Another perfect sunny day in Encinitas. The beautiful views from Swami’s Park overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Swami’s Surf Beach brought out my camera.
It was the middle of the day mid-week in late summer. I didn’t see too many surfers out at the world-famous point break.
Look at the gorgeous blue and green colors of the water!
No, I didn’t walk down to the beach this time.
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Paul Strahm, accomplished local plein air painter, was doing his thing in Pacific Beach today. I ran into him by the boardwalk south of Crystal Pier. He was smiling as usual.
I learned that one of his beach paintings is now on display at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park–part of their Changing Terrain exhibition. He has another piece, too, now on display at the Oceanside Museum of Art.
On my way home I swung by the San Diego History Center to check out his painting exhibited there. Here it is…
Mission Beach, 2024, Paul Strahm. Oil on canvas.
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Yes, there’s the beach and surf culture one can find in Southern California. But there’s also a distinctive counter-culture vibe.
Imagine taking a time machine back into the groovy 60s. Hippies. A feel-good, carefree, uninhibited attitude and lifestyle. And all that goes with that.
Whenever I walk down Newport Avenue or along the beach, there’s plenty of interesting sights for my camera.
These are from today–a sunny late summer’s day…
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Changing Terrain: Regional Artists Interpret Our Landscape opened a week ago at the San Diego History Center. The diverse works of art on display are one half of a larger regional group exhibition. The Oceanside Museum of Art is hosting the other half.
Landscapes shown to be undergoing change range from urban to rural. The artists render vastly different landscapes: from the coast to the foothills to the mountains to the desert. Some of the pieces reflect transformations made by human activity, others effected by nature. They provoke deeper thought about our environment. They can inspire a whole range of feelings.
The varied landscapes include everything from a beach boardwalk, to a 150-year old Live Oak at the Marston House, to a streetscape in Logan Heights, to a modern cell tower with ravens and crows, to a merging of ancient rock art with an abstracted landscape, to views of Anza-Borrego from a car’s mirror…
I recognized many of the local artist names–all of them distinguished. They have successfully captured the beauty, complexity, and resilience of a border region where natural and human histories continually intersect.
My photos show the extent of the exhibition. Pay a visit to the free San Diego History Center in beautiful Balboa Park and see this great art with your own eyes!
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Perhaps you’ve seen this bench on the Oceanside Pier and wondered, like me, who Jerry Stapp is.
A beautiful bronze plaque with an image of Stapp’s face adorns the bench. On the bench are inscribed the words: IT’S A WONDERFUL WORLD. RELAX AND ENJOY.
I found this article about the life of Jerry Stapp. For many years he was a community champion. Among other endeavors, he was a big supporter of the Oceanside Boys and Girls Club.
What a beautiful place on the Oceanside Pier, overlooking the beach and the wide, blue Pacific Ocean. What a fine tribute to somebody who made a positive difference in people’s lives.
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This Saturday, June 20, 2026, you have the opportunity to learn about beach safety in Encinitas…and win a cool prize, too!
Come down to Moonlight Beach in Encinitas and visit the Ocean Safety Awareness Booth out on the sand between 11 am and 2 pm. The booth is hosted by the Encinitas Youth Commission, Encinitas Marine Safety Division and AMR.
In addition to learning CPR and ocean safety facts, you can win fun prizes and enter a drawing for a FREE pair of AirPods!
While you’re there, why not spend an awesome day at one of San Diego North County’s great beaches!
Some photos from past years…
Photo courtesy Chet Kinzelberg.Photo courtesy Chet Kinzelberg.
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A sign posted inside the playground at Solana Beach’s Fletcher Cove provides some history of the place. I discovered the sign this morning and thought you might enjoy a look.
An old aerial photograph allows the viewer to see how Fletcher Cove had changed between 1923 and 2023.
In 1923, Colonel Ed Fletcher began a project that would provide easy public access to the beach. High pressure water sprayed with a fire hose would carve a path down to the beach through the sandstone bluffs.
On July 4, 1924, Fletcher Cove opened with great fanfare!
Expansive views of the Tijuana River Estuary await those who venture to the south end of Seacoast Drive in Imperial Beach.
The North Beach Trail begins here on a wooden walkway that leads to a scenic view spot at the edge of the green marsh. Gazing to the south, one can see buildings in Tijuana, Mexico.
Crossing west past a high sandy berm to the beach, views open to the blue Pacific Ocean and the distant Coronado Islands which lie off Tijuana. A sign in one cluster of boulders warns of rattlesnakes.
I walked around here with my camera recently, in the sunshine and pleasant sea breeze, gazing out at the wide world. No, I didn’t see any snakes.
It was a beautiful day.
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A big thank you to the several dozen volunteers representing the San Diego Association for Male Nurses! They picked up litter at Ski Beach in Mission Bay today!
I learned that the cleanup is one of many ways the organization improves our city and the people it touches!
The San Diego Association for Male Nurses invites old and new members (and any volunteers) to help with their many efforts, whether it’s coastal cleanups, providing blood pressure awareness to local communities, medically helping children in Mexico, demonstrating CPR in high schools, or handing out Narcan at Chicano Park Day this coming April 25!
Wow, these people are amazing! Super nice too!
According to their website: Our mission is to champion an inclusive professional nursing environment, provide support for current and future male nurses, and advocate to bring awareness to men’s mental and physical health issues.
Awesome! Why not join them?
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