This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
The largest women’s surfing competition in the world is taking place this weekend by the Oceanside Pier. It’s the 2019 Supergirl Surf Pro!
Over 100 amazing athletes from around the world are vying for glory in this very cool international surfing event. The competition is among the very best female surfers on the planet. Some of the participants will compete in the next Olympic Games!
Not only does the Supergirl Surf Pro provide great entertainment in its huge, bustling Festival Village and along the beach, but the event’s positive message of female empowerment is broadcast around the globe!
I spent a couple hours today watching the incredible surfing action from the Oceanside Pier.
My modest camera managed to get a few exciting photos!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Scripps Coastal Meander Trailhead at La Jolla Shores Drive, just north of Biological Grade. A sign indicates Coastal Trail Access.
Please join me for a short but absolutely amazing walk.
We’re going to start at the Scripps Coastal Meander Trailhead on La Jolla Shores Drive and pass through part of the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography. We’ll enjoy breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and nearby coast. We’ll pause at a spot of historical importance. We’ll encounter some beautiful artwork.
Let’s go!
The Scripps Coastal Meander coincides with a short segment of the California Coastal Trail.Starting down the trail.Moving through the Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus. Someone reads a sign ahead.Starting along a raised wooden walkway with amazing views of the Pacific Ocean.Sign describes the Scripps Coastal Meander, a publicly accessible walking route through the Scripps campus. It is part of the California Coastal Trail.A map on the sign shows the California Coastal Trail in relation to the beach, the Scripps Coastal Reserve Biodiversity Trail, Scripps Pier and La Jolla Shores.Heading down the wooden walkway with amazing views of the Pacific Ocean, Scripps Pier, and La Jolla Cove in the distance.A paraglider from the Torrey Pines Gliderport floats in the sky above a campus building.Soaring high above the beautiful coast.Looking down from the trail at native flora atop the cliffs above the beach. Dike Rock can be seen jutting through the breaking surf.Walking along on a beautiful, sunny San Diego day.A bench waits ahead.Bench overlooks the wide blue ocean.Opa’s Bench is dedicated to Arnold Krause. His journey began in Germany and ended in San Diego.Two small birds on a rope.Continuing on, I passed a student who attends world renowned Scripps Institution of Oceanography.Another sign ahead.Conserving California’s Coastal Treasures. Sign describes Marine Protected Areas. Just offshore is the San Diego-Scripps Coastal SMCA.Continuing down the path, I see something interesting to the right.A marker stands at what was the oldest known archaeological site in Southern California–radiocarbon dated in 1962–occupied by the La Jollan I Indians almost 8000 years ago.Approaching a small grassy park with a sculpture.The sculpture is Spring Stirring by world famous sculptor Donal Hord, 1948, a gift of Cecil and Ida Green in 1964.Spring Stirring, by artist Donal Hord.Starting along a narrow walkway around the perimeter of the Judith and Walter Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics Munk Laboratory.Looking north up the coast toward Black’s Beach and Torrey Pines State Reserve.Looking southwest at Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier, which is used for ocean research by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.Beyond Scripps Pier and Scripps Beach is La Jolla Shores and the Village of La Jolla.
UPDATE!
I walked this way again in early 2022, and noticed an “Authorized Personnel Only” sign has appeared at the narrow walkway with the amazing view in my final few photographs. Best not to go that way anymore.
By heading back east to Biological Grade road, you can resume a walk south down the marked California Coastal Trail to the foot of Scripps Pier and beyond!
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This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Travelling by a train is like moving through a dream. The window beside your seat produces ever-changing visions. Glimpses of the world blink past, one after another. Your eyes are subject to a series of momentary impressions.
It can be hard to capture good photographs when riding the train up the coast from San Diego. You’re moving, there’s a dusty window and reflections to deal with, and of course there’s the critical matter of timing. When I snapped photos yesterday during my Coaster train ride from San Diego to Encinitas, most of the images turned out badly blurred and poorly framed.
So I decided to use the Oilify filter of GIMP’s graphics software to transform the photos of my journey into a series of dreamlike oil paintings!
All aboard! We’re about to leave downtown’s Santa Fe Depot . . .
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
I was careful to sit on the west side of the Coaster yesterday for my trip from San Diego to Encinitas. The very best views can be enjoyed from that side when riding the train through Del Mar.
I thought it would be fun to take photographs of the natural beauty. As we quickly moved through La Jolla out over Los Peñasquitos Lagoon I had my camera ready.
I snapped photographs nonstop as we flew over the marshy lagoon and past Torrey Pines State Beach, then up along the bluff’s edge toward Seagrove Park.
We were moving so fast that the nearby vegetation was a blur. But my small camera was able to capture the distant sandstone cliffs of Torrey Pines State Reserve, the broad Pacific Ocean’s beautiful white surf, people down below on the beach, and even a line of pelicans flying through the blue sky.
I altered these photos a bit, sharpening them and increasing contrast.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Debris has been washed by the ocean under the Los Peñasquitos Lagoon bridge at Torrey Pines State Beach.
This morning, the day after a severe winter storm, I visited Torrey Pines State Beach and the ocean inlet to Los Peñasquitos Lagoon. Arriving at high tide, I found myself astonished by the incredible power of nature. Turbulent waves were crashing onto the pedestrian walkway under the North Torrey Pines Road bridge.
I spent some time exploring near the state park’s North Parking Lot and its entrance. I then headed north along a path at the edge of sandstone cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I took many photographs, striving to capture nature’s awesome power and beauty.
And more winter storms are on the way!
Please read the photo captions to learn a bit more about this special place.
A lifeguard keeps an eye on wild surf at Torrey Pines State Beach.The friendly lifeguard said that waves can wash over the walkway during high tide at this time of the year.The bridge over the lagoon inlet during a very high tide. The storm-disturbed water appeared very muddy.An information sign was pushed over by high winds from yesterday’s storm. The power of nature is displayed.Open to the Ocean. Over time, the lagoon mouth has filled in and reopened, changed shape and relocated many times.Across the lagoon to the south rises beautiful Torrey Pines State Reserve, home of the endangered Torrey pine, rarest pine tree in North America.Looking west along Los Peñasquitos Lagoon. Light shines on a sheet of water swollen by high tide.This coastal marsh in San Diego’s North County is a special place where wildlife is abundant.The sandy beaches, sand dunes, sandstone cliffs and bluffs, provides the habitat for the Coastal Strand plant community.A cheerful yellow bush sunflower.Looking across the wetland toward the train bridge near the beach.Life in the Lagoon. Birds are the most commonly seen animals in the lagoon. Ample food and nesting materials allow many to live here year-round.A great egret stands in Los Peñasquitos Lagoon, patiently watching for fish in the water.People walk west from Carmel Valley Road into the North Beach Lot of Torrey Pines State Beach.Sign includes map of the San Diego Trans County Trail, which runs east from the ocean along Peñasquitos Creek, through Los Peñasquitos Canyon.Closed lifeguard Tower 5 at Torrey Pines State Beach is splashed by wild winter waves during high tide.Gazing down at incoming Pacific Ocean surf on a winter day between storms.Coaster train moves along tracks north of Torrey Pines State Beach, heading atop scenic sandstone cliffs into Del Mar.A line of bicyclists head down Pacific Coast Highway from Del Mar toward Torrey Pines State Beach.Ocean waves crash toward the North Torrey Pines Road bridge over the entrance to Los Peñasquitos Lagoon.Mud and debris under the bridge. The result of a strong winter storm and the mighty ocean.
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This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Taking the ferry from downtown San Diego to Coronado is like crossing into a dream. It’s a journey to a magical place. The island is like a small, carefree paradise.
I had a variety of photos from my ferry ride and walk yesterday, so I thought I’d try converting a few into oil paintings! I cropped selected images then used the Oilify artistic filter that comes with the GIMP graphics editor.
It was a beautiful misty winter day.
Those are sea lions lying on a buoy in the bay!
The words etched in the sand near the Coronado Ferry Landing? I’ll let you decide.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Harbor seals lie in the sun on Children’s Pool Beach. The Children’s Pool is closed to the public during pupping season.
Every so often I have to walk by the water in La Jolla. It’s one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Today I headed to The Children’s Pool to enjoy harbor seals, pelicans in flight, the mighty ocean, the rocky shoreline and blue sky. Pupping season has just begun (December 15 through May 15) and so Children’s Pool Beach is closed to the public.
The Children’s Pool was the gift of local philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps in 1931. A concrete seawall was built to make the beach safe for public swimming.
Harbor seals began to use the beach in the 1990’s and over time sand has filled the swimming area. There has been a long running legal battle over the use of the beach.
The Children’s Pool also happens to be a popular destination of scuba divers because of nearby reefs.
Today people flock from far and wide to watch the seals from a safe distance.
Sitting on a bench overlooking The Children’s Pool, observing the resident colony of harbor seals.People look toward Children’s Pool from the shady green gazebo.People along the wall near the lifeguard station. Many tourists now travel to La Jolla just to see the local colony of harbor seals.The Children’s Pool breakwater was built in 1931. It was a gift to La Jolla by journalist and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps.A colony of harbor seals suns on the sand near the seawall, which like the beach is off limits during pupping season.The seals move about from time to time. They turn on their sides, raise their heads and hind flippers, and inch forward on their stomachs.A lone harbor seal heads across the sand to the water’s edge by wriggling awkwardly on its belly.It swims out toward a nearby rock.With difficulty, a harbor seal inches up onto the large rock that lies just off the beach. (Sea lions, which sometimes share the beach, are much better climbers.)The perfect place for a peaceful nap!Looking west from the closed Children’s Pool toward the broad Pacific Ocean and gently breaking waves.Pelicans fly north. Scripps Pier and the scenic cliffs just south of Torrey Pines lie in the distance.The pelicans fly toward Seal Rock and Shell Beach, and distant jutting rocks west of La Jolla Cove.Looking west. Perhaps you can see why I love this place.Looking south toward Wipeout Beach.Another photo of the colony of harbor seals at The Children’s Pool in La Jolla.A young harbor seal enjoys a fine day on the beach.
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This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of fun stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Visitors to Cabrillo National Monument investigate the tidepools.
Cabrillo National Monument at the end of San Diego’s Point Loma peninsula is a place of many wonders.
Visitors can enjoy breathtaking views of San Diego, its big, beautiful bay, Coronado’s North Island and the Pacific Ocean. They can enter the Old Point Loma Lighthouse which was built in 1855 to guide ships into San Diego’s harbor. They can see the iconic statue dedicated to Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, the explorer who discovered San Diego Bay in 1542 on behalf of Spain. They can watch the migration of gray whales, move through native flora on the Bayside Trail, and check out bunkers that were erected as a coastal defense during World War II.
And by heading a little off the beaten track, visitors can also explore amazing tidepools!
Where are they?
Shortly after passing the park’s Entrance Station, turn right on Cabrillo Road and drive down the hill to the Point Loma Tide Pools.
Make sure to arrive around the time of low tide. Wear sturdy shoes with good traction. Then carefully walk from the parking lot down a short path to the sandstone cliffs and slippery intertidal zone rocks. That’s where you’ll find abundant sea life.
It’s easy to spot all sorts of diverse marine animals, invertebrates and plants at the ocean’s edge. One can find surf grass, sea lettuce, dead man’s fingers, sea hares, lined shore crabs, bat stars, aggregating anemones, sea urchins, limpets, chitons, periwinkle snails, California mussels, lobsters and even small octopuses!
I took some photographs about two hours before low tide!
As low tide nears, people look about the rocks and shallow water for signs of sea life.Amazing beauty awaits curious eyes.Starting down the path from a parking lot to the Point Loma Tide Pools at Cabrillo National Monument.A sign by the path. Exploring the rocky intertidal zones is like peering through a window into the ocean’s ecosystem. During low tide, marine animals in shallow pools can be closely observed.The closer you look, the more you see. Park rangers periodically identify and count the organisms to monitor the health of each species.As we head down the dirt path, the tide pool overlook comes into view.The tide pool area is active with curious visitors. Only two hours until low tide this afternoon.A funny crab asks visitors to please leave all shells in the tidepools.Approaching a pair of information signs atop the overlook. Pacific Ocean waves curl smoothly below.These old signs are very faded, but let’s take a look anyway.You are now standing in the upper limits of the splash zone. The waterline does not come this high, but splash and spray sometimes do. Just below is the high-tide zone.Some organisms pictured are limpets, chitons, sand castle worms, goose-necked barnacles and abalone.Plant life includes giant kelp, surf grass, coraline algae, rock weed, feather boa kelp and dead man’s finger.Families enjoy the warm sunshine and smell of the ocean. This photo looks north along the sandstone cliffs of Point Loma.A few rocks stick out of the surf. Fishing boats lie in the water beyond.A gull stands upon one of the larger rocks.A lone surfer has caught a good wave!As we head down a short dirt path from the overlook to the tidepool area, we take a closer look at the eroded sandstone cliffs and water-smoothed stones on the narrow beach below.
A wide flat rock dips dips toward the ocean at one end of the tidepools, making a perfect platform for exploration when the tide goes out.In a couple hours even more tidepools will appear. Low tide is the best time to explore the rocky pools of captured water.Someone peers down into the shallow water, perhaps looking for an octopus or fish.Someone–a young person most likely–searched for heart-shaped stones on the rocky beach and lined them up for all to see.People explore a smooth bowl-like pit in the eroded, layered, tilted sandstone.So much wild natural beauty. So much to contemplate.The rock shelf contains parallel fissures and oddly eroded patterns. Over many years the rock is weathered, strangely changes.I see some of those whitish goose-necked barnacles. Many of the tiny pits are home to troglodyte chitons.I found some limpets clinging to the wet rock.Bright green algae grows on the exposed intertidal rock’s surface.Beauty that defies adequate description.The patient sea washes against these rocks, doing its slow work over the course of countless lifetimes.Looking south at light on the water and dark, broken rocks.The uplifted then eroded sandstone cliffs tell a story in their book-page-layers about the passage of time.Little piles of sand and stone collect where the cliffs crumble.High above, atop Point Loma, I see the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, now a part of human history.Gazing at the sublime work of nature.
No human artist could possibly paint this.
I see a small leaf of sea lettuce!An aggregating anemone has collected fragments of shell and grains of sand.A young boy walked up to me as I photographed this small scene and said that it looks like a volcano. On the surface of Mars, I thought to myself.Like a glittering hidden treasure.A chiton between an anemone and a limpet. Another close look at nature’s awesome and infinite beauty.
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This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Yesterday I walked to the end of Oceanside Pier. It’s another one of my favorite places.
I experienced sunshine, the sparkle of the Pacific Ocean, a fresh sea breeze, the smell of wood, the cry of seagulls . . . and happy people all around: strolling, fishing, listening to music, talking, eating ice cream, leaning over the rail gazing down at the colorful beach and surfers in the blue water awaiting the perfect wave…
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 