A football player has run through the shelter at a City Heights bus stop for a touchdown! Now he simply must leap over a trashcan!
This unexpected sculpture stands at the eastbound bus stop on University Avenue near 45th Street.
I asked someone who works on the same block about the strange sight. He indicated the football player statue was placed here by the nearby taco stand. A few weeks ago there was a moose on the sidewalk!
…
To follow my blog, find the “Follow” box in this website’s sidebar. Or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing this on a phone, open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
Dreams were absolutely gigantic this morning in San Diego. That’s always the case during the annual Holiday Bowl Parade. In 2026, those watching the balloon parade along Harbor Drive were dreaming very big things.
There were the dreams of college football fans, who’d gathered in San Diego for the evening game between the Arizona Wildcats and SMU Mustangs. The booming sound of their marching bands would stir dreams of a victory at Snapdragon Stadium.
There were the dreams of young and old, viewing beloved characters soaring overhead. Garfield, Mr. Potato Head, Horton the elephant, the Grinch, Mother Goose and Humpty Dumpty were like marvelous visions, parading past the eyes of thousands as the sun broke through morning clouds.
There were the dreams, as well, of those who are more philosophical. If so many different people can gather together for a fun and harmonious celebration, why can’t the people of the world live together this way?
I walked around and took photos before the Holiday Bowl Parade began, then positioned myself on San Diego’s iconic tall ship Star of India, to enjoy the “best seat in the house” for the big parade!
…
To follow my blog, find the “Follow” box in this website’s sidebar. Or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing this on a phone, open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
A beautiful mural in Oceanside’s Balderrama Park remembers and celebrates home town football hero Junior Seau.
The legendary NFL linebacker attended Oceanside High School and spent most of his life a resident in San Diego’s North County.
He played with the San Diego Chargers for 13 seasons, helping to lead them to Super Bowl XXIX. His play seemed superhuman. He would become one of the most popular Chargers players of all time.
Junior was active in the community, plus a surfer and restaurateur. He was loved by everybody.
His untimely death was so tragic, believed to be caused by repetitive head trauma while playing the game.
The Oceanside mural, painted by Ground Floor Murals, captures the beautiful soul of Junior Seau.
Another fantastic mural depicting Junior Seau can be viewed in San Diego on El Cajon Boulevard. It was painted by the same artists.
Two hours before the start of the 2023 Holiday Bowl football game, the USC Trojan Marching Band performed in Gaslamp Square.
An excited crowd gathered to listen to horns, drums, and the rattle, crash, boom hurrah of familiar fight songs, as smiling band members swayed in unison, danced, and gave each other and people watching high fives!
The Trojan mascot mounted the ladder, raised his bright sword in the San Diego sunshine and all those rooting for the University of Southern California cheered!
After their extended, very exciting performance, the band marched with a rattle and boom toward Petco Park, scene of this year’s big Holiday Bowl!
…
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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
The Holiday Bowl Parade in San Diego is one of the most fun parades anywhere!
I’ve got 123 photographs that prove it!
It rained downtown during the night, but it never seems to rain on this magical parade! Overcast skies in the morning were perfect for the 5K runners, who got started down Harbor Drive a few minutes before the Holiday Bowl Parade would commence.
And then the parade began!
Giant balloon characters floated by. Marching bands from near and far boomed and trumpeted past. There were dancers, baton twirlers, lowriders, cosplayers, and even a group with a humorous synchronized surfboard routine!
Of course, both the Oregon Ducks and the North Carolina Tar Heels had their large marching bands and enthusiastic cheerleaders waving from atop floats. Many in the crowd cheered when their favorite university competing in this year’s Holiday Bowl passed by.
You’ll see that I walked behind the convention center where the balloons were inflated before the parade, then found a good spot near the beginning of the parade route.
I’m sharing 123 photos–so many it would be a chore to caption them all. Simply enjoy!
…
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 Holiday Bowl block party in the Gaslamp Quarter (called the Snapdragon Bowl Bash) is happening this evening even as I post these photographs!
I walked down to the Gaslamp before the event officially began at 5 o’clock, and took a couple of easy laps up and down Fifth Avenue. As you can see, there were already lots of families and Oregon and North Carolina college football fans out and about, enjoying all sorts of fun activities!
Enjoy a glimpse of the big party!
…
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!
People were getting ready this morning in downtown San Diego for two upcoming Holiday Bowl events.
This evening’s “Snapdragon Bowl Bash” block party in the Gaslamp Quarter will feature a friendly Battle of the Bands. And tomorrow morning there’s the big Holiday Bowl Parade!
During my leisurely walk down Fifth Avenue and behind the San Diego Convention Center, I saw a few excited fans and people tasked with event preparation. Several floats were nearly ready at Embarcadero Marina Park South.
Two floats represent the Oregon Ducks and the North Carolina Tar Heels. They’re the teams playing in the 2022 Holiday Bowl. Petco Park will again be the unique venue, after last year’s disappointing cancellation of the game.
As I began to walk back toward the Gaslamp, a truck holding gigantic tubes of helium pulled up, presumably to fill the parade’s many character balloons. (I wonder how much the truck must weigh to not float away!) The Holiday Bowl Parade tomorrow morning will proceed down Harbor Drive past the convention center.
I’ll head back to the Gaslamp this evening for the Snapdragon Bowl Bash and the Battle of the Bands. I’ll try to take some fun photos!
…
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!
Snapdragon Stadium in Mission Valley officially opened today! The SDSU Aztecs are beginning their 2022 football season today with a big game against Arizona!
Before the game, a fun, festive Aztec Village was attracting a huge crowd of students, cheerleaders and fans outside the new stadium!
I watched as thousands streamed in from the Stadium trolley station, which also opened today, after a long closure due to the surrounding construction. I noticed that the river park and other areas around Snapdragon Stadium are very far from completed.
I hope to check out the new San Diego River park with its James Hubbell public artwork once it opens! Stay tuned!
Meanwhile, enjoy photos of all the “Grand Opening Day” fun outside Snapdragon Stadium!
…
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!
Very strangely, football goal posts rise in Petco Park near first base. (So reaching first must now mean three points!)
As I walked through Gallagher Square this morning, I saw this peculiar remnant from a football game that was never played. When UCLA backed out of the 2021 Holiday Bowl a few hours before the game, many were shocked and extremely disappointed.
I suppose we’ll soon see Petco Park back in its usual configuration.
An interesting experiment–playing a football game in this baseball ballpark–will now most likely never occur. SnapDragon Stadium in Mission Valley should be completed and ready for football by next holiday season.
…
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!
If you’ve driven down El Cajon Boulevard between 34th and 35th Street in the past couple months, you might have seen this incredible huge mural celebrating San Diego Chargers superstar linebacker Junior Seau!
The mural was painted in early May by the artists of Ground Floor Murals. (Two days ago I posted photos of their new Manny Machado mural in Chula Vista here.)
Junior Seau is one of San Diego’s most beloved sports heroes, an NFL football legend whose life ended tragically nine years ago. It’s hard for me to believe that almost a decade has passed already.
Ground Floor Murals is composed of Paul Jimenez and Signe Ditona, a couple who began painting murals in earnest during the COVID-19 pandemic. They now have many cool murals all around the city! Read their story at their website here.
Their awesome tribute to Junior Seau is located at the border of Normal Heights and City Heights.
If you’re wondering about the graffiti directly beneath the Junior Seau mural, that’s part of extensive new art that was spray painted in the past year or two along Flash Alley. Yesterday I also photographed the fantastic urban artwork along the long alley and I’ll be posting those pics shortly!
…
This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
