Padres fans have a ball at today’s big FanFest at Petco Park. An exhibition game was played in the afternoon against the Chicago White Sox.
This morning I walked across downtown to check out Padres FanFest! The big annual event is held at Petco Park just prior to baseball’s Opening Day. It provides fans a taste of the upcoming Padres season. This is the third year in a row I’ve attended, and I really enjoyed it! Here are some pics! Go Pads!
Thousands of fans turn out to get a preview of the Padres’ 2016 baseball season. There were many family activities throughout Petco Park.Young Padres fans test their batting ability at a special KidsFest area.Photo of the busy children’s baseball field, an awesome feature of the public park situated beyond Petco Park’s outfield.Young batter smashes a hit in the tiny ball field at Park at the Park. Baseball is fun for everyone!Kid infielders charge a batted wiffle ball at the miniature baseball field in Park at the Park.A friendly Coast Guard mascot attracts as much attention from kids as the nearby inflatable batting cage.The San Diego Padres pulled out all the stops for this year’s Fan Fest. It appeared that many people were buying tickets for the upcoming season.Phil’s BBQ is a local favorite. Lots of tasty stuff was available at concessions inside and outside the stadium, including old classics like hot dogs.Many popular Major League Baseball players were signing autographs for lined up fans.Sign on back of the huge videoboard highlights the team’s past accomplishments. This year Petco Park will host the 2016 MLB All-Star Game!Some graphics at Petco Park commemorate Padres Hall of Famers.2016 FanFest allowed people to watch batting practice for the afternoon’s exhibition game. Another sunny spring day in San Diego. The Pads will soon Play Ball!Fans watch and hope to catch a ball during White Sox batting practice. The field looks green and ready for the coming season!I hope lots of Padres batters hit this bullseye on the Western Metal Supply building during the 2016 season. Hope springs eternal!A lucky somebody in the stands gets an unexpected autograph from the Padres bullpen!Padres starting pitcher James Shields stretches and warms up in the bullpen.Padres FanFest is an exciting annual sports event at Petco Park!A player smashed a line drive over the wall during batting practice. If someone can catch the ball, they might possibly win a cool prize: tickets to the Homerun Derby before this year’s All-Star Game!A busy vendor walks about with drinks and snacks.Padres fans rest behind the Tony Gwynn statue atop the hill in the grassy Park at the Park.Padres faithful kick back in the stands and absorb the sights and sounds of San Diego baseball.Superstar pitcher James Shields signs autographs for lots of excited fans during 2016 FanFest at Petco Park.
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Imaginative urban artwork decorates a building wall in San Diego’s North Park.
Here comes another batch of fun pics!
These super creative street murals were photographed during a walk in North Park. I believe all of this art was located along University Avenue, in the neighborhood of 30th Street. A colorful urban vibe is combined with uninhibited imagination and bold artistry. Take a look!
The Animal House Pet Shop has a big, cool mural spray painted on its side.Smiling faces, beautiful faces, funny faces. Happy visions come to life in this colorful street art.More fantastic art beckons from an alley near the North Park landmark sign on University Avenue. I must’ve taken this picture around Christmas.A blue spherical fellow who resembles an emoticon or a video game character sits among lots of flowery shapes.A gritty urban canvas jammed with abstraction and graffiti is glimpsed by drivers heading along University Avenue.Bold image along the roof of another building. A female warrior, a green dragon and a brilliant city scene.Another alley, another funky street mural.I think I see some space chimps!
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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!
Heading down the Bayshore Bikeway on Coronado Island, with a bit of downtown San Diego in the background.
My random walks around San Diego are full of surprises. I’m always excited to stumble upon one of those immensely fun sculptures that used to be part of the Urban Trees exhibitions on the Embarcadero.
From 2003 to 2011, seven different Urban Trees projects were funded by the Port of San Diego. Each exhibition featured about 30 unique sculptures, standing downtown at intervals along San Diego Bay. This public artwork was made from a whole range of different materials, including wood, copper, glass, tiles and steel. The fanciful pieces were selected by juried artist competitions, and when the Urban Trees exhibitions came to an end after about one year, many of the creations were sold by the artists to various collectors, institutions, businesses and public entities.
So there are times when I just can’t help smiling, because I happen to encounter one of the transplanted “trees” during a walk.
Perhaps you’ve already seen a few of these highly creative sculptures on my Cool San Diego Sights blog. If not, then click here.
My Bike, by Amos Robinson, 2008. This inventive kinetic sculpture turns in the wind. It was part of the Port of San Diego’s fun Urban Trees 5 exhibition.A steel bicyclist with wildly blowing hair flies through the blue sky past some Southern California palm trees!This colorful sculpture was part of Urban Trees 2. It’s called A Different But Loving Pair, by Cecilia Stanford. It’s made of handmade tile and mosaic.Whimsical public artwork that now stands across the parking lot from the Port of San Diego building on Pacific Highway.Visitors to San Diego’s Embarcadero walk past a looming dragon!Sea Dragon, by artist Deana Mando, 2006. This fantastic creation was part of the Urban Trees 3 exhibition. It’s now seen by many people.My walks around San Diego are frequently interrupted by dragons and other very cool sights!
UPDATE!
Here are a few more photos of three Urban Trees in front of the Cruise Ship Terminal! (I took the following pics in early 2017.)
Three sculptures by the San Diego Cruise Ship Terminal on the Embarcadero were part of Urban Trees exhibitions in past years.Green Fire, Robert Verhees, 2006.Tap Root and Growth, Christopher Lee. I can’t find a year.Orange Tree, Guy and Ellen Mayenobe, 2007.
ANOTHER RANDOM UPDATE!
Some of the Urban Trees that have been acquired by the Port of San Diego are moved around from place to place. I’ve observed that the Sea Dragon was moved to Pepper Park in National City in early 2017.
I’ve also noticed from the window of the trolley that the Fish Tree by Zbigniew Pingot and Tobias Flores, which used to stand with those three other sculptures in front of the Cruise Ship Terminal, is now located in the northwest corner of the Port of San Diego’s parking lot! A Different But Loving Pair no longer occupies that corner of their parking lot! Where it is, I don’t know!
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Dinghy landing’s colorful boats by San Diego Bay. One end of Coronado Tidelands Park’s popular beach.
Yesterday I took another fun, leisurely walk! I went from the Coronado Bay Bridge end of Tidelands Park up the sunny Bayshore Bikeway to the Coronado Ferry Landing. And I took lots of pics, naturally!
Perhaps you can see why Coronado is one of my favorite places.
I feel very fortunate to live in San Diego. There are so many cool and beautiful sights. And I swear every day is amazing.
A guy wading in San Diego Bay tries his hand at some fly fishing. Moored boats (where some people live) and the San Diego–Coronado Bridge are visible.People walk and ride down the Bayshore Bikeway. Head the opposite way and you’d go under the Coronado Bridge, then along Glorietta Boulevard and the Coronado Golf Course, then finally south down the Silver Strand.Skateboarders enjoy the City of Coronado Skatepark located at Tidelands Park.A fun, artistic seat that just had to be photographed. I discovered it at the edge of the Coronado Tidelands Park playground.Looking through purple blooms out at the blue bay during a leisurely Saturday walk.At the Coronado Island Marriott Resort and Spa pier you can rent jet skis and kayaks for fun on the water. (A cool glint of light is reflecting off a skyscraper downtown!)Colorful lounges and a fire pit for apartment dwellers near the Bayshore Bikeway.A fisherman caught something while I watched! Lots of sailboats out on blue San Diego Bay today.These little bay overlooks with railings are popular spots to take in the scenery and sunshine.Look at all the weekend activity! Standup paddleboarders, a big group of kayakers, and the Coronado ferry is coming in!Tourists and locals alike can rent watercraft on this little beach just south of the posh Il Fornaio restaurant.Perhaps you can see why this is one of my very, very favorite places! I’m so thankful to live nearby!That big group of people in kayaks is rowing toward the Coronado Ferry Landing. The Manchester Grand Hyatt towers rise across the bay.Shorebirds dot a little sandy beach just south of another fine Coronado restaurant, Peohe’s.Now we’re finally heading into the sunny Ferry Landing Marketplace.Some more kayakers are passing the dock at Peohe’s, as outside diners watch. Night views of downtown San Diego lit up across the water are awesome.Some folks hurry to catch the Coronado Ferry! I think they just made it!Bicyclists relax after a ride along the Bayshore Bikeway. Another perfect day.
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Very elegant Celtic damsels on horseback linger before start of the 2016 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in San Diego.
Here come a bunch of fun pics! I took these this morning as folks were getting ready for the big annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival in San Diego. I saw all sorts of Irish pride on display. Lots of smiles. Lots of laughter. Enjoy!
Members of the 3rd West Cork Brigade were dressed in period costume to demonstrate their Irish pride.Irish gentlemen in green jackets cross the grass at the west end of Balboa Park. The festival was just getting started.An Old Irish Pub sign at the big St. Patrick’s Day Festival next to the parade route.This funny fellow was carrying the Morning Paper down Sixth Avenue.I see this friendly smiling clown every year at the parade!Young and old alike celebrate Ireland and wear the green.I saw lots of Irish Setters, of course.Someone watches as members of local United States Marine Corps band rehearse. Photo taken near Balboa Park’s lawn bowling green.Marine Band San Diego gets ready to participate in the 2016 St. Patrick’s Day Parade.Irish dancing was being performed on one stage an hour before the parade got underway.Bagpipe players and drummers form a circle as they practice for the big annual parade.One of several large Irish Wolfhounds that were checking out the festivities.Some musicians get ready on a trailer beside the parade route. They’re advertising Rope the Musical.And here are some old-fashioned penny-farthing enthusiasts.Folks prepare their float for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It will feature a big orange shamrock.The mascot of a local business gets a necklace of shiny green beads!Smiles, laughter, great fun, and lots of Irish pride.
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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!
Do you like to read short pieces of thought-provoking fiction? Please visit Short Stories by Richard.
Two people made of sunlit plastic wrap sit on a bench beneath rainbow balloons in Hillcrest. Yes, I did a double take! Then I took some quick photos!
Check out this crazy sight! A couple of months ago I was riding home on the Route 120 bus when I spotted something unusual outside the window. Some fun art had materialized on University Avenue just east of Fourth Avenue! Fortunately the bus window was open a bit so I could snap a few good photos.
I filed the photos away on my computer hoping to learn or see something more about these unique plastic wrap lovers. When I passed the same spot a week or so later, the artwork was gone!
I’m assuming these sunlit sculptures sitting on a bench were made out of plastic wrap and tape. All I have to go on is my photos. I know absolutely nothing about them. If you happen to know anything, feel free to leave a comment!
A surprising sight met my eyes during a bus ride. These two plastic wrap sculptures were sitting mysteriously along a city sidewalk like lovers.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can enjoy more Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
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A mad scientist at the San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering shows a kid how to have some fun with magnets!
Here are 14 different simple science and engineering projects that kids are sure to love! I’ve included lots of instructions and photographs–courtesy of many exhibitors at this year’s San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering Expo, held yesterday at Petco Park. I also blogged about the event last year.
Check out this fun stuff! Feel free to share! First up . . . how to make slime!
HOW TO MAKE SLIME
Who doesn’t love slime? Slime is fun! And making it is easy! These instructions are courtesy of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, who had a fascinating exhibit at the big STEM education event held at Petco Park.
Just click the image with easy directions to enlarge it! You can enlarge the other images on my blog in the same way, if you want a closer look. Feel free to share these useful how-to photos on Pinterest or with your friends, if you’d like!
How to make slime. You need borax powder, water, white glue and food coloring. Click each image to enlarge instructions.
HOW TO MAKE A FUN PAPER ROCKET
Follow the diagram to cut and fold a simple paper rocket with paper clip! These instructions are courtesy of the San Diego Air and Space Museum in Balboa Park. Kids love the world-class museum. It’s one of the coolest places in San Diego!
How to make a cool paper rocket, using a rectangular piece of paper, scissors and a paper clip.
HOW TO FOLD AN ORIGAMI BOAT
Look at these instructions on how to fold your very own origami boat! My friends at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park provided this information! I even once made one! (And if I can succeed, believe me–anyone can do it!)
How to fold an easy origami boat that really floats!
HOW TO MAKE MATCHBOX ROCKETS THAT REALLY WORK!
Here’s how you can make a tiny rocket that actually works in much the same way as a real solid-fuel rocket. Wrap a single matchstick in a small strip of tin foil, then crimp one end. Look at my photos to get an idea of what to do. Be careful! You know what they say about playing with matches! Have an adult help out!
Oh, I forgot to mention. This cool experiment is courtesy of the Magnolia Science Academy!
How to make matchbox rockets and why they work. This is for older, supervised kids. Fire can be dangerous.Wrap a match in a small strip of aluminum foil.Crimp the match head end of the tube (the rocket’s nose) so exhaust pressure doesn’t escape in that direction.Prepare for lift-off from a clever, fireproof launching platform! Safely apply flame and let fly!
HOW TO MAKE AN “AIRZOOKA” THAT SHOOTS CO2 RINGS!
Here’s another cool project I discovered at the Magnolia Science Academy booth. A student had created a simple “Airzooka” that shoots perfect white cloudy rings of carbon dioxide!
The trashcan with a hole part looks easy. To create the membrane that launches the CO2 rings, you’ll need to use a somewhat flexible material, like a plastic sheet. Once the can is filled with gas, just slap it with your hand and out comes a “smoke ring”!
How to make an “airzooka” using a plastic trashcan with a hole at one end and a pliable membrane on the other. Fill with carbon dioxide gas and shoot white rings by hitting the membrane!The “airzooka” is loaded with carbon dioxide gas, using either dry ice (be extremely careful) or a fog machine.
HOW TO CRAFT A FUN PAPER BAG HAT
What can you do with a paper grocery bag? Crumple it up a bit and form a Mad Hatter hat! Use your imagination and maybe a bit of glue!
This crafty idea is provided by the San Diego County Fair. This summer’s fair will have an Alice in Wonderland theme! I can’t wait!
How to make a Mad Hatter hat with crumpled paper bags and lots of fun stuff tied and glued on!You can apply ribbons, glitter, feathers, playing cards, whatever you like to fashion your crazy Mad Hatter hat! Okay, I don’t suppose this really is science, but who cares!
HOW TO MAKE A TINY PARACHUTE
I remember creating one of these when I was a kid. I made my parachute for a toy action figure! Just look at the picture and go to work! Pretty simple!
This parachute was put together by to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. The Fleet, located in Balboa Park, is a super cool place with loads and loads of fun hands-on science exhibits for kids, plus an awesome IMAX theater and planetarium!
How to make a simple small parachute with a Dixie cup or object providing weight, string (or similar material) and coffee filter.
HOW TO MAKE A SUPER COOL STAR WARS COSTUME!
Okay. No instructions here. Just imagination. That cool costume is actually made of all sorts of Star Wars toys! Incredible. I’m guessing that wicked-looking dude is on the Dark Side.
I believe this guy was part of the STAR WARS Steampunk Recycled Fashion and Engineering Challenge.
Yeah, making a cool costume out of Star Wars toys might take a bit of glue. But all you really need is determination and imagination! (And maybe a credit card.)
HOW TO USE YOUR IMAGINATION TO BUILD ANYTHING!
What are we building here? Absolutely anything! It just takes some imagination!
Just look at some of the common household items one can use to invent cool things. I’ll bet you have some of this stuff in your own home.
I took this pic at a fun table display in the Qualcomm Thinkabit Lab tent.
What can a person make with this stuff? Anything!Objects you can use creatively include popsicle sticks, plastic spoons, straws, tubes, tape and buttons.
HOW TO MIX UP SOME SNAIL GOOP
Slime…snail goop…boogers…it’s all the same good stuff. At least it’s the same mixture of borax powder, water and white glue. A truly yucky and wonderful substance. Science rocks!
Thanks (maybe) to the Steam Maker Workshop for this gloppy sight.
Okay, snail goop is pretty much the same stuff as slime. But I like the name!If a snail made that much goop, it would be a monster. Fortunately, that monstrous snail would be slow.Kids and curious adults were learning all sorts of cool concepts at the 2016 San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering at Petco Park.
HOW TO CREATE A 3-D OPTICAL ILLUSION WITH STRING
Here’s a cool experiment that demonstrates concepts in math and spatial geometry. Perhaps imagine that the string is a ray of light. From the “tower”, stretch the string so that it touches each of the four top corners of your cube, and plot where the string finally reaches your piece of paper. Connect those points with lines the way my photographs show, then look at the image from the end of the string! It looks like some sort of weird optical illusion, but you’ll see the result actually makes sense!
This exhibit was provided by San Diego State University’s InforMath Collaborative.
By using a string attached to this tower, you can plot the projected corners of a cube or other three dimensional object onto a flat two dimensional surface.After drawing the cube’s base and drawing lines to connect the square with the projected corners, I ended up with this cool figure.When I peered at the image through a hole near the end of the string, I saw a perfect cube! Cool!
HOW TO ASSEMBLE A COOL TENSEGRITY CONSTRUCT
Oh, man! I think you could construct most of this cool stuff with Tinkertoys. Look at the diagrams and go wild! You’ll need lots of rubber bands!
Tensegrity is another science concept that was being demonstrated at the STEM education event. A friendly gentleman explained that the sticks are like bones and the rubber bands are like muscles. So human beings and other critters are examples of tensegrity!
Oops. I apologize for not knowing who put on this exhibit.
What the heck is tensegrity? A funny word created by Buckminster Fuller. You can use rubber bands to add tension to popsicle sticks and create cool stuff.Check it out! Tensegrity is also sometimes called tensional integrity or floating compression.These guys formed a huge tensegrity thingamajig using pipes and big rubber bands. I suppose one could use bungee cords, too.Look at all the tensegrity objects you can make!
HOW TO MAKE A VORTEX CANNON
Here’s a pic that has exact instructions on how to build a vortex air cannon. Looks really easy! (As usual, click the image to enlarge it.)
Uh, oh. I don’t know who created this exhibit, either. I forgot to take a picture with their name. My research got a bit sloppy. Sorry about that. Whoever had this table–very cool!
The vortex cannon shoots air in–you guessed it–a vortex.To make a vortex cannon, insert a cut narrow water bottle into a larger plastic Solo cup, just like the photo.Then cut off the nozzle of a balloon, and stretch the balloon over the open end of the cup.
HOW TO STIR UP LAVA IN A CUP
Finally, I’ve heard of java in a cup. But lava in a cup? Why not?
Adding salt to the floating oil makes the blob sink. It has become more dense than water. When the salt dissolves, the oil rises again!
Those instructions look super simple!
To make “lava in a cup”, use food coloring, vegetable oil and salt! It’s easy!You can then use that colorful lava in the cup to make some colorful art! Awesome!
That’s it! You now have a whole bunch of cool and creative science projects to try out! Have a blast!
Hey! Are you a kid? (Or even a boring old adult?) Try starting a blog like Cool San Diego Sights! You can blog about anything in the whole wide world. It’s lots of fun! And it’s pretty easy, too!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can enjoy more Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Murrugun the Mystic prepares to swallow a real sword. He currently holds the world record for longest sword swallow. He has starred on AMC’s Freakshow and many other television shows!
Wow, what a day! Where do I begin? How about with this weekend’s awesome Seaport Village Spring Busker Festival!
This is the third year in a row I’ve attended the fantastic event. It’s as good as ever! Here are some photos from today to prove it!
If you’re in San Diego tomorrow, head on over to Seaport Village to check out the busker action! On Sunday the various acts will be performing from 12pm – 6pm.
The 2016 Seaport Village Spring Busker Festival features many of the world’s best street performers on several stages.I saw a few world-class jugglers, including the UniProShow’s amazing Jamey Mossengren, a seven-time World Unicycle Champion!A performing duo called Her Majesty’s Secret Circus Show had a funny act that included juggling, silliness and lots of bad jokes.A wicked-looking knife getting readied at the Seaport Village Spring Busker Festival!A secret agent with a bow and plunger prepares to shoot at a bullseye held by another secret agent on a unicycle.CREW was providing crazy good percussive beats using old garbage cans and other odd household objects.Fantastic break dancing and acrobatics were the specialty of the super entertaining Flying Tortillas!Audience members are readied for a rare stunt. A member of the Flying Tortillas will run and launch himself bodily over six people! Can he make it? You’ll have to go see for yourself!Murrugun the Mystic breathes fire. He is keeping the old circus sideshow traditions alive.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can enjoy more Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Kids love the Dr. Seuss displays all around the Old Globe plaza area during December Nights in Balboa Park.
I’m not in the least embarrassed to say I love reading Dr. Seuss. Even as an adult, he remains one of my favorite authors. He created pure joy.
Today is Dr. Seuss’ birthday. He was born March 2, 1904. His actual name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, and he lived in beautiful La Jolla, just a short distance up the coast from where I now sit in downtown San Diego.
I’ve included some Dr. Seuss related photos on my blog over the years, so to remember the immortal children’s book author, I’ll share them once again!
Dr. Seuss seems to be a favorite author of the City of San Diego Park and Recreation Department, marching in the Garden Party of the Century event in Balboa Park!Dr. Seuss’ Cat in the Hat walks along a north window of the San Diego Central Library in East Village.The Cat in the Hat on the San Diego Central Library children’s room wall.Front of the Old Globe Theatre features a banner of the Dr. Seuss Grinch during December Nights.It’s Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham! This fun art was photographed outside the Legends Gallery in La Jolla, hometown of popular children’s book author Theodor Geisel.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can enjoy more 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 on a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to enjoy!
Superman cosplay at San Diego Comic-Con. This blog likes to have fun! Just one photo of thousands that you can discover on Cool San Diego Sights!
Welcome to everyone visiting Cool San Diego Sights! In particular, I want to greet those arriving from Pinterest! Thanks for checking out my fun photo blog!
Cool San Diego Sights has grown so huge, I now have thousands of photographs that you might enjoy, and possibly pin and share! I’ve got pics of public art, historic places, cultural attractions, tourist destinations, unique events, San Diego Comic-Con, Balboa Park, tall ships, surfers, street performers, crafts and hobbies, funny stuff, flowers and beautiful landscapes, and just lots and lots of diverse, inspiring and interesting stuff! I can hardly believe it, myself!
To see if your interests can be found on Cool San Diego Sights, simply use the search box in my blog’s sidebar. Or click on a tag. Chances are you’ll get lots of results!
Thanks again for visiting, and perhaps following along on my photo adventures! There’s a lot more fun ahead!
Richard
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can enjoy more Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 