Tag: events

Star of India’s restored figurehead to be unveiled!

For a long while, Star of India has been without her figurehead. That’s because the wooden figurehead, depicting Greek Muse Euterpe, has been undergoing badly needed restoration.

But now the work is completed! Euterpe will once again take her accustomed place on the bow of her historic ship!

There will be a public unveiling of the restored figurehead this coming Sunday, November 13. The big event coincides with Star of India’s 159th birthday. Check out the next photograph for details.

Yesterday I took a sneak peek of the completed project down in the hold of Star of India where the restoration work took place.

Euterpe is now flawless, bright, and absolutely beautiful!

But you’ll have to go see this Sunday for yourself!

You can learn more about this historic figurehead restoration, and see photos of the work in progress, by clicking here!

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Navy ship arrives downtown for Fleet Week!

Fleet Week San Diego is just about here. Many activities begin this weekend, and some are open to the general public!

I was walking along downtown’s Embarcadero yesterday when I saw a huge U. S. Navy ship, accompanied by two tugboats, gliding up to Broadway Pier. A small crowd had already gathered to watch it dock beside the Port Pavilion.

I believe this is the USS Montgomery (LCS-8), an Independence-class littoral combat ship. It’s unusual design includes a trimaran hull, which allows it to operate is more shallow water. The USS Montgomery is based here in San Diego.

Check out the photo of sailors tying up this huge, high-tech vessel with . . . mere ropes! (Whenever I see a gigantic billion dollar cruise ship relying on ropes, too, it always strikes me as a bit funny.)

The general public can go on free tours of this Navy ship this Friday through Sunday. See the details here!

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Altar de Muertos at County Administration Building.

Día de los Muertos is again being celebrated with an altar at the San Diego County Administration Building.

For 2022, the altar has greatly expanded. Composed of many sections, the altar now fills almost half the outdoor plaza on the east side of the building.

Numerous loved ones who’ve passed on are being remembered this year.

I happened to photograph the altars the past two years. Though equally moving, in size they were small compared to the 3rd Annual Altar de Muertos that I observed today.

It appears the Día de los Muertos tradition at the San Diego County Administration Center is strong and growing.

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Día de los Muertos at El Campo Santo.

At sundown this evening there will be a Día de los Muertos candlelight procession through Old Town. Those participating will end at San Diego’s old El Campo Santo cemetery, where many of our city’s earliest residents are buried.

This afternoon the small cemetery had already been decorated for Día de los Muertos.

A colorful altar stands near the entrance, just beyond the El Campo Santo historical marker. According to one sign I noticed, the Community Altar is by the Descendants of Old Town San Diego.

Marigolds and paper sugar skulls decorate gravesites, and the names of deceased loved ones have been scrawled in chalk on the cemetery wall along San Diego Avenue.

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You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

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!

Sugar skull face painting in Old Town!

Today San Diego is celebrating Día de los Muertos!

By mid-afternoon, people were streaming into Old Town. Many will participate in this evening’s candlelight procession down San Diego Avenue from the Immaculate Conception Church to El Campo Santo cemetery.

In preparation, some were having their faces traditionally painted as sugar skulls. Face painting artists had tables set up at several points along the sidewalk.

As I passed through Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, then down San Diego Avenue, this is what my camera encountered!

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I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

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!

Coronado’s surprising role in submarine history.

It’s widely known that Coronado’s North Island is the birthplace of naval aviation. But did you know that shortly before World War I, Coronado was also home to a training school for submariners?

Camp Richardson, which was located on a block of First Street just north of the Ferry Landing, served as the homeport of the United States’ very first Pacific Submarine Fleet. This is one of many interesting facts you’ll learn should you enjoy A View from the Periscope, which is the current exhibit at the Coronado Historical Association‘s museum.

A View from the Periscope focuses primarily on twenty-eight works of art. The Coronado Historical Association’s website explains how these pieces of artwork from the Naval History & Heritage Command’s Navy Art Collection are on loan for the exhibition. Throughout the museum gallery visitors can view paintings of submarines in different settings and their working crews. The website further explains that many of the artists featured are affiliated with the Navy’s Combat Art Program, which places artists on board navy ships on duty and in combat.

But there’s much more to discover in this exhibition! When I walked through it a few days ago, what interested me most were displays that concern local history.

Not only did I learn about short-lived Camp Richardson, but I was surprised to read how the submariners in training, as they practiced diving and firing torpedoes, would put on pre-announced shows in San Diego Bay for tourists staying at Coronado’s Tent City!

I was also surprised to learn that a Coronado artist, a member of the San Diego Fine Arts Guild, was instrumental in successfully camouflaging naval vessels during World War II.

His name was Dayton Brown. His novel approach to camouflage involved mimicking the natural environment, eventually utilizing only two color shades like Haze Grey or Ocean Gray.

Until I visited this exhibition, I had no idea!

A View from the Periscope continues through January 2023.

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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

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 photo memories from November 2017.

Five years ago, during November 2017, readers of Cool San Diego Sights experienced surprising and colorful scenes throughout the city. It’s now time to revisit a few of those past blog posts!

Click the upcoming links and you’ll see photographs that might tickle your sense of humor–and even make you laugh!

There’s a good chance you’ll discover something new.

You might be inspired!

Click the following links to enjoy many cool photographs!

Love and memory: Old Town’s Dia de los Muertos.

The fantastic, amazing Harper’s Topiary Garden!

Aviation history at Waldo Dean Waterman Park.

Photos of the San Diego Veterans Day Parade!

A walk around the the Sikes Adobe Farmhouse.

Volunteers restore habitat in San Dieguito River Valley!

Strength and determination in wheelchair rugby.

Beautiful photos of sunrise on Mount Laguna.

Street musician plays flamethrower bagpipes!

Baseball flags debut at historic Lane Field Park!

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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

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!

Fun for kids in La Mesa and Campo!

Do you know any kids who love trains? If you do, there are many opportunities for fun coming up in both La Mesa and Campo!

Yesterday I was passing the La Mesa Depot Museum when I noticed it was open and someone was working inside.

That someone was Station Master Timothy. He was building a new HO scale train layout in the old depot’s baggage room!

After showing me a few nearby historical exhibits, he explained this new layout will eventually be a fun, free activity for visiting kids. There will be a dynamic little town named Kerville (the tracks curve), and a module that can be added that includes both desert and mountainous terrain!

Meanwhile, the La Mesa Depot Museum has a curvy, twisty toy train layout in the adjoining ticket and passenger room that small kids can play with by hand.

Cooler yet, there are those real life train cars outside that one can explore up close and personal! If you’ve ever driven down Spring Street at La Mesa Boulevard, you’ve no doubt seen them.

You can see more photographs in and around the La Mesa museum here.

The La Mesa Depot Museum is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:00 to 3:00 pm and Saturdays 1-4 pm.

. . .

The old La Mesa depot is a satellite of the much larger Pacific Southwest Railway Museum, located out in Campo. There kids can ride historic trains through San Diego’s scenic backcountry. And big kids (adults) can even take the controls of a big, honest-to-goodness diesel-electric locomotive and run it for a short distance!

Need something fun for the family to do next weekend before Halloween? Reserve a ticket for a unique Campo train ride out to a pumpkin patch. It’s called the Pumpkin Express.

Then, before Christmas, kids will enjoy meeting Santa during an incredible train ride on the North Pole Limited!

If you’d like an idea of how awesome this all would be, check out two of my past blog posts. This one has photographs from the train ride out in Campo. And this one shows the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum during its the big 100th Anniversary of the San Diego and Arizona Railway event!

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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

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!

Birds, Bees, Flowers and Trees in Balboa Park!

A very cool event was held in Balboa Park today. Birds, Bees, Flowers and Trees, presented by the San Diego Floral Association, filled El Prado, a nearby segment of Village Place, and the Casa del Prado courtyard!

The fun, educational event featured gardening information, organizations working to protect the environment, creative kids activities, plant sales, and fascinating displays provided by different San Diego garden clubs and associations!

I walked along, taking it all in. One thing I learned is that Kate Sessions, Mother of Balboa Park, was a co-founder of the San Diego Floral Association! (That would explain my final two photographs.) Oh–I also learned the new waterfall at the Japanese Friendship Garden should be operating in a matter of a couple weeks!

The Birds, Bees, Flowers and Trees event is today only, until 4 pm. As I post this blog, you still have a little over a half hour to check it out!

If you couldn’t make it, enjoy these pics…

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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

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!

San Diego cosplay group poses in Balboa Park!

Members of the San Diego cosplay group Science Fiction Coalition assembled today in Balboa Park for a photoshoot. And I happened to run into them as I walked around with my own camera!

I first encountered this awesome group several years ago in Balboa Park. Back then they were posing as members of the Justice League (with a few supervillains mixed in). Since then I’ve encountered the Science Fiction Coalition several times, mostly during Comic-Con and at the Comic-Con Museum.

If you’re into cosplay–costume play–and you live around San Diego, you probably want to check this group out. They have numerous members belonging to many diverse fandoms. Here’s their website!

Today I recognized the Addams Family, Phantom of the Opera, She-Hulk, Elvira and Chainsaw Man. There were a few others, too!

Very cool!

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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

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!