Do you have a turtle or tortoise that has outgrown its welcome? There are people in San Diego who’d love to adopt it!
Today I learned how members of the San Diego Turtle and Tortoise Society actively rescue, rehabilitate and adopt animals that might otherwise be neglected or abandoned.
Friendly members of the society were hosting a show in Balboa Park, which featured live turtles and tortoises, plus tables full of plants that these reptiles can eat. There were themed gifts on display, too!
Visitors to the show were encouraged to adopt one of the homeless critters!
If you have an unwanted turtle or tortoise, or wish to adopt, check out the San Diego Turtle and Tortoise Society website here!
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The San Diego Padres 11th Annual Opening Weekend Block Party is going on as I type this!
Head over to J Street between 7th & 10th Avenue (north of Petco Park) and partake of food, drink, live music, fun games, and the fellowship of other Padres fans! Hurry though! It continues today, Saturday, through 4:00 pm.
As I walked the three blocks, I saw booths and food trucks galore. Many of San Diego’s local professional teams were present, as were MTS, the San Diego Library and other good people!
And there’s a big screen where they’ll be showing the SDSU Aztecs men’s basketball team competing in the Final Four!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 Twitter!
This morning, in San Diego, a 50th Anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War ceremony was held on the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum.
A large audience assembled to recognize Veteran service members who returned from Vietnam fifty years ago–including those prisoners of war held by the North Vietnamese who were released and repatriated on March 29, 1973.
The ceremony was emotionally powerful. Many silent tears were wiped away. Memories were shared of pain and grief, and relief and gratitude.
Four speakers shared their experiences.
Retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. James M. Collins spoke of his tour in Vietnam, and how he was injured by an enemy hand grenade. He has gone on support those in the military through his leadership in various organizations.
Roy A Knight, III spoke of the loss of his father during the Vietnam War, and the miraculous discovery of his father’s remains. He has gone on to serve as a search and rescue pilot with the Civil Air Patrol.
Courtney Herrmann was a young girl when her family evacuated from Saigon. Her family was flown onto the USS Midway during Operation Frequent Wind. Her memories of a harrowing experience, and her gratitude that she now lives in freedom in America, brought about a rousing ovation.
Retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Everett Alvarez, Jr. was a prisoner of war at the Hỏa Lò Prison, also known as the Hanoi Hilton, where he was beaten and tortured. He survived his brutal imprisonment through faith and the support of other prisoners. He finally came home with honor intact.
The audience welcomed every Vietnam veteran home.
After the speeches, four memorial wreaths took wing, remembering those who sacrificed for their country in a difficult war half a century ago.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 Twitter!
Tomorrow, March 29th, 2023, marks an important anniversary. Fifty years ago United States troops completed their departure from Vietnam, and the last group of prisoners of war were freed.
A powerful exhibit at the Coronado Historical Association museum remembers the POWs who returned to freedom, and tells their moving stories. It’s titled Open Doors: Vietnam POWs Fifty Years of Freedom.
I wandered about the museum today and tried to imagine the horror. Displays recalled how prisoners of war in Vietnam suffered. It had been a struggle to merely survive.
I then gazed at portraits of freed POWs and read the accompanying profiles. I saw how differently each man adjusted to life after their experience.
Many successfully returned to a more “normal” life. Many, having risen out of hell, experienced a strengthened sense of purpose.
As the exhibition description states: Open Doors is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the power of human will, it is also a celebration of that second chance at freedom.
This same exhibit originally debuted in Coronado 20 years ago. Today, after traveling around the nation, it has returned.
Visitors are reminded that we all have the capacity for extraordinary strength.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 Twitter!
Can you believe it? Opening Day for the San Diego Padres is only two days away!
It seems 2023 is the most anticipated season in the history of Padres baseball. The team roster is loaded with superstars, and many fans expect a trip to the World Series!
Every game at Petco Park is likely to be well attended, and workers have been busy getting the ballpark ready for action.
I walked around Petco Park this morning to see what I might see.
First, I noticed the newly improved miniature baseball diamond in Gallagher Square was being readied. Kids are going to have a blast!
I then noticed new street banners featuring star players, new graphics behind the right field scoreboard, and newly planted beds of flowers along Petco Park’s east side.
Then I saw the big banner: BRING THE GOLD!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 Twitter!
Something extraordinary happened today. Members of the City Heights community came together to celebrate the completion of monumental public art. A ceremonial ribbon cutting was performed for one of San Diego’s most amazing murals!
Unity in the Community is a 270 foot long mural painted along a wall at the south end of Teralta Neighborhood Park. The mural has been six years in the making. I’ve posted several past blogs as I’ve observed the artwork’s creation.
Have you driven on I-15 where it passes underground in east San Diego? If so, you’ve driven under Teralta Park and this fantastic mural.
Today’s celebration not only brought together members of the City Heights community, but many organizations and city leaders who’ve played an important role in the planning, approval, funding and making of this mural. I couldn’t possibly name everybody, and I haven’t closely followed the complicated process, but you can learn all about the mural’s history at this dedicated website.
Three local artists have played big roles in creating Unity in the Community. I once blogged about Sake, who produced the initial rendering and the first stage of the painted art. (I met him here.)
More recently, the mural was completed by artist Karl Gindelberger aka GMONIK, and Melody De Los Cobos, artistic director of Love City Heights. Both were present for today’s ceremony and ribbon cutting.
Several speeches told of how, with the work of many, a once neglected and crime-ridden park has been reclaimed and revitalized. We all celebrated how this mural, with its many positive images, will build pride and a sense of ownership in the community. How this mural conveys diversity, harmony and acceptance. How this mural will become a backdrop for future community events, such as a proposed Taste of City Heights!
Everyone in attendance today could plainly see how, in the coming years, this wonderful mural will positively impact many lives.
If you want to see the entire Unity in the Community mural, I took lots of photographs last month and posted them here.
Walking along one section of the long, amazing community mural.GMONIK, one of the mural artists, posed for a photo!People talked and enjoyed the moment before the ceremony would begin.A fun photo with a skateboarding dog!Thanks is given to the many community leaders and parties responsible for the completion of the inspiring mural.Gratitude to those who boldly forge ahead and make our world better.Cutting the ribbon. Finally passing the finish line!A bright vision realized.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 Twitter!
A live outdoor performance was enjoyed today at the Old Globe theatre complex in Balboa Park.
Audience members were asked to share stories from their own lives, then an acting and music ensemble interpreted those stories up on stage.
The program was titled Imagine Theatre Presents: Playback Theatre. The event was produced in partnership with Imagine and the Chrysalis–Monarch Performing Arts Center.
I sat in the audience for a time and experienced how three stories were courageously told then interpreted.
One story involved a man’s serious illness, frustration and anger, then the realization that he could live one day at a time, to the fullest, with optimism and a sense of adventure. A second story involved the loss of a loved one and precious memories. A third concerned forks in the road of life, and how new opportunities arise with change.
This wonderful, very powerful performance was part of the Old Globe’s free AXIS Performing Arts Series. Click the preceding link to learn about upcoming events!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 Twitter!
The 20th Annual Art Exhibition of Friends of Sumi-e can be enjoyed this weekend in Balboa Park. If you’re in San Diego and love Japanese ink painting or are merely curious, make sure to head over to the Casa del Prado tomorrow, Sunday, from 11 am to 4 pm.
Over the years I’ve enjoyed several of these fine exhibitions. It never ceases to amaze me how trained artists, with a few careful strokes of a brush, can create such profound beauty.
At the art exhibition, you’ll also be able to listen to Japanese flute, observe a live tea ceremony and meet some of the the artists! As you learn more about sumi-e, you can watch as your name is painted elegantly in Japanese!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 