Tag: beer

Oktoberfest dog races, food and fun in La Mesa!

Oktoberfest has returned this weekend to downtown La Mesa. The enormously popular event is attracting a crowd of thousands today, and these colorful photographs document some of the fun!

Where else can you watch crazy Weiner dog races while wearing lederhosen and feasting on tasty bratwurst?

Visitors to La Mesa Oktoberfest can enjoy multiple beer gardens, a kids fun zone, and every sort of delectable food. Smiling vendors, artists, and community organizations fill several city blocks. There’s chalk art, dancing, craft activities and a whole lot more! Folks who dine outdoors at restaurants along La Mesa Boulevard have an excellent view of the action.

A great way to travel to Oktoberfest is by trolley. The La Mesa Boulevard station of the San Diego Trolley is located directly across the street from the festival’s main entrance.

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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Getting a pirate ship ready for Comic-Con!

Pirates must be more conscientious than we think, because the Voodoo Ranger pirate ship is being carefully painted the day before it sails for Comic-Con!

This morning I noticed a volunteer at the Maritime Museum of San Diego touching up the beautiful tall ship. It isn’t really a pirate ship. It’s far more amazing. San Salvador is a working replica of a Spanish galleon built and operated by the folks at the Maritime Museum.

The Voodoo Ranger sails are already up, ready to unfurl for all of San Diego and Comic-Con goers to see. Early tomorrow morning the make-believe pirate ship will head down San Diego Bay to its place behind the San Diego Convention Center.

Landlubbers beware! Even not-so-despicable pirates might engage in a little mischief!

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I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!

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!

Pirate ship full of beer arrives at Comic-Con!

A full-size, working Spanish galleon docked this morning behind the San Diego Convention Center for Comic-Con!

San Salvador, a replica of explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo’s famous ship, will be hosting a special 2022 Comic-Con offsite. Visitors will think they are boarding a pirate ship to sample Voodoo Ranger IPA adult beverages!

Of course, they’ll actually be on a ship of the Maritime Museum of San Diego. The San Salvador was built on Spanish Landing near the airport seven years ago.

If you’d like to see photographs of this amazing Spanish galleon replica being built, click here!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

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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!

Spanish galleon prepares to sail to Comic-Con!

A full size Spanish galleon will be sailing to 2022 Comic-Con in San Diego next week!

I visited the Maritime Museum of San Diego today, home of San Salvador, a working replica of the famous Spanish galleon sailed by explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo back in 1542.

The beautiful tall ship is being prepared for its big journey . . . a mile or two down San Diego Bay. Next Tuesday it will dock behind the convention center, and during Comic-Con it will welcome visitors to experience Voodoo Ranger IPA beers.

(It appears that for this event the galleon will be called a pirate ship. Funny. The museum’s famous iron-hulled merchant ship Star of India is also referred to as a pirate ship by most tourists. Oh, well. It’s what you see in the movies, I guess.)

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

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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!

Budweiser Clydesdales roll through Gaslamp Quarter!

The famous Budweiser Clydesdales proceeded up Fifth Avenue in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter this afternoon. The spectacle was part of a one-day-early celebration of the Fourth of July. Tonight there will be a laser light show!

A huge crowd of people swarmed around the iconic Budweiser beer wagon taking photos. Everyone was excited to see the traditional spotted Dalmatian up near the drivers.

“What beautiful horses!” someone nearby exclaimed.

The dog looked down at the pack of excited humans with a curious look. Those silly humans!

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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!

Food, fun and smiles at La Mesa Oktoberfest!

Today’s the final day of 2021 La Mesa Oktoberfest. I rode the trolley to the Village of La Mesa as the free street festival opened and quickly found lots of food, smiles and fun!

The Bratwurst was delectable. The garlic fries were yummy. The German oompah music was infectious. Vendors had all sorts of artsy and inventive wares. The Weiner Dog Races were hilarious. (So much fun, in fact, that a separate blog post concerning the races is coming up!) The three beer gardens and big Ferris wheel were attracting huge crowds. There was fun stuff to do and see in every direction.

My favorite part of Oktoberfest, however, is the smiles.

Of course I’m going to promote a fellow writer. Particularly one who has written an inspirational book full of daily positive messages that are like poetry, and who opened the pages to share words with me concerning October 3. John L. Wagner is the author of Daily Ripples and you can find his book here!

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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!

More fun art in an Escondido alley!

The alley in Escondido that I visited a couple weekends ago, where I found many Esco Alley Art murals and alley cats painted on dumpsters, contains even more fun artwork!

Take a look!

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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!

Gaslamp gets ready for St. Patrick’s Day.

I walked through the Gaslamp Quarter this afternoon and noticed several bars, eateries and shops are ready for St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow! All sorts of Irish green could be seen as I walked down the sidewalk.

(Unfortunately, I also noticed numerous places appear to have closed permanently, most likely due to the prolonged COVID-19 lockdowns.)

Lucky’s shamrock isn’t green, but apparently it’s lucky anyway!
I’m not sure if that’s a case of green beer, but it seems worth a video, anyway!

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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!

Punk rockers hang out at Fall Brewing Company!

The Fall Brewing Company seems to attract a rather interesting crowd!

I took these photographs a little over a month ago during a walk up 30th Street in North Park. A mural teeming with punk rockers adds character to a wall by the brewery’s front patio!

I didn’t realize punk rockers like chugging craft beer!

You live and you learn.

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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!

Bad food, consequences, and the Hotel Chill.

There's a great sale on expired (antiqued) sardine cans.
There’s a great sale on expired (antiqued) sardine cans.

For your enjoyment and edification, I now present some photographic humor…

No more Mister Rice guy.
No more Mister Rice guy.

Beer Bank.
Time to make a withdrawal at the Beer Bank.

This candy cane must be left over from last Christmas.
This candy cane must be left over from last Christmas.

Ugh.
What happens when you eat all that bad food.

A call goes out. Good thing they have two fire engines.
A distress call goes out. Good thing they have two fire engines.

I think I'll lie down. Welcome to the Hotel Chill.
I really need to lie down. Welcome to the Hotel Chill.

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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!