Many beautiful works of bonsai art could be viewed today in Balboa Park.
Here are more photos that you might enjoy! I took them this afternoon at the San Diego Bonsai Club exhibition, which was held inside the Casa del Prado in Balboa Park.
The art of bonsai has always fascinated me. A tiny, carefully tended tree can speak so much about life. About time and human struggle, about balance and poise.
It’s funny how artists can create a profound feeling of untamed natural beauty using orderly, controlled methods. It is absolutely contradictory. But there is much in art–as in life–that is hard to explain.
A sign outside the Casa del Prado directs visitors to an exhibition by the San Diego Bonsai Club.Demonstrations were part of the event. These friendly people in the Casa del Prado’s inner courtyard were patiently working on their bonsai trees and explaining the process to those who were curious.The many specialized tools of a bonsai gardener.One member of the San Diego Bonsai Club created a cool display that contrasted her bonsai with photos of trees in local landscapes.Like any other good art, bonsai evokes emotion. Nature inspires the bonsai artist. Styles can include Windswept, Formal Upright, Informal Upright and Forest.This bonsai Prostrata Juniper has been trained and pruned to appear ancient–the product of wild, tempestuous nature.A tiny Japanese black pine is one object in a small room-like scene.A fine work of art created by a lover of bonsai.An ornamental porcelain berry arranged in an beautiful pot.These tiny succulents are in a tiny wheelbarrow!Visitors to the San Diego Bonsai Club exhibition in Balboa Park enjoy looking at a small, very beautiful oriental sweetgum tree.
…
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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Walking south along the Ocean Beach boardwalk near the foot of the OB Pier, toward the old Silver Spray Apartments and Plunge.
Let’s take a walk along the shore! We’re going to start at the boardwalk near the foot of the Ocean Beach Municipal Pier, pass quickly around the historic, ruin-like Plunge, then head along a rocky trail between cliffs and the crashing ocean.
We’ll see tide pools, tiny pocket beaches and amazing scenery. Many refer to this stretch as a part of San Diego’s Sunset Cliffs, even though the official Sunset Cliffs neighborhood lies farther south down the Point Loma peninsula.
Ready to go exploring? Let’s start!
People explore tide pools between the sand-filled, long-defunct Plunge and the OB Pier.The saltwater Plunge, now often called the Sandbox, was built in 1917. Famous English Channel swimmer Florence Chadwick, who grew up in San Diego, trained in this historic pool.We’ve passed the Plunge, which is officially part of the beach, and are now carefully traversing sandstone rocks along the base of cliffs. It can be very slippery.Looking back north we see the Ocean Beach Municipal Pier and beach.People enjoy looking into small tide pools in the eroded sandstone. I occasionally saw some small crabs.The easily carved sandstone is like a book containing years of names and often humorous images.OB is a place for free spirits, and the rocks along the water attract many.Looking north again. I see Pacific Beach and La Jolla in the distance.Splashing water and curious eyes.People peer down at us from the street level above.A small group walks along the crude trail.A perfect day to explore nature’s many wonders beside the ocean.Someone heads toward one of the small pocket beaches tucked between rocky outcrops.Standing on a tiny beach at the water’s edge.The sandstone cliffs are unstable and sometimes you hear of people accidentally falling and needing rescue.Here comes a guy and his dog.As we continue to walk south, we can see the coast vanishing into the distance. The actual Sunset Cliffs neighborhood is farther down the Point Loma peninsula.A white sailboat out on the wide blue Pacific Ocean.In places the rocky and slippery sand footing is a bit difficult to navigate, even on the trail. Wear good shoes!Looking north. Spectacular scenery.More natural beauty.The rough trail continues south. Fewer people seem to be in this section.Now we’re approaching an interesting part of the walk, with a short, undulating path along a sea wall.Looking back.We’ve almost reached the end of our walk. The concrete pathway ahead has either been undermined by water, or intentionally made into a ramp for thrill seekers.At the foot of old stairs that climb up to Orchard Avenue.As we head up, someone begins down.Two people begin their own adventure along the rocks.Looking back north at the short stretch we just finished.Someone gets exercise on the steps. At the top there is some fun artwork.Relaxing on a unique surfboard bench, gazing across the magical blue ocean.
…
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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Please enjoy these photos of beautiful sails out on San Diego Bay.
During my busy weekend I went on a harbor cruise aboard the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s historic Pilot boat. (Become a member of the museum and you get all sorts of complimentary tickets!)
I saw dozens of white-winged sailboats soaring across blue water.
It seemed like a dream.
…
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!
Some supporters of Balboa Park, including The Committee of One Hundred, would like to restore the Palisades area of the park to its former glory. I learned about this visionary effort on Labor Day while grabbing some napkins at the cafe inside the Casa de Balboa. A stack of postcards had been placed nearby. I picked one up. Here’s a photo:
A postcard created by The Committee of One Hundred shows Balboa Park’s Palisades area in 1935 and 2017.
As you can see, in 1935, during the California Pacific International Exposition, the Palisades contained spacious lawns, flowers and benches where today you’ll find a large ugly parking lot.
Sounds familiar? For decades the Plaza de Panama on El Prado contained a similarly ugly parking lot. But after that parking lot’s removal and replacement with tables, umbrellas, potted greenery and public art, the Plaza de Panama has become a bustling hub of activity full of people enjoying the sunny San Diego outdoors, as was originally intended.
Now back to the Palisades area. After a little more research, I’ve learned The Committee of One Hundred is already working to replace the four long-lost murals that used to be above the entrance of the 1935 California State Building, which is home to the San Diego Automotive Museum. To see more about that project, check out The Committee of One Hundred’s 2017 newsletter.
Given what I’ve read and know, I must say I’m in full agreement with the idea of restoring the Palisades. The parking lot is an absolute eyesore and many of the surrounding buildings appear bare and decayed. Most people who park here don’t linger. They immediately head in the direction of El Prado.
The Palisades parking lot seems completely unnecessary. Today, without spending a penny in construction, it appears to me there’s already plenty of parking across Park Boulevard south of the Veterans Museum–that huge lower lot is usually mostly empty. Simply add signage and one or two more stops for the parking shuttle.
When San Diego Comic-Con eventually opens their new museum in the Federal Building, I imagine many more visitors will be drawn into the Palisades area. It seems to me the energetic people at Comic-Con International and other museums who would greatly benefit from a revitalization of the Palisades–the San Diego Air and Space Museum in particular–could use their considerable combined influence to help speed a beautiful restoration.
And why must it be an exact restoration? Why not add more flowers, some new outdoor art, and even a lively, splashing fountain? Why not both restore history and make history? Balboa Park should be forward-looking, optimistic, alive! San Diego’s world-renowned gem could shine even more brightly! Just imagine!
I spied this natural wonder in Balboa Park’s Desert Garden. Why yellow?
Most of my holiday was spent in Balboa Park. Reading, jotting a few words, walking.
As I turned corners, I encountered many mysteries and wonders.
Who placed a palm frond cross and hearts on a bare tree?What on earth produced this bizarre, hollow, bulging tree trunk?What are those wonderfully odd wicker carts? I know! Those are Electriquettes, which first appeared in Balboa Park during the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.Why is this small sculpture of a child in the Japanese Friendship Garden? Nobody knows. Someone placed it here mysteriously many years ago.What mysterious turn of the wind arranged this, and why did I turn my eyes to see it?Should one exit stage left or stage right?Will seeds planted in Balboa Park by Kate Sessions outlive us all?I happened upon this rose near a closed, locked door. Why is a flower beautiful?When the Comic-Con Center for Popular Culture eventually moves into the Federal Building, will visitors wear costumes?Do puppets ever manipulate their own strings?People gaze into the green distance. What do they wonder?In the courtyard of the House of Hospitality is a Time Capsule Dedicated to the Future of Balboa Park, to be opened in 2035. What waits hidden inside?How many photographs does it take to satisfy a photographer?Who gets to open those windows, and water those flowers?Spring and summer end. What is in their future?Why does time move forward?
…
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!
Amazing works of art are being created by the world’s top sand sculptors at the 2017 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge in San Diego!
This morning I headed to the 2017 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge. Here are photographs of ten amazing pieces of art that were being worked on by some of the world’s top sand sculptors. These amazing artists have won numerous sand sculpting championships. It’s easy to see why!
The theme this year is Now and Then. The sculptures all had something to say about the passage of time. I saw youth and old age. I saw glimpses of eternity. I saw essential human beauty: profound, elegant, alive. Carved in mere sand.
If you want to be awestruck, go see these sculptures before time (and a broom) sweeps them away. They’re down on the Broadway Pier inside the Port Pavilion through Labor Day.
Susanne Ruseler, top sand artist from the Netherlands, works on a fine sculpture that juxtaposes youth and old age.Bringing a profound vision to life using compacted sand and a few simple tools.A careful touch to bring out inner feeling.Master sand sculptor Ilya Filimontsev from Moscow, Russia creates an exquisite work of art. He won the U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge in 2016.Master sand sculptor Dan Belcher from St. Louis, Missouri is creating an expressive, fantastic face.Thoughtful eyes gaze at each other.Abram Waterman is a Sand Master from Prince Edward Island, Canada. His sculpture is amazing, too.Looks like circuits in silicon that have come to life.Sue McGrew of Tacoma, Washington works on some monumental sand art that represents the continuum of time.Sue’s sketchbook provides some insight into her piece. The dividing line between past, present and future is an illusion.Numerals representing time whirl in the mind.Sand Master Thomas Koet, from Melbourne, Florida, creates amazing artwork that must be seen in person to be fully appreciated.Another fantastic work of art at the 2017 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge.Rusty Croft from Carmel, California is carving a fantastic horse’s head made of sand.The sand horse’s interior appears to be made of mechanical parts!Sand Master Fergus Mulvany from Dublin, Ireland is creating a cool sculpture that is abstract and layered.Stepping back with shovel to have a good look. Fluid links seem to represent the flowing nature of time.Morgan Rudluff from Santa Cruz, California is creating some great sand art. It shows campers gazing from a mountaintop into the far distance. Looks to me like she’s just getting started.Melineige Beauregard from Montreal, Canada demonstrates what time does to even the most mighty.The most beautiful, amazing sand art on the planet right now can be found in San Diego–through Labor Day!
…
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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
I was lucky to get some amazing photos this evening!
After work I took a walk along the Embarcadero, knowing that most of the visiting tall ships had arrived in San Diego for the 2017 Festival of Sail. What I hadn’t expected was an absolutely glorious sunset.
The following photos concentrate on a cluster of just three ships, including the museum’s Spanish galleon San Salvador, and the Exy and Irving Johnson, the twin brigantine flagships of the Los Angeles Maritime Institute. I walked back and forth along the water as the sun slowly descended into the fiery clouds.
If you’re in San Diego this weekend, make sure to check out the Festival of Sail near the Maritime Museum. You can tour lots of cool tall ships from up and down the West Coast and other historic vessels. And there will be cannon battles on the bay, special harbor tours, kids activities, tons of food and probably some roving pirates! The event runs Friday through Labor Day. As an enthusiastic member of the museum, you can bet I’ll be there!
…
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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
I took these four photographs of bougainvillea several days ago while walking near the Hazard Center trolley station in Mission Valley. The sun had broken through the morning clouds and was shining on clusters of beautiful red bracts and white flowers. Upon examining these images, I noticed I’d captured some tiny insects!
…
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!
Gazing up from Union Street at the unique new Superior Court building in downtown San Diego.
Yesterday I walked past our beautiful new downtown courthouse. The opening of the high tech half billion dollar San Diego Central Courthouse has faced several delays, but the very unique exterior has already added more character to San Diego’s gleaming skyline.
Here are some photos. The rooftop canopy is rather unusual, as you can see. The crystal-like lattice of geometric reflections and shadows that it produces delights the eye.
The new San Diego Central Courthouse is nearly completed. It stands north across the C Street trolley tracks from the Hall of Justice. A pedestrian bridge connects both buildings.Flags in a pleasant breeze. The new courthouse, most expensive in California, has faced various construction delays.This new Superior Court of California building is across Union Street from the old, less-functional courthouse, which will be torn down.Fascinating reflections and shadows on glass windows beneath a projecting rooftop canopy.
…
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! 