Embarcadero Marina Park North was overrun today with hundreds of cool cars and custom hot rods, and I’ve got some pics to prove it! The event was called Mustangs by the Bay, put on by the The Mustang Club of San Diego. Lots of people were just chillin’ for the weekend, checking out all the different cars. It was the perfect spot to enjoy barbeque served by Boy Scouts, classic oldies music, and awesome views of downtown, Seaport Village and beautiful San Diego Bay.
That big aircraft carrier with the number 76 is the Ronald Reagan, docked at North Island.
I checked out that gray ship docked at the pier just north of Seaport Village. It appears to have been a Navy ship, but its number has been removed; I don’t have a clue what it’s used for.
Another really cool boat on San Diego Bay is the Maritime Museum’s 1914 wooden pilot boat. Appropriately named Pilot, she served as San Diego’s main pilot boat for 82 years! Over the decades, thousands of commercial ships entered and departed the bay with her navigational assistance.
During World War II, she was used as a patrol boat by the Coast Guard. She was (and remains) decorated with 6 six-month service chevrons.
When you purchase admission to the Maritime Museum (home of the Star of India and other historic ships), you can pay a little extra and ride the Pilot for a short harbor tour. It’s a lot of fun and definitely well worth it!
Pilot boat cruises near USS Midway on Memorial Day weekend.The Pilot with sightseeing tourists cruises past a pier on San Diego Bay.
Here are three more photos I took in 2016!
The first few shots were taken when this blog was relatively new. I had no idea my blog would grow to the extent is has. You might notice I now spend a little more time and effort with my photographs!
The 1914 Pilot Boat, with 82 years of service, has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.Pilot docked at the Maritime Museum of San Diego.The small Pilot sets out across San Diego Bay on a tour of the harbor.
…
This blog has grown tremendously over three years and 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 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.
Downtown residents and visitors to East Village have access to a great public resource. Green grass, shady trees, a large playground, and views of the city can all be freely enjoyed (when the San Diego Padres aren’t playing a home game) at the Park at the Park!
Situated beyond Petco Park’s outfield, surrounded by sleek city buildings, this public park has a small ball field which is perfectly sized for children. In this pic, taken near the end of the baseball season (the Padres were in San Francisco), a family is seen walking across the diamond. Those patches of bare dirt testify to the popularity of the park during the summer and long baseball season.
Here’s a pic taken on 2/8/14 during Padres FanFest…
Kids enjoy small baseball field during Padres FanFest.
Here’s a pic taken on 7/6/14 during a Sunday afternoon Padres game. This year Bumble Bee (the tuna company) is sponsoring the kids baseball field, with promotional signs on the outfield fence. A new food concession stand has been added just beyond right field…
Folks watch a game at the kids baseball field in Park at the Park.
And finally a pic taken when no one was around…
Scoreboard beyond outfield of tiny baseball diamond sponsored by Bumble Bee.
Just one of many colorful eateries along San Diego Avenue.
These pics offer a sample of the sort of Mexican-themed eateries one encounters in the commercial part of Old Town, which runs several blocks south of the State Park along San Diego Avenue. Lots of seating outdoors, an eyeful of festive colors and a cool, laid-back Southern California atmosphere.
Eating great Mexican food outdoors in San Diego’s Old Town.Fountain and splash of color in courtyard of an Old Town restaurant.Keep Calm and Drink Tequila.Old Town pedestrians can buy hot buttery tortillas.Ladies prepare fresh tortillas for people passing on the sidewalk.Bienvenidos a Old Town! Where great food and a festive atmosphere mingle with San Diego’s rich, colorful history.
Are you visiting from Pinterest? To see hundreds of fascinating pins from beautiful San Diego, please visit my Pinterest page!
…
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 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.
The Old Town Market is one very popular destination.
Little shops selling all sorts of colorful souvenirs, curios and crafts can be found everywhere in Old Town, both in the State Park and in the touristy area just to the south. Many of the items for sale are Mexican in origin or style. You can find pottery, painted tiles, jewelry, maracas, pinatas, lucha libre masks, and all sorts of unique leather and wood-carved crafts. A few stores have a Western theme and sell cowboy hats, boots, Native American art and other stuff related to the American frontier experience. It’s fun just to browse and soak it all in!
Kid checks out a bunch of Mexican Lucha Libre masks.Tourists take a stroll through the colorful Old Town Market.Very colorful pottery can be found everywhere.Painted tiles for sale hang on an orange wall.Vendor at Old Town Market at work with a power drill.Painted plates for sale in a corner of Old Town.Many Western items on display in an Old Town shop.Hundreds of Mexican ornaments and trinkets.Colorfully painted gourds and posters.A guitarist performs for shoppers.
Here’s another pic from Bunnyfest. Three rabbits are ready to compete in a big race! They’re poised before three burrow-like tubes, just waiting to be released… There they go! Which one will win?
The one nearest the camera popped out of its pipe first!
Just a sample of the fun stuff I observed today during my walk!
Walking back toward downtown, I happened to stumble upon Bunnyfest on the grass at the south side of Balboa Park. It was a surprisingly large event with lots of booths and activities, put on by the San Diego House Rabbit Society. Rabbits were everywhere! Big rabbits, small rabbits, ordinary rabbits, exotic rabbits . . . rabbits of every kind and description! In arms, in pens, and featured on many great works of art! I watched for a moment while two girl volunteers trimmed the nails of a bunny. Here’s the photo.
Yikes! Look at the creatures I spotted lurking among the trees on the west side of Balboa Park! That big one looks like a gigantic bloody yeti with goat hooves. Watch out!
What are scary monsters, aliens and trolls doing in Balboa Park? They’re being created for Halloween . . . to populate The Haunted Trail! Sunday afternoon I spotted the huge creatures under construction behind a fence. Look how high that bloody monster stands compared to the step ladder! I also observed a human dummy in an electric chair and loads of more weird, grotesque scenery.
San Diego’s unique Haunted Trail has been raising goosebumps for years now. Looks like visitors to this dark outdoor “haunted house” will be in for a lot of screaming!
Here’s the spooky castle-like entrance to The Haunted Trail!
Late this morning, loads of Padres fans anticipating a great baseball game were entering Petco Park from its east side. Before filing through the gate and past the cool new Jerry Coleman memorial, they passed this colorful vendor. All sorts of Padres gear was on display for supportive fans.
Sunny summer days of baseball are full of life, sounds, smells, color and pageantry. Going to a Padres game in San Diego is always a fun experience, win or lose!
Padres fans converge on Petco Park for another baseball game.
I took a couple more related pics at the beginning of the 2015 season…
Any vendors at this entrance on opening weekend of the 2015 season are hidden by lots of excited fans!A smiling entrepreneur set up shop on a sidewalk a couple blocks from Petco Park.
Here’s another fun pic taken during a recent walk down B Street. A law enforcement teddy bear collection drive has filled several windows of the downtown Merrill Lynch building with warm fuzzy cuddly cuteness! I’m guessing that some less fortunate kids in San Diego are in for a bit of unexpected love!
Cool San Diego Sights! 