d like, follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr!
I’ve driven past the La Mesa Depot Museum many times over the years, but have never stopped to check it out. Today I remedied that very unfortunate situation!
Here’s a ton of cool pics. The small display train and historic railroad depot are found along Spring Street near the center of La Mesa, in San Diego’s sunny East County. I walked from south to north with my camera.
A friendly volunteer told me a little bit about the locomotive, reefer (refrigerator) car and caboose on exhibit, plus facts about the old La Mesa depot and San Diego and Cuyamaca Eastern Railway line. The depot is La Mesa’s oldest building and the only surviving San Diego and Cuyamaca Railway Station. Over the years it has experienced a colorful history, serving as an antique store and a worm farm! Please refer to the interesting signs, and my captions. Hopefully you get an idea of how awesome this place is!
The La Mesa Depot Museum is operated by the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum, which displays many old trains in Campo, an hour’s drive east of San Diego near Mexico. I went there with my family when I was very young and took a fun train ride. I plan on going again one day!
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My walk early this morning took me down to Ruocco Park, just north of Seaport Village. I wanted to check out something I saw on the news that looked really interesting.
Few people were about. Sunrise was slowly brightening the sky. Ten imposing human-like sculptures rose before me. As I approached, the figures loomed larger, silent, heavy-lidded, facing the fishing boats in Tuna Harbor, and a handful of joggers passing by.
This temporary installation of public art opened yesterday to the public. Our Silences, created by Mexican sculptor Rivelino, is composed of a row of ten massive bronze figures, whose mouths are shut and silenced with a metal plate. The object of the art is to provoke thought, feeling and discussion about freedom of speech. One wonders if the small prison-like black box nearby contains a political prisoner, or someone’s trembling, innermost thoughts. This very jolting artistic statement is on display for the first time in the United States. It will remain in San Diego through March 15.
Here’s a pic I took after a sign explaining Our Silences was installed nearby…
Where will I walk next? Life is an adventure!
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Downtown San Diego might be a bit more laid back than other big cities, but it’s still a bustling place. And so it feels good once in a while to just sit in a quiet, green place to relax.
Pantoja Park is a welcome patch of tranquility in the Marina District of downtown San Diego. Registered as a San Diego Historic Landmark, it was created in 1850 and is the city’s oldest park. The park was named after Don Juan Pantoja y Arriola, a Spanish navigator who drew the first map of San Diego Bay in 1782. A couple centuries ago ships would periodically enter the bay to supply the old Spanish presidio.
Fringed with gleaming skyscrapers, Pantoja Park today contains one notable sight: a statue of Benito Juarez, by Mexican artist Ernesto Tamariz, which was a gift to San Diego from the Mexican government in 1981.
I happened to walk through recently, so I took several pics…
UPDATE!
Here’s a better pic of the statue I took on a later date…
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Last Sunday, after I checked out the new Yankee Baleeiros whaling exhibit in the Visitor Center, I wandered about Cabrillo National Monument and took in the many beautiful views. My camera was very busy!
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Everyone likes to explore the Old Point Loma Lighthouse. You can climb up the winding staircase and peer into several interesting rooms where the lighthouse keeper and his family lived. But the small museum in the nearby assistant keeper’s quarters contains the true marvels of science and art. Come inside and let us have a quick look!
The highly polished Fresnel lenses utilized by lighthouses are beautiful objects. They refract and reflect light, creating prismatic colors when viewed from certain angles. It’s almost a miracle that a small flame in a lamp can be magnified to the extent that ships far out at sea can easily see it and be guided to safety. Light intensified by lenses in this museum could be seen 18 to 24 miles away!
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I saw on the morning news that an important exhibit was opening today in the Cabrillo National Monument Visitor Center. I haven’t been up that way since I blogged about the park’s centennial, so I figured I’d go check things out!
The traveling exhibition is called Yankee Baleeiros! The Shared Legacies of Luso and Yankee Whalers. That’s quite a long title, but it’s fitting for the epic displays that occupy about half of the sizable visitor center. Developed by the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the exhibit “celebrates the interwoven Luso-American stories of the Azorean, Cape Verdean, and Brazilian communities in the United States from early immigration in the 18th century through the latter half of the 20th century.” Sounds like a long and tedious thesis! But it’s actually fascinating! Basically, it shows the rich history of Portuguese speaking whalers in the Northeast, primarily New Bedford, and how they interacted with Yankee whalers.
As San Diego is one of the world’s best places to encounter a large variety of whale species, and as this is the season for migrating gray whales, the exhibit is more than appropriate. The displays also address how whaling techniques evolved over the years, the success of modern conservation efforts, and how whale-watching is now a much larger industy than whaling.
After listening to a short opening presentation by Park Superintendent Tom Workman and Christina Connett, PhD, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, I headed out to Cabrillo’s excellent Pacific Ocean viewing areas to scan the horizon for spouts. I didn’t see any, but there were a bunch of boats off Point Loma whale-watching on this sunny Sunday afternoon. I got more pics from my visit coming, so stay tuned!
If you haven’t been to Cabrillo National Monument in a while (or ever), head on over! The special exhibit will be on display through April 12, 2015.
Portions of the 1848 Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage ‘Round the World by Benjamin Russell and Caleb Purrington were on display inside and outside the visitor center. The complete work is 1,275 feet long and eight and a half feet tall! It’s believed to be the longest painting in the world! The piece went on a national tour shortly after completion, and appeared at the 1964 New York World’s Fair! Cool!
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The Bay Cafe is almost gone.
Many years ago, I loved to grab some food in the small waterfront cafe and bring it up onto the rooftop. From a table beneath an umbrella, I’d gaze out at the sparkling water. I’d observe passing sailboats, people on the Broadway Pier, and cruise ships docked at the nearby terminal. When two or more huge cruise ships were in port, I’d watch with interest as the departing Coronado ferry and harbor tour boats navigated the narrow space between them. In those days, the Bay Cafe also served as an embarkation hub for San Diego Harbor Excursion, now called Flagship. A ramp from inside the deli plunged down to a floating dock, where a gift shop was housed in a special boat. On this small dock a harbor cruise photographer asked guests to pose by a life preserver.
Up on the roof, if I wanted a change of view, I’d grab another table where I could gaze back toward downtown and watch tourists flow along Harbor Drive. There were almost always several empty tables. Few people seemed to realize the rooftop was open.
The Bay Cafe’s roof was also used for many years by broadcasters covering parades down Harbor Drive. From up there you could see everything.
My walk this morning brought back those memories. And a bit of sadness. The Bay Cafe is being demolished as I type these very words. The structure will be removed, but the concrete pad and pilings will remain, as part of an observation platform jutting over the water. It’s just one small part of the Embarcadero’s recent renovation. I’m sure the change will be great. I believe there are supposed to be benches where folks can just sit and enjoy the views. If there are, I’ll surely enjoy them. But time and progress march on. The Bay Cafe is almost just a memory.
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Cool San Diego Sights! 