Walking through a profusion of pink flowers at the Japanese Friendship Garden during the 2017 Cherry Blossom Festival in Balboa Park.
Wow! Here come photos of the amazing annual Cherry Blossom Festival, which is taking place this weekend at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park.
I recommend a visit! You’ll see lots of jaw-dropping beauty, devour lots of yummy food, and enjoy many fun and fascinating aspects of Japanese culture.
If you shy away from crowds, it’s probably best to arrive in the morning just as the festival opens. This event becomes more and more popular every year!
Tomorrow–Sunday–the festival is open from 10am to 6pm.
The annual Cherry Blossom Festival takes place all weekend. If you’re in San Diego and you read this blog in time, make sure to go!Japanese art, gifts and crafts can be found all around the garden during the festival.Many people gravitate toward the covered patio near the koi pond.Colorful koi, symbols of longevity in Japan.Some attending the Cherry Blossom Festival try their hand at the ancient game of Go.The strategic game of Go originated in China over 2500 years ago. Boards for the Japanese version are often prized for their beauty.Some super smiles at this table!Gazing beyond the beautiful Light of Friendship at many vendor tents during the festival of cherry blossoms.Lots of fun Japanese stuff is for sale at the event.Yoshi’s Jams are completely organic! So was that smile!This cool guy had genuine samurai swords for sale.Some ladies at one table were demonstrating Japanese brush painting. A special exhibition in Balboa Park’s Casa del Prado will take place March 25 and 26.Exquisite Japanese artwork created by a careful, inspired hand.People head through the Charles C. Dail Memorial Gate and toward the Lower Garden, where most of the blossoming cherry trees await.We descend into beauty.Walking into heaven.Spring cherry blossoms line the walkways and the gentle stream that runs through the Lower Garden.A purple parasol and pink flowers.Lots of food could be found around the Inamori Pavilion. These guys were preparing Okonomiyaki–yummy Japanese pancakes.Inside the Inamori Pavilion, a variety of marionettes are on display. The Edo Marionettes will perform at the Japanese Friendship Garden on April 30.I was drawn to these tents in the sun-splashed garden, where there was even more food!Preparing Taiyaki–Japanese fish-shaped cakes.I’d never eaten Taiyaki before, and it was really good!But, of course, the Japanese cherry trees are the star of the show. Crowds walk through bursts of pink flowers and rest on the green grass.Visitors to the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park enjoy the annual Cherry Blossom Festival!
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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!
Worker inside the processing window at Chesapeake Fish Company packages fresh fish. Their seafood products are used by nearby restaurants and shipped around the world.
Millons of pounds of fish are processed at San Diego’s Chesapeake Fish Company every year. The dock where local fishermen unload their fresh catch is just steps away.
Most visitors to San Diego’s Embarcadero don’t realize they can actually watch freshly caught fish being processed. Just north of Seaport Village, a window invites tourists and passersby to watch the fish cleaning and packaging operation. The friendly workers will even hold up the fish for photographs and sometimes wave!
The processing room is refrigerated, but this morning I still managed to get some decent photos through the thick, fogged, drippy glass window…
If you see this sign just north of Seaport Village, take a look into the big window. Workers inside might be cleaning fish caught in the ocean off San Diego!Near the processing window of Chesapeake Fish Co. is the small dock where fishermen unload their catch. Beyond is Tuna Harbor, full of commercial fishing boats.A worker holds up a de-boned fish for my camera!I believe these are the bones, heads and inedible parts that are removed from the fish during the cleaning operation.Two workers get dinner ready for seafood lovers!
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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!
A mushroom fair was held this weekend in Balboa Park inside the Casa del Prado. The event was put on by the San Diego Mycological Society.
There’s a fungus among us! I’m not kidding! (Groan.)
All sorts of mushrooms were on display inside Balboa Park’s Casa del Prado today during a special show by the San Diego Mycological Society.
I wandered through this cool “mushroom fair” and took a good look around. And I learned quite a lot!
Check out a few fun photos and some informative captions…
Mushroom enthusiasts check out all sorts of displays at the mushroom show. Mushroom facts, art, and food products like jerky were plentiful.Several tables exhibited different types of mushrooms one might encounter in nature. The San Diego Mycological Society puts the fun in fungus!These mushrooms are all edible. Some are said to taste better than others.A basket full of Bolbitius vitellinus. Labelled edible but mediocre. According to Wikipedia, it’s inedible. I’m no expert, so don’t ask me.Cooking with Wild Mushrooms. (Click image to enlarge the sign for easy reading.)Okay, these are definitely poisonous! Children were advised not to touch. I steered well clear!Here’s a monster yeast fungus so villainous that Captain Marvel had a tough time coping with it.I do know that much of the art displayed at the mushroom show was tasty!Check out this fascinating poster and the following photo. Spore prints show how spores are ejected from the mushroom gills.These spore prints strangely remind me of human thumbprints.An inventive artist created some spore print cards, hand made from mushrooms found in San Diego! Cool!Volunteers from the San Diego Mycological Society are collecting mushroom specimens found throughout the county. Tiny tissue samples will be scientifically barcoded for species identification.All sorts of arts and crafts, books and fascinating stuff was for sale at the mushroom fair.Colorful mushroom ornaments!
UPDATE!
I swung by the annual event again in 2018. I saw many of the same interesting exhibits, and snapped a couple more fun pics…
Spore print cards and a fun fungus pillow!Cool mushroom artwork for sale.
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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!
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 enjoy!
The generous people of WE EMPOWER HER offered free food today to anyone passing by. Their mission is to help create a compassionate world.
Please give these good people a moment of your time. I learned about the WE EMPOWER HER effort during my walk this morning along San Diego’s Embarcadero. The organization fights domestic violence and sex trafficking by planting seeds of kindness and compassion in the world. They also offer free mentoring and counseling. As their literature states: You have the Right to be treated with Respect.
Unfortunately, San Diego has a very big human trafficking problem. I suppose it’s our proximity to the world’s busiest border crossing.
The modest event today near Seaport Village had the theme of feeding the hungry. Their Facebook event description states: Let us inspire each other and create a compassionate world.
Sounds wise to me!
Please check out the WE EMPOWER HER Facebook page, and possibly help these people in your own way to do good and help others!
Together we can create a world full of love–a world without violence.Human generosity, inspiring courage and confidence. The good people of WE EMPOWER HER, setting a wonderful example for us all.
Santa Claus appeared this morning in Little Italy. He bought a yummy pizza at Landini’s Pizzeria. I guess a good pizza is hard to come by at the North Pole.
I didn’t expect to see Santa this morning in Little Italy! What was he doing there?
I walked up and down India Street spying on the exploits of Santa and his merry Christmas pals. Read the photo captions and you’ll learn what I discovered…
Possibly to flag down Santa while he flew by overhead, a Buon Natale banner was hung on a street lamp in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood.Apparently Santa left his sleigh and went into Filippi’s Pizza Grotto to get another pizza.I hope Santa doesn’t neglect to put those presents in his sleigh under the Little Italy Christmas tree.Thank goodness! He hasn’t forgotten. Strange, but now he’s flying a train onto rooftops. When you’re full of Christmas magic, you can do things like that.I wonder if this nutcracker likes pizza. Chances are he prefers walnuts.Rudolph and an elf are also hanging out in Little Italy while Santa pays his visit. It seems all sorts of odd folk love Italian food!I hope and pray Santa brought lots of gifts. He’d better not forget Little Italy’s poinsettia tree in Piazza Basilone.That’s nice. This happy elf brought candy canes. Obviously, Santa with his big jolly belly likes to constantly eat.Candy canes and pasta in a window of an Italian market. Perhaps it’s a tasty combination, perhaps not.Hey Santa! I see you’re still hanging around Little Italy. You must be really hungry!Santa can’t get enough to eat, it seems. He accidentally stepped into a foodless Little Italy shop and has already grown pale from hunger. Time for more pizza!Wait! What is Frosty the Snowman up to in that window?Oh, dear! Frosty grabbed the pizza! What will Santa do?
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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!
Ho, ho, ho! To chuckle at some perfectly silly short stories, check out my blog Foolyman Stories!
Many people in San Diego County, unfortunately, are hungry. Food collected during this special holiday food drive will be distributed to soup kitchens, pantries, shelters and schools.
If you’re in or around La Jolla, today I learned about a holiday food drive with nearby drop-off locations. The Heart to Hands Food Drive San Diego is run by Candi DeMoura, who has raised 2776 pounds of food in the past 3 years. Wow!
Please visit her San Diego Food Drive website. It lists the types of food that are accepted. There are several places to drop off food, including the La Jolla Farmers Market and Coldwell Banker on Prospect Street.
Together we can work to beat hunger in San Diego!
Heart to Hands Food Drive San Diego supports people in need. You can help! Visit the website to learn how! (Click this image to enlarge the flyer so that you can read it.)
Shoppers at the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market learn about whelks and other food from the sea.
Late yesterday morning I revisited the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market. It’s a place whirling with human activity, fascinating sights, and fishy, oceany smells. The fresh seafood market spontaneously appears on the pier between Seaport Village and Tuna Harbor every Saturday morning. It features the catch of local fishermen. And lots of shoppers, should you arrive early.
During my casual visit I noticed some interesting information on a table that described what our local fishermen catch. So I took some pics. I also enjoyed being shown various species of edible sea creatures by a few of the friendly vendors, though I’m afraid I purchased nothing. My cooking skills amount to pushing buttons on the microwave. I admit it.
If you’d like to read some of the literature I spotted on a table, click the images.
Sidewalk signs try to lure people out onto a pier near Seaport Village. Fresh seafood caught by local fishermen is sold here every Saturday morning.I arrived at the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market at about eleven o’clock, after the usual early morning crowd of fresh fish shoppers had departed.Some freshly caught silvery Pacific bluefin tuna on ice for sale. That’s a lot of eating!I noticed people by the edge of the pier looking across the water toward downtown San Diego.Something below in the water has caught their attention…It’s a sea lion just hanging out, probably hoping for a handout!The Mary Beth docked nearby appears equipped and ready to go out for more fish.Some colorful artwork at the fresh fish market depicts a fisherman and scenes from above and beneath the ocean.Meet your meal! At one table I discovered some interesting photos and literature, including a diagram of deep-set buoy gear used to catch swordfish.This poster shows the most common seafood commercially harvested in California. Many of these species can be purchased at Tuna Harbor Dockside Market.More info on the table describes the wavy turban snail and Kellet’s whelk, which I’m told make for good eating.I believe I’ve seen brown box crabs, Pacific rock crabs, and red sea urchins at this very market! The latter can live up to 200 years, and is considered a delicacy.Some guys cut up a huge fish, making steaks. Customers can have their purchase cleaned on the pier.A big pile of whelks. To cook these, boil!Look at all the seafood one can choose from at this one tent. The Tuna Harbor Dockside Market continues to grow and now occupies about half of the pier.Fresh fish! Lots of tuna!I’m shown a spiky sea urchin. The kelp and starfish are just for show–they aren’t normally eaten!
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Last chance to enjoy Anthony’s at the waterfront. 70 years of great memories and seafood at Anthony’s Fish Grotto, which will close on January 31, 2017.
Time is running out. Anthony’s Fish Grotto on San Diego’s waterfront will be closing at the end of next January. The restaurant has produced fond memories for millions of people over the course of its 70 year history. You have one last chance to enjoy this wonderful, unique place before it’s torn down.
Next year, the Brigantine will introduce a new restaurant at this scenic location, right next to the Star of India. I was told by a gentleman who sells art on the sidewalk nearby that the new Brigantine building is now under construction, and will be brought in across San Diego Bay on a ship or barge. That would certainly be a sight to behold!
Late yesterday morning I walked down to the Embarcadero to devour some french fries and a yummy tuna melt at Anthony’s outdoor Fishette. I sat on the wood deck dipping my fries in tartar sauce and breathing in the fresh air. I simply gazed out at the water. Pleasant visions floated on the sparkling blue, including a visiting cruise ship and San Diego Yacht Club sailboats. Between licking my fingers, I took a few photos.
Anthony’s has been a fixture on San Diego’s Embarcadero for 70 years. But their lease ran out and the Brigantine will soon build a new restaurant at this location.I’ve stood in this line many times. This is a favorite spot for tourists and locals alike.Eating seafood on benches inside a protected area of the informal outdoor Fishette, over the gently lapping water of San Diego Bay.Funny sign over the Fishette soda machine shows two fish in love.I’ll attest that Mama Ghio’s secret tartar sauce is a tasty concoction!Anthony’s Fish Grotto opened in 1946, right after World War II. I remember eating here many times as a child.Another photo of the small casual Fishette. I prefer dining outside, but many enjoy the more formal Fish Grotto restaurant, which occupies the interior of the building.In my opinion, some of the best seats in San Diego.A gull was patiently watching my fries.Activity on San Diego Bay included a refueling cruise ship. Those guys in the boat fishing were being watched by a circling sea lion.Here comes the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s historic Pilot boat, out on a harbor tour. Those sailboats racing in the distance belong to the San Diego Yacht Club.I love this place. It will be sad to see it go. (In this photo you can see the concrete posts where the Fish Grotto’s boat dock used to be. It was destroyed in that ferocious El Nino windstorm that I blogged about in early February.)Another beautiful day on the Embarcadero. Time marches on.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! 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 enjoy!
Use cans and old kitchen tools for plant pots! Dryer lint as cotton with nail polish remover to take off polish!
Late this morning, I walked from Cortez Hill to the 2016 EarthFair in Balboa Park. The cool event, corresponding with Earth Day, is the largest annual environmental fair in the world!
Thousands turned out today for the 2016 EarthFair in Balboa Park. San Diego residents celebrated Earth Day and learned how to help protect the environment.
I blogged about EarthFair the last couple of years and showed you a little bit of almost everything–so this time I decided to take a different, more practical approach. As I walked through San Diego’s garden-like Balboa Park, I searched the many exhibits for useful ideas about things we can do in our daily lives to protect the environment.
Here are a few things I found. Please read the captions! And feel free to share!
1. Ideas for creatively repurposing used household items.
One major theme of EarthFair was re-using and repurposing old items that might otherwise be thrown away. I noted some cool ideas and took pics!
Poster shows many creative repurposing ideas! Click photo to enlarge and read some cool, very unusual ideas that you might try!These shiny, colorful handbags were made from recycled Kool-Aid and Capri Sun packets!Take old clothes to make new clothes for homeless and toys for kids.Recycling vintage fabric into baby bibs.Turn old sweaters into beautiful pillows.People check out the world’s largest festival celebrating Earth Day–EarthFair in San Diego’s sunny Balboa Park!
2. Tasty ways to use up excess fruits and vegetables.
One display created by the County of San Diego provided excellent information about how to use leftover or surplus fruits and vegetables, to avoid unnecessary waste. Those pics came out blurry, so here’s what I noted:
Spinach–add to sandwiches, soups, egg dishes, pasta or smoothies.
Bananas–add to cereal, yogurt or smoothies. Blend frozen bananas with milk and vanilla for a healthy dessert.
Citrus–add to green or fruit salads, soups, pasta or sauces. Add peels to vinegar for a simple household cleaner.
Tomatoes–add to salads, egg dishes, sandwiches or pasta. Use to make fresh salsa, tomato sauce or bruschetta.
Onions–add to salads, soups, egg dishes, sandwiches or stir-fry. Pickle red onions. Make onion preserves.
Peppers–add to sandwiches, salads, egg dishes or stir-fry. Steam and puree to make soup or a sauce for meat or pasta.
Avocados–add to smoothies, salads, sandwiches, egg dishes or baked goods. Spread on toast. Use in pasta sauce with lemon, garlic, oil and basil.
Beets–add to salads, soups or stir-fry. Use roasted beets in place of meat on sandwiches.
Broccoli and Cauliflower–add to salads, soups, egg dishes or stir-fry. Add finely chopped or grated cauliflower to rice.
Berries–add to fruit or green salads, hot or cold cereals, smoothies or yogurt. Use in a fruit salsa served with bread or chips.
Potatoes–add to salads, soups or egg dishes. Use russet potatoes to make potato skins. Use leftover baked potatoes to make hashbrowns.
Corn–add to soups or salads. Use to make a fresh corn salsa. Bake into cornbread or potato pancakes.
3. Things you can do to help protect the environment–and save money!
Here are a few displays I photographed that contained some great advice! Click the photos to enlarge them!
Compost can be made with shredded paper, grass clippings, wood chips, garden leftovers, leaves, livestock manure, chopped up yard debris and used coffee grounds.To save energy, use efficient lighting, adjust your thermostat, install solar, reduce driving, and keep your car maintained and tires properly inflated.Check to see if your city offers free utility inspections and efficiency analysis. In San Diego, a free water survey program is available.Ride a bicycle to work! In San Diego, Bike to Work Day in 2016 is Friday, May 20. You might consider walking or taking public transit, too!Many San Diegans saved energy, reduced air pollution and stayed healthy by riding their bicycles to EarthFair!
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Today I saw a new canopy and sign at the ever-expanding Tuna Harbor Dockside Market. It’s a food tent called Loaf and Fish! They’ve got one of my favorite things!
I’m not really a food blogger, but I have a terrible weakness for fish sandwiches, fish tacos and fish burritos. So when I saw a new food vendor was selling fresh fish sandwiches this weekend at the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, of course I had to try one!
A bit down the pier you’ll find the sign that reads Loaf and Fish. Those are the nice folks you need to see. My grilled fish sandwich was really good! I was told they don’t have a website yet, but they’ll be there on the pier every Saturday morning, a tasty addition to the constantly growing Dockside Market!
(You can visit San Diego’s new outdoor fish market every Saturday morning on the pier just north of Seaport Village, next to Tuna Harbor.)
Loaf and Fish. Built, helmed and crewed by fishing families. The tasty yellowtail in my sandwich was caught by the fishing vessel Wild West!Oh, man! My fish sandwich is getting ready! Some tomatoes, avocado (yum), red onions, chipotle mayo, lettuce, all on a fresh bolillo roll. And, of course, grilled fresh fish!And here it is, with a smile! You know what? It was pretty darn good. I recommend devouring these!Everyone at Loaf and Fish was super nice to some strange blogger guy walking around with a camera. Good luck guys!
UPDATE!
Loaf and Fish has added a couple of items to their menu. You can now enjoy fish tacos and tasty fish soup!
The fish tacos are just as yummy as any you’ll find in San Diego. And keep in mind our city has the best fish tacos in the entire world.
I’ve also tried the fish soup and it’s really tasty! In addition to big chunks of freshly caught fish, there are fresh vegetables and slices of avocado floating on top! On chilly mornings this hot soup really hits the spot!
To top it all off, eating on the pier by the water–with the bustle of activity all around, including friendly fishermen and local fishing boats and the seagulls and playful sea lions barking nearby–it’s a feast for the senses that can’t be beat!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! My blog covers anything that catches my fancy!
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