Learn to play horseshoes in San Diego!

I made a cool discovery today!

If you’d like to learn how to play the game of horseshoes, you have an opportunity to do so in San Diego’s beautiful Balboa Park!

During my walk this morning, I spotted members of the Balboa Park Horseshoe Club out having fun in the horseshoe pits in the southwest corner of the park. I spoke with some of the friendly folks and learned that the public is invited to learn the game with a free horseshoe pitching lesson! The lessons are held on Thursdays at 6 pm, near the corner of Juniper Street and Sixth Avenue. Look for the blue sign that reads San Diego Chess Club/Balboa Park Horseshoe Club.

During the present coronavirus pandemic, they have taken all the necessary precautions, so you can feel safe.

Make sure you notify the Balboa Park Horseshoe Club San Diego you’d like a free lesson, so someone will definitely be there! You can connect via their Facebook page here.

The San Diego Horseshoe Pitching Club has a lot of fun at the facility also known as the Balboa Park Horseshoe Club.
The San Diego Horseshoe Pitching Club has a lot of fun at the facility also known as the Balboa Park Horseshoe Club.
David Lavallee of the Balboa Park Horseshoe Club is working to grow the love of the game in San Diego.
David Lavallee of the Balboa Park Horseshoe Club is working to grow the love of the game in San Diego.

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!

Kids learn while having fun with pop culture!

What’s the best way for kids to learn?

By having fun!

The very cool Comic-Con Museum@Home web page continues to grow and grow! It’s now bursting with fun activities for kids–educational activities that relate to the popular culture!

Not only are there oodles of downloadable, printable Fun Books, which are jam-packed with word puzzles, mazes, instructions on how to draw comic art, and fantastic coloring pages (including some by prolific San Diego muralist Gloria Muriel), but now you can watch lots of cool videos, too!

A brand new series of videos this summer will be showing kids how to create superheroes and other pop culture characters out of folded cardboard! The tutorials are by Connor and Bauer Lee. You might remember seeing their fantastic creations during December Nights here!

The first cardboard character kids can create by following a YouTube video is Wall-E!

The Comic-Con Museum has also partnered with Balboa Park’s Fleet Science Center for a series called Pop Culture Science. Celebrating the anniversary of the popular character Sherlock Holmes, there’s a video about how TV crime shows accurately or imaginatively portray real forensic science. Additional activities include how to detect fingerprints and write with invisible ink!

Learning is always best when it’s fun!

Check out the Comic-Con Museum web page with all of these great activities by clicking here!

Bow wow? Meow? Ciao!

I love this new street art in Little Italy!

Painted on a utility box are a dog and a cat, both thinking Ciao!

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!

Amazing sculptures around downtown Vista!

There’s so much art to discover around downtown Vista it makes one’s head spin! I don’t think I’ve observed a greater concentration of public art anywhere else in San Diego County.

In addition to many murals (I’ll share photos of those shortly), there are fun, super creative sculptures almost everywhere one turns: on sidewalks, on street corners, on walls, rising from pedestals into the sky!

There are crazy steampunk sculptures, abstract sculptures, healing sculptures along Veterans Memorial Park, joyful sculptures based on the theme Kites Over Vista.

There are so many public sculptures that I only photographed a fraction of them last weekend as I enjoyed a semi-random walk around downtown Vista.

If you follow Cool San Diego Sights, you probably noticed I already posted photographs of two of these sculptures. Wild Horses here, and Love Locks here. (I’ll soon be sharing photos of one additional very special sculpture.)

To discover much more of this amazing public art, visit the City of Vista Public Art Map by clicking here.

Big Blue Kite, by artist Robert Rochin, 2008.
Big Blue Kite, by artist Robert Rochin, 2008.
Into the Current, by artist Janis Selby Jones, 2017.
Into the Current, by artist Janis Selby Jones, 2017. (Represents the swirling Great Pacific Garbage Patch.)
Joy Figure, by artist Josh Bowman, 2008.
Joy Figure, by artist Josh Bowman, 2008.
Healing, by artist Vicki Leon, 2016.
Healing, by artist Vicki Leon, 2016.

Freedom, by artists Jaydon Sterling Randall and Rick Randall, 2016.
Freedom, by artists Jaydon Sterling Randall and Rick Randall, 2016.
Remembrance, by artist Buddy Smith, 2016.
Remembrance, by artist Buddy Smith, 2016.

Plaques set in the Paseo Santa Fe sidewalk contain sculpted avocados.
Plaques set in the Paseo Santa Fe sidewalk contain sculpted avocados.
Prima Vista, by artist Michael Angelo Venturello, 2016.
Prima Vista, by artist Michael Angelo Venturello, 2016.
Bloom in Time, by artists Thomas and Sylvia King.
A View in Bloom, by artists Thomas and Sylvia King, 2006.
Carnival, by artist Rick Randall, 2019.
Carnival, by artist Rick Randall, 2019.

Alley Cat, by artists Rick and Jaydon Sterling Randall.
Alley Cat, by artists Rick and Jaydon Sterling Randall.

Tortuga de Mar, by artist John Meyer, 2018.
Tortuga de Mar, by artist John Meyer, 2018.
Peace Arrow, by artist Alex Gall, 2019.
Peace Arrow, by artist Alex Gall, 2019.

A Flock of Kites, by artist Robert Rochin, 2008.
A Flock of Kites, by artist Robert Rochin, 2008.

Alley Art Man.
Alley Art Man.

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 photos for you to enjoy!

Fun art along a stretch of Turquoise Street.

A large face greets those heading east on Turquoise Street in Pacific Beach.
A large face greets those heading east on Turquoise Street in Pacific Beach.

Turquoise Street in Pacific Beach, from Mission Boulevard to Cass Street, is the home of a lot of fun street art.

Check out some photos!

Mural on parking lot wall by Treelogy Cafe Restaurant.
Mural on parking lot wall by Treelogy Cafe Restaurant.
These colorful flowers are at the center of the mural.
These colorful flowers are at the center of the mural.
Old-fashioned advertising artwork on wall of Cafe Bar Europa.
Old-fashioned advertising artwork on wall of Cafe Bar Europa.
The happy exterior of Blossoms Design Florist.
The happy wood shack of Blossoms Design Florist.
Mural in a narrow alley celebrates 90 years of Crystal Pier.
Mural in a narrow alley celebrates 90 years of Crystal Pier.
Bottom of the alley mural, with an octopus tentacle wearing a beach sandal. #octopier by @artanystef.
Bottom of the alley mural, with an octopus tentacle wearing a beach sandal. #octopier by @artanystef
Mural on the side of P.B. Yoga and Healing Arts.
Mural on the side of P.B. Yoga and Healing Arts.
Enjoying a hot beverage with a dog. Mural by artist Gloria Muriel on the side of The French Gourmet.
Enjoying a hot beverage with a dog. Mural by artist Gloria Muriel on the side of The French Gourmet.
A fun blue character painted on another nearby wall by Gloria Muriel.
A fun blue character painted on another nearby wall by Gloria Muriel.

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 photos for you to enjoy!

A green-eyed octopus and underwater world.

Check out these two cool murals in Pacific Beach! Both can be found on the east side of Mission Boulevard, just north of Emerald Street.

The first super colorful mural features tikis, a green-eyed octopus and a happy blue bird. This one really grabs your attention! While walking up Mission Boulevard, I noticed it a block away! The imaginative artwork was painted around the entrance of Cheba Hut, by artist @BayneGardner.

The second mural shows an underwater scene teeming with beautiful marine life. The ocean, below palm trees and breaking surf, is the home to fish, coral, a swimming turtle, dolphins, sharks and more! You can find this fantastic street art, created by D. Longenecker, on the north wall of Taco Surf Pacific Beach.

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 simple, fun walk in Point Loma!

Looking at Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church from the intersection of Voltaire Street and Chatsworth Boulevard. The traditional New England style Red Brick Church was built in 1954.
Looking at Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church from the intersection of Voltaire Street and Chatsworth Boulevard. The traditional New England style Red Brick Church was built in 1954.

First of all, I’d like to welcome new visitors to Cool San Diego Sights! I’m not sure how my website suddenly merited inclusion in Google News, but, what the heck, this amateur photo blogger will take it!

Cool San Diego Sights is mostly about a guy with a little old camera walking around our big city semi-randomly, experiencing the wonder of its neighborhoods, its people, and the world in general. Occasionally I’ll report something that’s newsworthy, but only if I happen to stumble upon it. All this walking and taking photos is really just a hobby and personal pleasure.

On Saturday I enjoyed a long walk that included several areas of Point Loma. After climbing those hidden stairs I blogged about on Saturday, I headed through residential Loma Portal and down into the tiny business district near the intersection of Voltaire Street and Chatsworth Boulevard.

I walked in a short counterclockwise loop, from the Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church, toward Point Loma High School, down to the Point Loma Library, and back up to the spot where I had begun.

I had no plan other than to take photos of whatever caught my fancy!

I spotted a long mural along the roof of the building at 2168 Chatsworth Boulevard.
I spotted a long mural along the roof of the building at 2168 Chatsworth Boulevard.
Part of the mural titled San Diego from 1769 to 1969, painted by Jorge Imana. (I took many photos of this amazing mural and will post them to my blog shortly.)
Part of the mural titled San Diego from 1769 to 1969, painted by Jorge Imana. (I took many photos of this amazing mural and will post them to my blog shortly.)
An electrical box up the street was painted with all sort of guitars.
An electrical box up the street was painted with all sort of guitars.
More colorful guitar street art on another side of the box.
More colorful guitar street art on another side of the box.
As I walked by European Cake Gallery, I noticed the pastry chef peering out at Point Loma from the rooftop.
As I walked by European Cake Gallery, I noticed the pastry chef peering out at Point Loma from the rooftop.
Some fun but simple artwork on the windows of Coastal Sage Gardening.
Some fun but simple artwork on the windows of Coastal Sage Gardening.
The front entrance of the James Edgar and Jean Jessop Hervey Library in Point Loma.
Dedication plaque near library's front entrance. Dated September 20, 2003.
Dedication plaque near library’s front entrance. Dated September 20, 2003.
Looking back at where I was a moment ago.
Looking back at where I was a moment ago. It’s a gray, overcast day.
The other side of the architecturally interesting Point Loma Library. The glass near the roof resembles waves breaking on the beach.
The other side of the architecturally interesting Point Loma Library. The glass near the roof resembles waves breaking on the beach.
As I walked past the library I saw words written at my feet. It's all good!
As I walked past the library I saw words written at my feet. It’s all good!
Then I saw this rather interesting Padres fan.
Then I saw this rather interesting Padres fan.
A mouse has a secret door near the ground by the door of a Point Loma business.
A mouse has a secret door near the ground by the door of a Point Loma business.
That church looks familiar!
I'm already back at the Red Brick Church. A simple but fun walk in Point Loma!
I’m already back at the Red Brick Church. A simple but fun walk in Point Loma!

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 photos for you to enjoy!

Huge blue whale at Wienerschnitzel drive-thru!

Apparently I’m not the only mammal who loves hot dogs and chili cheese fries. There’s a huge blue whale that likes to hang out at the Wienerschnitzel in Point Loma!

I see this exact same whale swimming right next to their drive-thru every time I head down Rosecrans Street!

This very cool whale mural was created by artist Leonardo Nado (@leonardonado.33) back in 2018. I checked out his Instagram page and noticed he really likes to paint whales!

I went on a long walk around Point Loma today, so I had the opportunity to take close up photographs of this street art. Then I walked up to the Weinerschnitzel window and ordered a big chili cheese fries with lots of napkins!

(Maybe I’ll try the craft beer around the building at Goodbar next time. The whale seems to be heading that way.)

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 photos for you to enjoy!

Oil painting the iconic Hotel del Coronado!

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One could make a convincing argument that the Hotel del Coronado is the second or third most iconic building in all of San Diego, after the California Tower in Balboa Park and perhaps the historic Mission San Diego de Alcalá.

The image of the uniquely grand and beautiful “Hotel Del” has been made famous in movies, on television, and through countless postcards sent around the world by enthralled tourists. Most people who think of Coronado immediately picture this impressive Victorian beach resort, the second largest wooden structure in the United States.

It’s said that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum used the fanciful architecture of the Hotel del Coronado as his inspiration for the Emerald City. (He wrote several Oz books at a house he rented in winter a few blocks away. To see photos of that house, click here!)

A month ago I used graphic software to change some of my photos of the California Tower into digital oil paintings. Yesterday, as I walked around Coronado, it suddenly occurred to me that I might do the same with the picturesque Hotel del Coronado!

I’ve altered some old photographs and a couple of new ones to make them appear like oil paintings! Just for fun!

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 photos for you to enjoy!

Cool photo memories from May 2015.

Well, May is here already. Hard to believe. The coronavirus pandemic continues, as do the government mandated lockdowns, which makes it difficult for a photo blogger who explores the city to find fresh material. Nearly all events are cancelled, many places are closed.

So what is one to do? I thought now would be a good time to once again go back five years!

What was happening on Cool San Diego Sights back in May 2015? Lot’s of amazing stuff! One thing you might notice is that Balboa Park’s big year-long Centennial Celebration was underway!

Click the following links to enjoy lots of photos…

Art made of coins helps Rady Children’s Hospital!

Photos of Old Town’s folklorico dance competition!

Pics of Garden Party of the Century in Balboa Park!

Fun sculptures debut at San Diego waterfront park!

Crossing the cool Spruce Street Suspension Bridge.

Fun photos of Explore Mission Trails Day!

Cool Corvette car show benefits San Diego USO.

An amazing walk from Point La Jolla to Cuvier Park.

World War II vets honored on USS Midway.

San Diego walking superheroes fight brain tumors!

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.