Tag: fun

Photos of Tartan Day in Balboa Park!

The House of Scotland hosted their annual Tartan Day today. They were celebrating their 77th year in Balboa Park!

A good crowd came out to the International Cottages to enjoy cultural entertainment, Scottish food (meat pies!) and a gathering of various clans.

The House of Scotland Pipe Band and the Helix Highlander Pipes & Drums performed rousing music. Traditional dancers took the stage. The Ashworth Academy of Highland Dance and the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society were represented.

The festival atmosphere was also educational. It seemed every sort of organization that promotes Scottish culture in San Diego appeared on the lawn.

What is meant by Tartan Day, you may ask?

A tartan is the patterned cloth, traditionally made of wool, featuring crisscrossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colors, originating from Scotland. Different clans and regions have their own unique tartan. San Diego has a special tartan pattern, too!

One more thing. The epic Scottish Highland Games and Gathering of the Clans is returning after an absence of a couple years. Instead of in Vista, the games will now be held this June 20 and 21, 2026, at the SDSU Mission Valley River Park! Check out the official website here.

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A Day at the Park in National City!

Lots of families came out to A Day at the Park in National City today! The fun waterfront event was held at Pepper Park, thanks to the Port of San Diego.

There was free food, plus live entertainment by the San Diego Symphony, Mariachi Nuevo Aguadulce, and others. For the kids there was face painting and henna tattoos. Many community organizations showed up as well.

The Port of San Diego was demonstrating how they are electrifying their maritime operations to help protect the environment.

I also learned how the National City Historical Society is trying to save Granger Music Hall, an architecturally important building designed by Irving Gill and on the National Register of Historic Places. If you’re curious about their efforts, or would like to help, check out this webpage.

I was eager to see how Pepper Park’s major redevelopment has turned out. I’d seen the new beach during my last visit, but now there’s also the pirate-themed playground and splash pad!

As you can see from my photos, the park has become truly amazing! People who reside in National City and San Diego’s South Bay are very fortunate!

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AI creates bizarre San Diego weirdly!

Just a fun post.

I thought I’d activate Galaxy AI Drawing Assist on my Samsung smartphone and have it create crazy images of San Diego!

Using the text “bizarre San Diego weirdly” and the pop art setting generated some wild results!

Lots of big surfboards, waves, tacos, hot air balloons, lighthouses, and strange structures, some of which kind of look like San Diego buildings!

Fun photos at Opening Weekend Block Party!

Enjoy some fun photos taken early this afternoon at the East Village Opening Weekend Block Party! The 2026 MLB baseball season has begun and our San Diego Padres have high hopes.

Lots of fans were wandering up and down several blocks of J Street just north of Petco Park. There was live music, dogs dressed like Padres fans, cool lowriders in a row, food, kids making swag chains, a spray paint artist, and even a wiffleball derby!

Too much fun!

Opening Day morning excitement downtown!

It’s the morning of Opening Day for the San Diego Padres, and the excitement has begun!

Reporters are in the Gaslamp Quarter commentating and interviewing fans. The Ben and Woods sports radio show is broadcasting from Baja Rick’s to a crowd of Padres fans!

Let’s go Pads! Beat the Detroit Tigers!

HPR Knights first lawn program in Balboa Park!

In San Diego, young Knights gather together in Balboa Park. Today they put on their first ever lawn program at the International Cottages!

The HPR Knights is a relatively new group of young men who represent the diverse nations belonging to the House of Pacific Relations. The group was founded in 2024. This is the HPR Knights website.

Their description: We are a San Diego based, all-male organization dedicated to serving the greater San Diego community. We strive to represent all cultures and encourage the youth to participate in the House of Pacific Relations community at Balboa Park.

At their inaugural lawn program these young men impressed everyone. Several spoke of how the group encourages brotherhood, mutual respect, self-confidence and leadership.

I learned about their community service, including how they’ve worked at Mission Trails Regional Park to remove invasive vegetation and reintroduce native plants. They also help around the International Cottages, representing many cultures, promoting education and friendship.

After the speeches came a variety of performances! I got a photo of Bollywood breakdancing on the stage by young members of the House of India!

Do you know anyone who might like to join the group? Visit their website!

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San Diego goes bananas . . . again!

This weekend, San Diego is going bananas . . . again! The Savannah Bananas have returned to Petco Park, to play two banana ball games against one of their rivals, the Loco Beach Coconuts!

The Savannah Bananas’ popularity continues to grow, with their crazy, kid-friendly on-field antics during “banana ball” games and between innings. It’s like a non-stop circus, all the while playing a baseball game with unusual rules, that include fan participation. (If you catch a foul ball, the batter is out!)

The games have become so popular that there is a league of six teams traveling around playing each other. By the way, the Loco Beach Coconuts are 2-0 versus the original Savannah Bananas team so far in 2026!

Both games this weekend are sold out. Today I walked through the festival atmosphere just north of Gallagher Square, where families (often clad in yellow) were lined up for fun banana ball merchandise.

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Skull and crossbones created at Oceanside beach!

A hot day for mid-March. I stayed near the beach–in Oceanside. As I walked out onto the Oceanside Pier, look what I saw! Someone was digging a huge skull and crossbones into the sand!

Turns out the friendly, creative guy was David. He was working on his pirate Jolly Roger flag design in the sunshine, while people strolling along the beach would stop, look and chat.

He’s been making artwork in the sand like this for several months, he told me. He’s created perhaps a dozen such works at the beach.

He told me there’s another guy who makes cool designs using a garden rake. That sounds awesome, too. Perhaps I’ll stumble upon that one day.

Here’s what I saw around noon as I walked out on the pier:

After I ate lunch, I returned to the pier and saw this:

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Checking out the Wienermobile in Santee!

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile was in Santee today for Fido Fest! The iconic vehicle attracted lots of curious people, who could even enjoy a peek inside!

I took photos!

The two smiling drivers (hotdoggers) were greeting everybody and passing out hotdog whistles. Several signs on the grass nearby provided information about the Wienermobile. I learned there are six wieners-on-wheels that travel around the country.

Let’s see . . .

The Wienermobile weighs the same as 140,500 hot dogs. It has a hot dog shaped dashboard. It has a ketchup walkway and condiment splattered carpet. The bunroof is removable. It has an official Wiener Jingle horn…

Also, Carl Mayer, nephew of Oscar Mayer, designed the first Wienermobile in 1936…

The next sign contains images of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile through the years…

I had a fast look inside. Looks quite comfortable!

Okay! Let’s all sing along!

My bologna has a first name, it’s O-S-C-A-R…

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Two fun sights in the Gaslamp Quarter!

Walking this morning through downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, I photographed these two fun sights!

First is the F Street entrance sign for the old Horton Plaza parking structure. A playful jester welcomes motorists to what used to be a unique and very popular shopping mall!

Next, a sidewalk vent structure was painted to appear like Star War’s R2-D2!

You can spot this fun street art in front of Kutthroat Downtown barber shop at 437 Market Street.