A giant space squid has attacked several flying saucers on a street in North Park!
Don’t believe me? I offer evidence!
It seems every time I walk around North Park I see some new street art. I saw these newly painted electrical boxes on 30th Street south of University Avenue and I absolutely had to take photos.
Sometimes street art can seem a bit tired, presenting identical styles or themes.
At other times street art can be wildly different and imaginative! Like this!
I see the rampaging space squid emerged from the mind of @DuderDesigns. It was finished a couple of weeks ago!
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Members of the San Diego cosplay group Science Fiction Coalition assembled today in Balboa Park for a photoshoot. And I happened to run into them as I walked around with my own camera!
I first encountered this awesome group several years ago in Balboa Park. Back then they were posing as members of the Justice League (with a few supervillains mixed in). Since then I’ve encountered the Science Fiction Coalition several times, mostly during Comic-Con and at the Comic-Con Museum.
If you’re into cosplay–costume play–and you live around San Diego, you probably want to check this group out. They have numerous members belonging to many diverse fandoms. Here’s their website!
Today I recognized the Addams Family, Phantom of the Opera, She-Hulk, Elvira and Chainsaw Man. There were a few others, too!
Very cool!
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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.
You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!
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 concrete cast of a weird, apparently inhuman footprint is now on display at the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center. Some residents who live in the area claim the cast is “concrete” evidence of the legendary Proctor Valley Monster.
Over the years, there have been various reported sightings of the Proctor Valley Monster along lonely Proctor Valley Road, in the secluded hills and fields east of Chula Vista, west of Jamul.
Certain witnesses have said the monster resembles Bigfoot, standing about seven feet tall and hairy, walking with long strides. Others have claimed the monster is entirely different. There have been accounts that the Proctor Valley Monster appears like a strange, mutilated cow, or a silent female apparition, or an inexplicable, ghostly light…
Articles I’ve found tell a few of these strange stories and provide possible explanations. Here and here and here and here.
According to an August 20, 2003 article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, which is also on display, nobody knows how the bizarre footprint cast ended up in the Bonita Museum’s collection. But there the footprint is, for anyone to see, mounted behind glass!
Is the Proctor Valley Monster merely an urban legend? Is the creature simply a product of human imagination, shadowy fear, and perhaps a bit of sly humor?
At the Bonita Museum visitors can also view a copy of the graphic novel Proctor Valley Road. I flipped quickly through it and discovered more than a few terrifying monsters. According to Amazon’s description, the book follows a group of kids down the most haunted, demon-infested stretch of road in America.
Well, San Diego has the Whaley House, commonly described as the most haunted house in America. We have the most haunted stretch of road, too?
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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.
You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!
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!
Dozens of theaters have recently opened in La Jolla. Audiences have been gathering to view some of the most unusual theatre productions ever conceived. And it’s free!
Yes, dozens of small paper theaters have been carefully folded open in the Wisteria Cottage Gallery of the La Jolla Historical Society. The exhibition is titled The Smallest Show on Earth: Paper Theaters Explored.
Those who are interested in art, theatre, Victorian Era London (where toy theaters originated) or collectibles will be intrigued by this important collection.
Popular in the 19th century, paper theater kits were sold at the concession stand of an opera house, playhouse, or vaudeville theater. The kits included tabletop theaters that one could easily assemble, plus paper doll players and scripts. Tiny dramas could be played out at home. Better yet, original productions could be imagined and performed!
These paper theaters might seem a quaint reminder of a simpler time, a time when there was no television, no radio and no internet. For home entertainment, people had to rely on their own intelligence, creativity and imagination.
This cool exhibition includes many paper theaters from that era long past and the posters that promoted them. You’ll also see new, contemporary creations that were inspired by this very unique do-it-yourself art form!
The Smallest Show on Earth: Paper Theaters Explored continues through January 22, 2023.
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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.
You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!
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!
Many new murals have blossomed in San Ysidro’s creative Cultural Corridor!
During the last year artists have been busy adding life to fences along and near Cypress Drive, north of San Ysidro Boulevard.
I’ve noted other murals along this Cultural Corridor in the past. You can see those photos here and here and here!
So what new artwork did I see during my walk up the corridor today?
Corredor Cultural–Cultural Corridor. The Cultural Corridor along Cypress Drive is Casa Familiar’s current effort to engage in advocacy, public safety, greenery, and art. Join our community effort!
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A super fun and enjoyable exhibit is now on display at the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park!
Toying with Design intentionally coincides with San Diego Design Week 2022, which concludes today. Fortunately, however, this very unique exhibit will continue on until February 2023.
So what will visitors to one corner of the Mingei’s upstairs gallery see? Lots of clever designs! Including all sorts of inspired designs that make common functional household items as playful as toys!
I particularly enjoyed how ordinary kitchen utensils were creatively infused with surprising humor!
Check it out!
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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!
Enjoy photos of three cool murals I spotted during a recent Ocean Beach walk.
The above mural must be relatively new. It’s by Cong Nguyen (@KINGNCONG). You can find it on the side of the OB Noodle House and Sake Bar on Cable Street. This mural replaced a long-time OB girl mural that I photographed here. (It’s the first photo you’ll see in that old blog post.)
The next mural with a big colorful parrot was painted last year on the Ocean Beach Hotel by the amazing local artist team of Carly Ealey and Christopher Konecki.
Finally, check out this cool alley mural I must’ve missed back when I photographed the “Hippie Dog” here. It’s on another side of the same building!
This awesome bee lady artwork was painted by Celeste Byers back in 2017.
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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!
Famous author Mark Twain and several literary friends visited San Diego today. They arrived at Heritage County Park for a very special event.
TwainFest 2022 welcomed some of the world’s most celebrated writers, delighting everyone who attended the outdoor festival. The free, family-friendly event is put on every year by Write Out Loud.
Mark Twain himself greeted visitors who wandered about…
When I asked him, Mark Twain wouldn’t clearly acknowledge that he was inspired by Squibob. Historians say he probably was.
But we can all agree Twain’s novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a classic of American Literature. The esteemed author must’ve been pleased when TwainFest visitors cheerfully whitewashed a fence, much to the consternation of Aunt Polly.
Soon Twain was joined by three other notable writers. Edgar Allan Poe, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Emily Dickinson.
Yes, a fine summer day filled with imagination–another chapter in our own never-ending stories…
Out of the blue, a friendly Charles Dickens came strolling along through Heritage Park. The author confessed that one of his favorite works was A Christmas Carol.
In another area of the park, the Red Queen of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was playing croquet. I didn’t see Lewis Carroll, but he must’ve been nearby.
In the sunny Author’s Salon, Edgar Allan Poe was talking about his life–what he remembered of it.
Then Poe began his emotional recital of The Raven.
A few steps away, what were these smiling TwainFest visitors observing?
Tinker Bell and Peter Pan!
And that scoundrel, Captain Hook!
And what was going on over here?
Alice, the White Rabbit, the (Mad) Hatter and smiling guests had assembled for a quite unique tea party!
The Dormouse made a surprise appearance at the Mad Tea-Party as well!
And who is this fine fellow over here reading a story about gallant knights and noble acts of chivalry?
Don Quixote! (And his squire Sancho Panza.)
For his first big adventure, Don Quixote encountered a terrifying number of large fearsome giants who looked strangely like windmills…
Thank you, Mr. Twain, for the twinkle in your eye and your timeless humor.
And for bringing so many literary friends to San Diego!
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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!
Around noon today, chalk artists were doing their thing at the 25th Annual Lemon Festival in Chula Vista!
The enormously popular community event is taking place today in Chula Vista’s historic downtown, along Third Avenue.
I paused to admire the half dozen creative works, most of which were in progress.
As you might expect, all this lemony artwork required a fair amount of yellow chalk!
Sweet!
Chalk art by Dorothy Corona.Chalk art by Brenda Mora.Chalk art by Eric Arcala.Chalk art by Colin Moyer.Chalk art by Meg Canilang.Chalk art by Cecilia Linayao.
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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!
Back in Middle School, a bunch of classmates and I spent a summer weekend camping on Catalina Island. At the Parsons Landing primitive campground to be exact.
We hiked all over the north part of Catalina and saw bison, cliff dived into the ocean, sat around a campfire, and even went on an afternoon snipe hunt. (We saw bison? That’s correct! A small herd of bison was transported to this Southern California island by Hollywood for the filming of The Thundering Herd, a 1925 silent movie.)
The snipe hunt fascinated me. We headed up one of the trails above the campground searching right and left and occasionally beating a bush with a stick. Everyone knew from the start that the snipes weren’t real, but we all had fun “hunting” them anyway. At least for a little while. I think what made the snipe hunt fun was the shared joke, and the fact that we were heading up a trail that was new to us.
An idea for a short story came to me some time ago, based loosely on that snipe hunt experience. Of course, I changed many elements for my fictional story. It was necessary that I make the setting of the story a dark night.
You’ll see why when you read my new story, The Snipe Hunt, by clicking here!
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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!
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