Amazing artist at 2015 Festa in San Diego’s Little Italy. Smiling, she shows me the source material for her Balboa Park themed chalk art!
Brace yourself! Here come dozens of super cool photos! Check out the amazing chalk art created today for 2015 Festa in San Diego’s Little Italy! The special theme this year is the centennial of Balboa Park!
Gesso Italiano chalk art is a tradition at Little Italy’s Festa, and every year I’m blown away by all the colorful creations. Most of the images this year are inspired by beautiful Balboa Park, or paintings or artifacts contained in its museums. I arrived to take photos about an hour before the event opened, and many artists were still hard at work. I spoke to one who said their masterpiece took about seven hours to complete. Now that’s dedication to art!
I’ve inserted the team name at the beginning of each caption. Enjoy!
Cecelia Ramos Linayao. Face of child riding Balboa Park’s hundred-year-old carousel, which debuted in 1915 for the Panama California Exposition.Lesley Perdomo. Madonna and child, a popular theme of Gesso Italiano artwork.Robert Guzman. I believe this might be a hippo at the world famous San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park!Tonie Garza. The iconic El Cid Campeador statue in the Plaza de Panama. Chalk art celebrating Balboa Park’s centennial in 2015.Team Parada. A beautiful face with elaborately styled hair.I didn’t get the team name, but this exquisite white chalk portrait was one of my favorite pieces at this year’s Festa in Little Italy!Before the Festa event opens, chalk artists work to finish their creations. The art covers two blocks of Beech Street in downtown San Diego.Squadra Terun. A vividly colorful flower. Perhaps this depicts a scene from Balboa Park’s reflecting pool.A bit of random chalk art on the street. I spotted this near the official Festa competition entries.Ciao! A chalk image of lilies and koi in the reflecting pool, and the Botanical Building in Balboa Park.I didn’t get the team name. The artist was working from what appeared to be a poster or advertisement with the word Ventimiglia, which is a city in Northern Italy.Lisa Bernal Brethour. Delicate white blooms formed of chalk.Brianna Cunha. This stylish Gesso Italiano art appears to possibly show bubbles, a glass of beer and wheat.Bijan Masoumpanah. This chalk art seems to depict a classic sculpture of a bearded head.Valerie Michelle. A super colorful parrot and tropical fish!Weenie Kingdom. One of the carved wooden horses from the historic Balboa Park Carousel.Salgado. Perhaps one can see this big cat at the San Diego Zoo!Killer Queens. Dinosaur skull represents what one is likely to see at the Natural History Museum in Balboa Park.Cobian. Figure in flowing red dress reclining on a couch.Team Arcala. Chalk interpretation of the historic Cabrillo Bridge and California Building. The artist had looked for hundred-year-old photos of the bridge under construction, but without success.Meg. A big smile and a boldly colored work of chalk art taking form on a San Diego street during 2015 Festa!Team Pinoy. California Tower and the words Balboa Park Centennial Celebration 2015.Team Chalkolate. Another chalk representation of the famous El Cid equestrian sculpture near the center of Balboa Park.Campo Elementary. These gifted students won first place last year! What will this chalk creation be?John Vaughn. Chalk version of ornate plaster designs above the west arched entrance to Balboa Park.Two blocks in Little Italy were full of rampant creativity this morning.Michael Zamora. Fantastic chalk face based on an Italian painting in the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park.Art Within Reach. I thought at first this might be a dog in the lily pond. Then I thought it might be Moby Dick. It’s actually a polar bear at the zoo! No ears yet!Team Pierre. Vintage images take form as a skilled Gesso Italiano artist takes on the cool theme of Balboa Park’s centennial.Kira Lewis-Martinez. More cool chalk art with a nostalgic feel. The Panama California Exposition marked Balboa Park’s debut in 1915.Lydia Puentes Phillips. Very color koi swimming in the Balboa Park reflecting pool. Great chalk art that captures one of my favorite places!Raney and Talbott. These artists are basing their image on one of the elegant passageways along El Prado–specifically the one next to the Timken Museum.Coronado High School. A completed portion of what should eventually be a stunning work of art.Liberty Charter High School. A fun chalk art giraffe and zebra!Canyon Crest Academy. By far the most popular inspiration for this year’s Balboa Park centennial theme is the reflecting pool with its color-splashed koi and lilies.Lidia F. Vasquez. Wow! This elaborate mask is super inventive! It’s formed out of elements from Balboa Park’s unique architecture!Torrey Hills Elementary School. Gesso Italiano artwork is a tradition at the Festa celebration in Little Italy. I look forward to it every year!San Diego High School. A girl with a camera in the Botanical Building! I love it!Faithful Ambassadors Bible Baptist Academy. Cherry blossoms courtesy of the Japanese Friendship Garden! Is this awesome, or what?Washington Elementary STEAM Magnet, based right here in Little Italy! Lots of little colorful scenes along the border.Team Noni. A very colorful tiger comes alive on the street! More amazing zoo animal art!Julyen Ecoffey. Mother and child spending a sunlit day in San Diego’s wonderful Balboa Park.Cathedral Catholic High School. Lady with umbrella faces the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. Another great image.Sycamore Ridge Elementary. Not only are there lily pads and flowers in the reflecting pool, but there’s a Venetian gondola! And an Italian flag over the Botanical Building!Dos Mustachios. One of the two fountains near either end of the Botanical Building. The actual fountains were recently restored by the Friends of Balboa Park.Torrey Pines High School, National Art Honor Society. I could feast my eyes on this glowing chalk artwork all day long!Elisabeth Eckert. Abstract image of Moreton Bay fig tree roots, probably either near the Palm Canyon stairs or Natural History Museum.Mel Clarkston Art. It’s a green people mover! I see colored tiles from Spanish Village, flags from the International Cottages, and a butterfly from the Zoro Garden!Mount Miguel High School. Everyone loves the reflecting pool. The calm natural beauty is inspiring.San Pasqual High School. Classic images from Balboa Park rendered using simple, colored chalk. Fantastic!The creativity couldn’t be contained! It flowed right out of the specified boundary and onto the nearby asphalt!Steve Alan and Friends. Simple but captivating.Aaron Hernandez. This is crazy! Looks like Planet of the Apes! I’m guessing these are hip simians who hang out at the San Diego Zoo…Team Arancio. A portion of this chalk art resembles that cool mural painted earlier this year in Spanish Village for the Balboa Park centennial.Chalk Riot. Wow! I love this! The nice artist said she incorporated elements from throughout Balboa Park, including the facade of the Museum of Man.Godfrey’s. And finally a stooping giraffe. The San Diego Zoo is a favorite place in amazing Balboa Park.Soon thousands will crowd the street to enjoy this great chalk art. I swung by early and got photos of works in progress!
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Amazing 28 foot tall Robot Resurrection stands in Balboa Park’s Plaza de Panama during 2015 Maker Faire San Diego!
Get ready to see some super cool stuff! Here are a bunch of photos I took at Maker Faire San Diego this morning. The festival, which celebrates human creativity, with an emphasis on engineering and technology, is being held in Balboa Park all weekend long!
2015 Maker Faire in San Diego offers young and old a glimpse of what creators, dreamers and inventors are up to. Here we see some projects of San Diego City Robotics.Checking out a 3D printer at the San Diego Public Library table at Maker Faire. The downtown library is about to expand their Innovation Lab and will have nine 3D printers!Four of these funny cupcakes cars were cruising around Plaza de Panama and up and down El Prado.This guy was showing how he employs magnets in very unique bicycle wheel hubs that he produces.Photo display shows how guitar building–including cutting, drilling, shaping, sanding and dipping–inspires STEM learning.Wow! Maker Faire is about to officially open and Robot Resurrection has begun to shoot flames from its fingers! Let’s check it out!According to Shane Evans, maker of the giant robot, we humans have all become automatons in a highly controlled world.Robot Resurrection has been joined by the famous 17 foot tall mechanical walking Electric Giraffe!Local company Qualcomm had a large exhibit showcasing their electronic chips, some drones, and this little remote control race course which utilizes smart phones.Another fun part of the Qualcomm exhibit at Maker Faire. Robots stack blocks, then cross a finish line.Down by the Balboa Park reflecting pool I discovered something really awesome. It’s a Victorian-era whimsical flying machine!This fantastic, imaginative creation is called the Strato Sculpin. It’s a project of the Starburner Galactic Courier Service, a local steampunk group!Here are some members of the cool group engaged in steampunk cosplay!Smiling members of the Starburner Galactic Courier Service. They are the galaxy’s only bonded courier service operating throughout time and space!This cool guy with the big wheeled penny-farthing bicycle is often seen around Balboa Park. He has appeared in other blog posts. I spoke briefly with him and he’s really nice!But his big wheel can’t compare to this! Coming down El Prado, this awesome personal transportation doohickey looks like it arrived from another world!And here comes another cool rolling steampunkish robot thingamajig. How cool is this? Human imagination on display at Maker Faire!Shortly after 10:30, San Diego Mayor Faulconer welcomed the attendees to the first annual Maker Faire.I couldn’t believe how much press was gathered for the event. If you live in San Diego, I’m sure you’ll see it on the television news!Jorge Astiazaran, the Mayor of Tijuana, Mexico speaks about our two cities collaborating in various areas, including technology.After the brief ceremony and speeches, I headed to the fountain by the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. Lots more cool stuff was attracting a crowd.Back down El Prado, and now the Electric Giraffe is on the move! This creation has been featured on national media, and even was tickled by President Obama.Not only do the neck and head move, but it talks! The head is equipped with webcam eyes and special touch-sensitive sensors.Russell the Electric Giraffe, also named Rave Raff, heads down El Prado in the heart of Balboa Park!A costume zone near the Japanese Friendship Garden had stuff that looked like a combination of Star Wars and steampunk! Chewbacca is wearing some goggles!The huge Battlepond near the San Diego Air and Space Museum had sea battles taking place! The Western Warship Combat Club makes radio-controlled model ships which engage in real combat!National University’s School of Engineering and Computing had a futuristic vehicle on display.Some artists by the San Diego Automotive Museum were painting a nearby Prius!Compressed air launched rockets high into the sky, to the delight of kids!Holy mackerel! Look at this thing! It’s a gigantic robot spider, or something! Wow!I didn’t get the name of this amazing, jaw-dropping contraption, but a close examination shows that it actually walks on those spider-like legs!Leonardo Da Vinci was the ultimate innovator. The world famous San Diego Air and Space Museum has a special exhibition about the legendary Renaissance inventor.These kids are playing human foosball by the Hall of Champions!The Drones and Outdoor Play zone had lots of material for young, imaginative creators to assemble.A free spirit parked their car nearby. You are more than any mind can or could understand.A delightfully painted car topped with flower pots!San Diego’s first ever Maker Faire is a huge success. There are so many cool things to see, your eyes will pop clean out of your head!
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This astonishing ceiling impressed San Diego Trust and Savings Bank customers back in 1928, when it originally debuted.
There are many amazing hotels around San Diego, especially downtown. Several of the hotels are located in historic old buildings. For several months, the San Diego Trust and Savings Bank Building (1928), now occupied by Courtyard by Marriott, has been undergoing outside restoration. A few days ago I noticed that much of the work has been completed, so I decided to go inside the lobby to ask a question or two. And wow!
This was my first time inside the truly eye-popping lobby. Look at the ceiling! The old bank hall, which now welcomes hotel guests, appears almost like the interior of some medieval church, with its arches, vaulted doors, medallions, bronze window grilles and a 32-foot high colorfully painted coffered ceiling. Also reflecting the building’s Italian Romanesque Revival architectural style, the grand interior contains 35 decorative columns with Corinthian capitals, chiseled from 19 different types of marble from around the world. Additionally, the walls, counters, pilasters and floor all feature rich imported marble.
The elegant building, which was constructed with the finest materials available at the time, was designed by notable architect William Templeton Johnson, who is also credited for the San Diego Museum of Art and Natural History Museum buildings in Balboa Park, the Serra Museum in Presidio Park, and the La Jolla Athenaeum. He is also one of the architects responsible for the San Diego County Administration Center.
I was told by a friendly front desk clerk that the restoration involved patching cracks in the building’s exterior. Looks to me like somebody did a good job!
Photo of the San Diego Trust and Savings Bank Building taken from one block east on Broadway. The 14-story structure is topped with a two-story penthouse and cupola.Flag on stately exterior of Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Downtown.Plaque at 530 Broadway. This property has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior.Elegant bronze and glass entrance to the eye-popping lobby of the Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Downtown.Stand inside the old bank hall and gaze upward. You’ll think your visiting a fantastic cathedral or medieval building in Europe.The welcoming interior of a modern hotel. An historical building smartly preserved and repurposed.I like this cheerful painting of a girl lying on a turtle behind the hotel’s front counter!Yet another cool sight in my amazing neighborhood: downtown San Diego!
UPDATE!
When I stepped into the hotel during the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s OPEN HOUSE 2017, I learned from a friendly event volunteer that I could head down to see the old bank’s vaults, which are now meeting rooms! Here are some photos!
Map near the ceiling where steps descend from the lobby to elevators.The beautiful arched ceiling near the hotel’s bank of elevators.Elegant area near the entrance to The Safe Deposit Room.Formidable steel doors in a lower level hallway, leading to The Vault, a very unique meeting room. The San Diego Trust and Savings Bank Building has unusual historic features that hotel guests can enjoy.The Safe Deposit Room in the Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Downtown has a rather unusual entrance! The 1928 Mosler safe door weighs 47,000 pounds! Meetings can be held inside.
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A human connected to technology in this new public art mural. Park it, charge it! The seven-story parking garage is located at 707 Broadway. This photo was taken from 7th Avenue.
During a walk several days ago my eyes lifted with surprise at a very cool new sight. An absolutely gigantic mural has appeared downtown, on the seven-story parking garage located at 707 Broadway!
A quick internet search revealed the identity of the creative person behind this public artwork. Christopher Konecki of Cohort Collective is a self-taught spray paint artist whose work can be seen elsewhere in San Diego, including nearby at SILO in Maker’s Quarter. This particular piece, which was finished a couple weeks ago, is said to be the largest mural in San Diego. The wildly imaginative, cartoon-like design is meant to convey the intersection of evolving communication technology with art and personal human experience.
These photos proceed from the west side of the parking garage, to the north, and finally to the east. You can see just how colorful and amazing this art is!
The huge cool mural wraps around the parking garage. I see a hot air balloon, phonograph, radio tower, satellite and various buildings, all interconnected like a circuit.The artwork engages the eyes and mind with its detailed composition. Two clusters in the image are connected by the Coronado Bay Bridge.Moving around toward the brightly sunlit east side and 8th Avenue. The high mural is viewed beyond some trees.The parking garage adds its color to the adjacent building’s futuristic graphic, at 707 Broadway in downtown San Diego.And finally we are on the east side of the parking garage. Very cool!
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I believe all these beautiful images are of orchids! I apologize if I’m mistaken. Most photos were taken just inside the left door to the Botanical Building in Balboa Park.
I believe all these photos are of orchids. Unfortunately, I’m not an expert when it comes to plants or flowers. Heck, I hardly even rank as an amateur. But I do recognize exquisite beauty. And you’ll find it just inside the left door of Balboa Park’s amazing Botanical Building!
I don’t know the types or names of these orchids. I looked for signs, but saw none. If you recognize anything, leave a comment!
Velvet beauty for everyone to enjoy.So much to absorb in the amazing Botanical Building–one’s eyes leap from bloom to bloom.Nature’s masterpieces are often small and fragile.Should you ever visit Balboa Park in San Diego, don’t miss the Botanical Building. The enormous lath building stands behind the reflecting pool near El Prado.White angel-like flower seems to signal that the world is just fine.Many orchids in clay pots hanging from a wall trellis.A long strand of gems.Everywhere you turn in the Botanical Building you’ll discover lush plants and natural wonders.A lady glides into heaven on Earth.
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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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Dan Belcher from St. Louis, Missouri and Ilya Filimontsev from Moscow, Russia, work together on the big event’s welcoming “Team USA” sand sculpture.
The 2015 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge and Dimensional Art Exposition is coming next weekend! Between this very special annual event, and the equally amazing Festival of Sail which will be held a short distance up the Embarcadero, the long Labor Day weekend is going to be awesome!
Today I walked along the waterfront in the warm sunshine to see if anything interesting was going on.
Not only has quarry sand been dumped in large piles along the B Street Pier, right next to the Cruise Ship Terminal, but sand sculptures which welcome visitors to the event were being readied by a few of the world’s top sand masters! I briefly met Dan Belcher, Ilya Filimontsev and Susanne Ruseler, three of the best, most talented sand sculptors on the planet! And all were really nice people! They and the other world-class sand artists who will compete at the event have won many top awards. Dan, alone, has won 14 world championships!
Ilya is new to the San Diego competition this year, and so is Susanne. When I spoke to Susanne, I remembered how Chris Guinto, several days before last year’s competition, told me his still unformed creation was secret. Susanne remarked that plans aren’t so much a secret–it’s that they’re only partially formed when the work begins. The act of sand sculpting is dynamic, and sometimes changes have to be made mid-creation for either artistic or structural reasons. I asked if she ever accidentally knocked down portions of a sand sculpture and she replied: “Yes!” But it’s something you get used to and work around. It’s just something one can expect when working with sand.
Funny. According to a notification I received from WordPress, today is the two year anniversary of Cool San Diego Sights. And during those two years, the most “liked” blog post is from last year’s U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge! You might enjoy seeing last year’s jaw-dropping entries!
The 2015 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge is coming to San Diego’s B Street Pier, next to the Cruise Ship Terminal, this Labor Day weekend!Dan is helping to prepare this sculpture near the entrance to the 2015 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge at Harbor Drive.These mounds of quarry sand from East County were dumped on the B Street Pier several days ago. They’ll be used by the competing sand masters later this week.Susanne Ruseler, from the Netherlands, is another new competitor this year. She was super nice and talked for a bit.Susanne is carefully working on another cool sand sculpture for event visitors. I can’t wait to see what she produces during the competition!
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Visitors stroll through endless natural beauty at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park.
Please enjoy the following photographs. They were taken today at the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Diego’s wonderful Balboa Park. As you can plainly see, natural beauty is abundant in this amazing garden. I hope you have a chance to visit.
Gleaming droplets of water descend from a hollow bamboo kakei into the tranquil, cleansing tsukubai basin.Even age and imperfections in this fallen leaf are beautiful beyond description.A rocky island, seemingly, in the Karesansui Dry Stone Garden, with carefully raked gravel inviting meditation.Looking upward into the sunlit leafy canopy near the koi pond.The day’s light makes striking patterns of living green.Bright red bougainvillea bracts catch the eye of a young person walking through the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Diego.Bougainvillea red is an especially beautiful sight in the bonsai garden.A yellow day-lily which is growing near the Charles C. Dail Memorial Gate.Bamboo leaves flutter in the gentle San Diego breeze.This small sculpture is a mystery according to one of the groundskeepers. It was placed in the garden by someone unseen. The sculpture might be a young Buddha. It might have been placed here by someone who lost a child. No one seems to know its history.Bright green palm fronds produce instant human delight.Close-up photograph of the amazing, strange seed pod of a sago palm.Delicate white flowers of the star jasmine seem to have descended into this world from a heavenly place.Close-up photo of torn wood fibers where a dead tree limb finally separated from the trunk.Water cascading over stone shines in the sunlight. A small gentle river flows through the bottom of the spacious garden canyon.Looking down through magical, jewel-like water.Jumbled leaves have turned many colors.Nature’s fantastic patterns are evident everywhere you turn in the amazing Japanese Friendship Garden.After being corrected by a great reader, this appears to be a gardenia. I first thought it might be a white azalea! That shows you how much I know!Visitors at the Japanese Friendship Garden stand in the shade of the Inamori Pavilion looking down at a pleasant waterfall.A pink saucer magnolia bloom and buds. In the background you can see the new Inamori Pavilion, which opened this year.Another photographer was recording the carefully arranged natural beauty at the Japanese Friendship Garden.Even dry brown curled leaves can take one’s breath away.Leaves and shadows of leaves.If one small place can contain such abundant wonder, imagine what the vast universe holds.Natural beauty at the amazing Japanese Friendship Garden
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Professional World Surf League (WSL) Supergirl Pro Women’s Qualifying Series surfer rides the foam in Oceanside, California.
Today I headed up the coast from San Diego to watch the 2015 Supergirl Pro surfing competition, which is held every year just south of the pier in Oceanside, California. Wow! The event is bigger than ever and simply incredible!
Supergirl Pro is the only World Surf League 6-Star Female Surfing Competition in the United States. It’s the largest women’s surfing event of its kind in the entire world. And this year there were a record 108 contestants! The ones I saw today, during the Quarterfinals, were almost superhuman. Surfing must be their superpower!
I got so many photos, I’ll break things up into two blog posts. This first post is my modest camera’s photos of the cool surfing action. I had to sharpen and alter the contrast on most images, but I’m surprised how decently many came out. I kept notes on the names of the surfers competing in each heat, but once I looked at my photos I wasn’t too sure who was who. So please excuse the fact that I don’t include the names of contestants in most captions.
Each pairing of surfers is given 25 minutes. Whoever achieves the highest score moves on in the competition, avoiding elimination.Amazing athlete in Sunday’s competition at the 2015 Supergirl Pro, the largest female surfing event of its kind in the world.Cool photo of superhuman surfing action at 2015 Supergirl Pro. This year a record 108 contestants entered the huge three day competitive event.Riding a wave, hoping for glory. Supergirl Pro is the only WSL 6-Star Female Surfing Competition in the U.S.Tatiana Weston-Webb, professional WSL surfer from the island of Kaua’i, competes at 2015 Supergirl Pro event in Oceanside, California. She eventually went on to win the final!Tatiana plunges down the face of a Pacific Ocean breaker like Supergirl!Cool photo of today’s surfing champion shredding the crest of a wave.Tatiana has classic form on a relatively smooth curler in choppy conditions.Two competitors duel, trying their best to advance in the 2015 Supergirl Pro in the surfing-friendly Southern California city of Oceanside.Supergirl is flying on a surfboard! (The Silver Surfer doesn’t get to have all the fun!)2015 Supergirl Pro is a super cool event where every competitor is an absolutely amazing world-class athlete.
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Cool San Diego Sights! 