People in San Diego had an incredible opportunity this weekend to step aboard “America’s Tall Ship,” the USCGC Eagle, which has been docked for a few days at the B Street Pier. Visitors were invited to explore the nearly hundred-year-old, 295-foot, three-masted barque, which is used to train future United States Coast Guard officers.
I took the opportunity to come aboard the historic tall ship myself, and I captured photographs of one amazing ship!
A number of interesting banners hang around the Eagle, explaining its history and current role in training future Coast Guard officers. Eagle is the largest tall ship flying the Stars and Stripes and the only active square-rigger in U.S. government service.
I learned a new batch of prospective officers had themselves come aboard a couple days ago. This week they’ll be sailing in the nearby Pacific Ocean. When the Eagle returns to San Diego, this new group of “swabs” will be considered honest-to-goodness cadets!
I must say all of the young people who are training to become officers were extremely friendly, polite and professional. The Coast Guard’s future appears to be in great hands!
Now enjoy my photos…
Welcome Aboard America’s Tall Ship.USCGC Eagle is both a Coast Guard cutter and a barque.The Eagle has over six miles of standing and running rigging, 23 sails, and more than 22,000 square feet of sail area that allow her to sail at 17 knots (19.5 mph).Eagle was originally German, launched in 1936, and was operated by the pre-World War II German navy. In 1946, after the end of World War II, United States Coast Guardsmen sailed the Eagle to the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.Originally, the Eagle trained German Navy sailors as Horst Wessel. It sailed to the Canary Islands and West Indies, and later, during World War II, on the Baltic Sea. She carried anti-aircraft guns, and her logs indicate that she fired at Allied and German aircraft.A permanent Coast Guard crew of approximately 60 personnel maintain and operate the Eagle year round.The Eagle gives officer candidates and enlisted servicemembers hands-on, teamwork-focused opportunities to lead, train and serve at sea…The Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut produces leaders of character… Nearly 300 high school graduates enroll annually…Sail training offers…a unique and useful training experience. This includes learning the fundamentals of seamanship, weather, and nautical tradition…
…
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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.
During my recent visit to the Lemon Grove Historical Society’s newly renovated headquarters–the Parsonage Museum–I learned something extraordinary. Last year two high school students who attend Canyon Crest Academy, Sarah and William Gao, won a statewide contest for their outstanding video concerning the Lemon Grove Incident.
The contest had the theme Turning Points in History.
Their extremely well done documentary concerns the fight that led up to the landmark court order in 1931 that ended school segregation in Lemon Grove. View their excellent video on YouTube by clicking here.
This is such a great achievement that I thought it deserved additional recognition. Their video concerns history that everyone should know. Let’s run up the views, comments and likes on YouTube and give their video more traction!
The Lemon Grove Incident was the United States’ first successful school desegregation case. It was a pivotal event in our nation’s history. For the longest time I myself hadn’t known that.
Back in 2022 I took photographs of a mural in Lemon Grove that celebrates the Lemon Grove Incident and those who courageously fought for the victory against segregation. My first photograph above shows part of the mural. See the other photos here!
…
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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.
In San Diego? Would you like to watch skilled artists create Japanese ink paintings? Would you like to learn this traditional Japanese art?
Head over to Balboa Park tomorrow, Sunday, June 22, 2025, when the 22nd Annual Art Exhibition by Friends of Sumi-e resumes in Room 101 of the Casa del Prado!
I swung by today. I love the simple elegance of this unique art form, and whenever I see there’s an exhibition of Japanese brush painting (called sumi-e or suiboku-ga) in Balboa Park, I can’t miss it.
The participating members of Friends of Sumi-e are always delighted to demonstrate their craft. Today Gaye Lingley showed me how to create an orchid. Here she is, near some of her exhibited artwork:
And here she is creating the orchid. She told me learning Japanese ink painting is never ending. I thought: isn’t that true of any art form?
The orchid is finished. A few strokes of the brush have created depth and subtlety:
Meanwhile, instructor Naoko Ozaki was holding a demonstration across the room….
You can see how, six years ago, Naoko created an incredibly beautiful flower here.
Interested in Japanese brush painting? Want to learn how to do it? Check out the Friends of Sumi-e website here!
Some of the beautiful work on display this weekend:
…
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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.
The 2025 San Diego County Fair has a theme that’s close to the heart. It’s all about beloved pets.
Not surprisingly, a variety of non-profit organizations centered around animals are present at the big summer event in Del Mar. I stumbled upon several of these organizations. I’d like to draw your attention to what good people (and animals) are doing in their community.
The above dog and the next photograph represent an organization in Baja California, Mexico. La Manada Feliz rescues animals and provides them with a better life with loving people. Here’s their website.
La Manada Feliz operates a cage-free sanctuary where rescued dogs can receive medical care, learn social skills and heal. Their website says: Help us achieve our mission by adopting, supporting as a guardian and/or volunteering at our dog sanctuary in Valle de Guadalupe.
Next up, San Diego Spaniel Rescue does exactly what its name says. They are an all volunteer based non-profit organization dedicated to providing breed education, rescue, fostering, medical and adoption services for abused, abandoned and/or homeless Cocker Spaniels.
If you’d like to help them or would like to adopt a rescued spaniel, you can go to their website here.
More good work and smiles can be found at Pug Rescue San Diego County.
Here’s their website. Pug Rescue of San Diego County (PRSDC) is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to rescuing unwanted, neglected, abandoned, and relinquished Pugs and placing them into a new permanent home where they may live out their lives in a loving and caring environment.
Check out the friendly dogs in my next photo! They are part of Pawsitive Teams!
Pawsitive Teams was founded in 1997 with a desire to be a volunteer-inspired and volunteer-run organization designed to promote the use of well-trained dogs to improve the lives of San Diegans. Our volunteer service dog trainers spend two years with their canine charges prior to placement with individuals with limited mobility who can benefit from the skills of our specially trained dogs. Our therapy dog program is overseen by a steering committee of volunteers dedicated to using therapy dogs with a variety of populations such as at-risk teens, active-duty military, children testifying in court, and those with mobility or developmental disabilities. Our mission with the therapy dogs is to partner with community organizations and work together with professionals in accomplishing client-related goals.
To learn more, check out the Pawsitive Teams website by clicking here.
Need I say the San Diego Humane Society does many wonderful things for animals in our community? They were at the San Diego County Fair, too, encouraging people to adopt a loving pet. Not just dogs!
Find your fur-ever friend today!
There are many ways that you can help their good work. Here’s their website.
…
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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.
There’s a surprising museum jam-packed with wonders that everyone in San Diego should visit. I’m speaking of the Heritage of the Americas Museum in Rancho San Diego.
The Heritage of the Americas Museum is located near the West entrance of Cuyamaca College, immediately adjacent to the Water Conservation Garden. The museum building appears modest at first glance, but when you step through the front door your eyes might pop out of your head!
How do I begin to describe this amazing place?
The museum has four wings. They are dedicated to Archaeology, Anthropology, Natural History and Fine Art. If you wanted to examine every artifact, specimen and work of art, you could easily spend an hour exploring the museum.
Display cases contain objects from the Americas that fall into dozens of categories, whether it might be Peruvian textiles, or Haida and Tlingit artifacts, or paleo points dated 12000 B.C. to 6000 B.C., or millions-year-old fossils, or beautiful sea shells and coral…
When I visited, school children on a field trip were excitedly peering into the displays, seeing new worlds beyond their own life experience.
I’ll share a few photos so you get an idea of the fascinating worlds you’ll encounter, too.
Cool thing: the Heritage of the Americas Museum is free to the public every second Friday of the month!
…
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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.
IGNITE CREATIVITY proclaims this fun, very colorful mural in Hillcrest. It was painted last year on the side of ArtReach San Diego‘s building on University Avenue.
Information in a nearby window indicates the mural’s lead artists were Esteban Sanchez, Isabel Halpern and Ian Stiles-Mikl, and that over 200 community members helped to paint it.
ArtReach is an inclusive and welcoming place where art is transformative. Youth who participate in ArtReach programs can turn their dreams to reality.
As the organization’s website explains: Through artmaking, young people find a powerful outlet to express themselves, process emotions, and build self-esteem—all while forming bonds with their peers in a nurturing yet inspiring environment.
I took these photos about a week ago during a walk through Hillcrest.
Over the years I’ve photographed many ArtReach public art projects all around San Diego. To see those very creative murals, click here or here or here or here or here or here or here.
…
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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.
The exhibition details how women in San Diego history, from the 19th century to the present, have excelled in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, leading to important contributions in different fields.
There’s a special emphasis on young women pursuing career paths in STEM today. Various organizations are highlighted that can help those with STEM aspirations.
Young people, upon seeing this exhibition, will understand that pursuits in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics can do more than make a world a better place, but can be personally very rewarding.
Examples of what visitors will find…
ECOLOGIK was launched at Cabrillo National Monument in 2017. The free program engages children and young adults in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. There is an emphasis on ecology and environmental sciences.Girls Who Code has reached over 760,000 students through virtual and in-person programming. The organization helps to spark an interest in transformative technology.Dr. Charlotte Baker was San Diego’s first practicing female physician. She moved to San Diego in 1888 and ten years later she became the first female president of the San Diego County Medical Society.During World War II, many women helped with military manufacturing in San Diego. In the aircraft industry, women made up to 65% of the workforce in 1943.Dr. Janese Swanson, graduate of SDSU, was a pioneer at the dawn of the digital age. At Broderbund Software, she helped develop the popular game Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?Dr. Ellen Ochoa grew up in La Mesa. An engineer and astronaut, she was the first Latina astronaut in NASA history. She would log nearly 1,000 hours in space!
…
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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.
If you maintain a garden in San Diego, or would love to learn more about plants or gardening, you need to know about a very special library that is open to the public in Balboa Park. The San Diego Floral Association Library, located in Room 105 of the Casa del Prado, contains over 3,500 books filled with horticultural and gardening knowledge!
The San Diego Floral Association Library and Office is located down a short hallway beyond Balboa Park’s Senior Lounge. On a table just outside its entrance, one comes across an informative bulletin board and a table covered with all sorts of free printed material. I once was lucky and found the book-like California Garden Centennial Compilation 1909-2009, which is jam-packed with San Diego history and articles from past decades–a real treasure!
The San Diego Floral Association is home of California Garden magazine. It is the oldest horticulture magazine in continuous publication in the United States!
Inside the library you’ll find shelves full of books and valuable references. You’ll also see walls covered with beautiful paintings!
Looking around, I recognized several images of Kate Sessions, one of the San Diego Floral Association’s founders. Because she was instrumental in making Balboa Park a botanical wonder, she is commonly referred to as Mother of Balboa Park. (The book The Complete Writings of Kate Sessions in California Garden is also available for purchase. It would make a great gift!)
The smiling lady with whom I spoke was so very welcoming. She explained how the San Diego Floral Association hosts many fun and educational events, plus they have a gardening outreach program with San Diego schools.
If you are so inclined, become a member! Perhaps assist their efforts and volunteer! Members have the privilege of checking out library books for home use.
To see everything they have to offer, I encourage you to visit the San Diego Floral Association’s website by clicking here.
…
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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.
By strolling around Collier Park, you can also discover a bit of history.
As the city of La Mesa’s first park, Collier Park has long served as a community gathering space.
Kumeyaay – The Kumeyaay Tribe of Indigenous peoples have a rich history in the area, harnessing nature’s local resources. The natural spring in the park once served as a seasonal stopping place for the local Kumeyaay.
David C. Collier – Colonel David Charles (D.C.) Collier, a pioneer community developer in La Mesa and throughout San Diego County, was responsible for donating the land to the community for what would become the City’s first public park after incorporation in 1912.
In the next photograph, you can spot La Mesa’s historical Spring House. Curious? I blogged about it here.
…
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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.
An exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego features art by students who attend Hoover High School in City Heights. Across the Chaparral includes the work of students in two classes: Advanced Drawing and Painting, and AP English Language.
The students, after viewing and learning about relevant pieces in the museum, were asked to interpret contemporary life in our complex, uniquely dynamic, culturally diverse border region.
Across the Chaparral can be experienced in the museum’s Axline Court, a magical architectural space that I blogged about yesterday. See those photographs here.
Here is some of the student art…
…
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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.
Cool San Diego Sights! 