You could be the cure! Smiling ladies in Balboa Park register potential bone marrow donors. And there are other ways that you can fight cancer, too!
During my walk today, I was reminded of an important fact. There’s a heroic decision that many of us can make to possibly save another person’s life.
I’m sure many of you have heard about how certain types of blood cancers can be successfully treated with a bone marrow transplant. And you’ve probably heard about the National Marrow Donor Program, a registry where cancer patients can be matched with an appropriate donor.
Have you thought about becoming a potential donor? You might save somebody’s life!
If you walk through Balboa Park and notice a sign concerning a Marrow Donor Registry Drive, take a moment to check it out! Or simply click the Be The Match website now to learn of several things you can do to help save a life!
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A Disney princess has been captured in a large fishing net on the Tuna Harbor pier.
If you love a sunlit clutter of colorful surprises, Tuna Harbor’s G Street Pier is the perfect spot.
Curious eyes during a slow walk are sure to discover many wonders. Small humorous wonders that produce small smiles.
Enjoy a few photos.
Fishermen bike to their boat. Tuna Harbor is full of visual delights, odd clutter, humor and life.Floats with spear-like poles rise into the sky above downtown San Diego skyscrapers.A heron has taken sole possession of this boat in Tuna Harbor.Fish won’t be caught in here for long.An untidy fishing boat in Tuna Harbor. Sun, sweat, grit and real life. The source of your elegant dinner.Truth is, the Sea Nag likes to keep things cool.An indifferent gull.This live bait boat resembles an auto tire store.Who doesn’t love a houseboat? A small bird builds a nest in an odd place.
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New light. Eyes reopen. The sky regains depth. Wings stretch.
In downtown San Diego, along the Embarcadero, morning light reflects from both clouds and water.
The first smile of the day.
Life is wonderful, and good.
A beautiful sky one October morning above Tuna Harbor in San Diego.Seagulls perched on a boat await the morning activity of fishermen.A seagull circles far away like a dream.Fishing boats and tinted clouds, reflected in the gentle water.A boat’s mysterious reflection in the rippled water.A sky full of fantastic clouds. Early morning above the Embarcadero near Ruocco Park.Magical light infiltrates clouds above San Diego.Clouds that seem like cotton in the blue sky.Morning birds take flight like windblown seeds in the air.Clouds are framed by The Riparium, public art created in 2012 by Roman de Salvo. The sinuous structure rises in one corner of San Diego’s Ruocco Park.Gazing skyward through The Riparium. A fine day has dawned in downtown San Diego.
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Joan Embery appears with Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show. Carol the Elephant paints on a canvas for the national television audience.
Who doesn’t know Joan Embery? As a frequent guest on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, as Goodwill Ambassador for the San Diego Zoo, and as an international spokesperson for animal conservation, Joan Embery is loved by people all around the world. She is truly a San Diego legend.
So it’s fitting that the Bonita Museum and Cultural Center is now showing an exhibition about her life and career, titled Joan Embery’s My Animal World.
It was my first visit to this museum, and I was surprised to discover such a fine exhibition. Viewing all the displays gave me a great deal of pleasure. They brought back so many San Diego memories.
These few photographs only provide a small taste of what you will see at the museum. If you’re in San Diego, you really ought to head over to Bonita and check it out. The exhibition runs through December 3, 2016.
The Bonita Museum and Cultural Center is hosting a great exhibition about San Diego legend Joan Embery through December 3, 2016.An elephant saddle is one of many cool artifacts on display at the Joan Embery’s My Animal World exhibition.Many photos show Joan Embery through the years–in Bonita, at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, travelling the world, and on the Pillsbury Ranch.Joan Embery was born in San Diego and was raised by a family who loved animals. As a kid, she never could get enough pets.In Junior High School, Joan Embery took horse riding lessons in Bonita. From an early age she dreamt of having her own horse.Wonderful photos of Joan Embery with Carol the Elephant. The two became good friends when Joan worked at the San Diego Zoo. She would become the zoo’s world-famous Goodwill Ambassador.Display at the Bonita Museum and Cultural Center documents a moment in the life and career of Joan Embery.Ms. Zoofari. While working at the San Diego Zoo, Joan learned about different animal behaviors and about daily zoo tasks.Today, the 50-acre Pillsbury Ranch is the home of Joan Embery and her husband Duane Pillsbury. Students visiting the ranch learn about the many different exotic animals that live there.Joan Embery’s Tack Room with many related photographs can be found at her museum exhibit in Bonita. Above all, she loves riding horses.Joan oversees The Embery Institute for Wildlife Conservation. She has been involved with many programs dedicated to animal and habitat conservation.Mountain lion head sculpted by Joan Embery’s talented artist husband, Duane Pillsbury.Joan Embery participated on a mountain lion tracking team at Rancho Cuyamaca State Park east of San Diego.Joan Embery is a San Diego legend loved by many around the world. She has appeared on numerous book covers, magazines and television shows.
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Pottery pumpkins smile outside a gift shop in San Diego’s festive Old Town.
I see pumpkins! Everywhere! It must be mid-October in San Diego!
Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere! Big ones and little ones! Grocery stores are overflowing. It must be mid-October.A fun display of pumpkins and Autumn characters on a street corner in Little Italy. Halloween is on the way! Boo!A beautiful arrangement of flowers, pumpkins and gourds graces a rustic Old Town boardwalk.More golden Autumn colors suggest it’s time to harvest the good things in life.A pumpkin and warm flowers on an antique cart in Old Town San Diego.
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Two elegantly dressed skeletons have been discovered seated inside the front entrance of the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Old Town.
I was stunned to observe that a large number of skeletons have been discovered in an old San Diego hotel. The Cosmopolitan Hotel, to be exact. The elegantly dressed skeletons, wearing frilly dresses or top hats, were seen standing about the hotel’s entrance, in the saloon, even seated on chairs behind a large wedding cake.
Huh?
I’m just having a bit of fun! The Cosmopolitan Hotel is part of Old Town, and dozens of elegantly dressed skeletons appear in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park every year as Día de los Muertos approaches.
Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is actually a celebration of ancestors and loved family members who have passed away. In Mexico, the deceased are remembered and prayed for, and certain joyful traditions are observed. One unusual tradition is derived from La Calavera Catrina, a famous etching by Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada, which depicts a female skeleton dressed in a fancy hat. Even though the image was originally created as satire, the Catrina has become a familiar sight in many places where Día de los Muertos is observed.
I snapped these photos at the historic Cosmopolitan Hotel in Old Town. The original building dates back to the late 1820s, when the wealthy Californio cattle rancher Juan Bandini built a “mansion” among the simple adobes in Old Town. When Bandini’s fortunes faded, he sold the house to Albert Seeley in 1869, who built a second story and converted the house into a hotel for a new San Diego stagecoach stop, which he also built nearby.
I believe I photographed a couple of the same skeletons a year or two ago, but I simply couldn’t help myself. They’re so much fun!
A covered wagon in front of the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.In celebration of Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, two lady skeletons wearing frilly dresses greet visitors to the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Here’s one!Here’s the other!Inside the Cosmopolitan Hotel’s saloon, another lavishly elegant but skeletal customer is observed.A shy skeleton in very fancy attire stands silently in the corner of the Old West 1800s saloon.A bony customer at the bar. That must have been a stiff drink.A wedding cake for a skeleton bride and groom! Día de los Muertos is a joyful holiday that celebrates the past lives of loved ones.
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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!
A walk through Liberty Station in Point Loma is always pleasurable. A photographer can find scenes of art, fun and life!
My walk yesterday took me to one of my favorite places in San Diego . . . Liberty Station! The historic old Naval Training Center San Diego in Point Loma has been converted into beautiful courtyards, shops, museums, art studios and more. It’s a lively but leisurely place where one can simply sit on a bench in a park and enjoy people, fountains, flowers and sunshine. It’s also a perfect place to walk randomly about to make new discoveries.
Here are a few fun photos my camera captured!
Two people on the North Promenade in the middle of the Arts District at Liberty Station learn how to take great photos from a personal instructor.These Star Wars stormtroopers were caught near a parking lot without their helmets. They appear to be quite human and friendly! I believe they were getting ready to provide entertainment for a special event in the big grassy NTC Park.Colorful banner outside the San Diego Watercolor Society Gallery. Their amazing International Exhibition is underway and will be open to the public through October 31.A small collection of paintings can be enjoyed inside the entrance to the old Naval Training Center San Diego’s command building.Art displayed in the NTC Command Center was created by artists who have studios inside several old barracks at Liberty Station.Window into one artist’s studio. Artists, museums and cultural attractions now occupy many of the historic Navy barracks at Liberty Station.A fun sculpture graces the North Promenade at Liberty Station. Flowers, by John Dupree.Families and kids love the small USS Brave boat bench at Liberty Station. Wood art by Jonathan Allen.Photo of entrance to the Dorothea Laub Dance Place building in Liberty Station.Lavendar Ballerina by Jori Owens, one of many paintings on display in the main hallway of the Dance Place San Diego at Liberty Station.Blue Ballerina, a painting by Jori Owens.Red Ballerina, a painting by Jori Owens.A busy Saturday at the new and very popular indoor Liberty Public Market.Flowers add color and life to Liberty Public Market, one of many places to visit at Liberty Station.
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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!
Wheelchairs are welcome on the beautiful Jas Arnold Trail For All People in Black Mountain Open Space Park.
A hiking trail that welcomes wheelchairs recently opened in San Diego’s North County. It’s called the Jas Arnold Trail For All People, and it’s located in the Black Mountain Open Space Park.
This morning I walked the short loop for the first time.
What a wonderful place. Peaceful, a bit meandering, easily accessible, with pleasant views into the sunlit distance, fresh air, the scent of sage, the sound of birds–it’s a fine place that one can explore at a easy pace and just relax–a place to feel energized, spiritually whole and free.
Here are some photographs. To read the signs, click the images and they will enlarge. This morning I spotted a shy rabbit, a curious scrub jay and a cheerful young mockingbird. And a bunch of small flitting birds that I couldn’t identify.
The Trail For All People is a 1076 feet long, nearly level loop. The elevation runs between 777 and 792 feet. The five foot wide hiking trail’s decomposed granite surface is very easily navigated on wheels or by foot. Those in a wheelchair who love nature and the outdoors should definitely check it out!
To reach the Trail For All People’s trailhead, drive up Carmel Valley Road and watch for the Black Mountain Open Space Park sign that mentions Miner’s Ridge Loop. You’ll spot it just south of the Valle Del Sur Court traffic light. Turn in to the narrow entrance and head up a slightly rough and winding paved road for about a half mile until you reach the trailhead parking lot. Once parked, it’s easy to spot the Trail For All People. (You might also see trailheads for the Miner’s Ridge Loop and Lilac Canyon Trail.)
On warm days, make sure to bring water! Enjoy!
To find the trailhead for the Trail For All People, turn off of Carmel Valley Road at this sign, just south of the traffic light at Valle Del Sur Court.Early morning walker with dog on the Miner’s Ridge Loop Trail, across a parking lot from the Trail For All People.The Jas Arnold Trail For All People is an ADA Accessible loop composed of wheelchair-friendly decomposed granite. Four small shelters provide shade for those enjoying the views.Native plants along the trail include Black Sage, Coastal Prickly Pear, California Sagebrush, Laurel Sumac, Chamise, Lemonadeberry and Flat-top Buckwheat.Animals one might spot along the trail include rattlesnakes, Red-tailed Hawks, California Quail, Greater Roadrunners, Desert Cottontails, Bobcats and Coyotes.Here I’m hiking down the easy Jas Arnold Trail For All People on Black Mountain early one Saturday morning. The sun had just risen and very few people were about.One of the benches and shelters along the Trail For All People. Views to the north include mountains and nearby 4S Ranch.Looking southeast toward the chaparral-covered slopes of Black Mountain in north San Diego County.A topographical map shows the position of the Trail For All People in relation to its surroundings.The Jas Arnold Trail For All People was built on a small plateau in the Black Mountain Ranch Open Space Park.Another sign along the trail provides detailed information about some of the wildlife one might see.Another section of the relatively level Trail For All People. The easy loop is ideal for the mobility challenged and families with very small children. On warm days, bring water!One of many fascinating signs along the trail. The smell of sage adds a pleasant element to one’s invigorating journey through fresh open air.A pleasant view from the Jas Arnold Trail For All People on Black Mountain.The natural beauty, open spaces and sunlight make one feel happy and alive.
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Almost any day in San Diego is a fine day. A fine day to open eyes and experience life.
When I walk about, I often take photos of everything and anything. Photography helps one to see the surrounding world: a fascinating world in constant motion.
Here are some photos that I’ve taken on different walks around San Diego. Every walk is a fine walk. There is so much to see.
Saturday morning on the pier near the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market.A bicyclist with a daring spirit at the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge.A standup paddleboarder off Coronado, with sailboats and the San Diego skyline in the background.Bagpipes and a smile outside Petco Park.Early morning produce is ready to deliver in East Village.A boy and a kite at Embarcadero Marina Park North.Someone seeks attention in Seaport Village.Pigeons on Broadway.A smiling face.Rolling down the Gaslamp.A big wheel in Balboa Park.A handstand on a bench. Just another fine day in San Diego.A scene of ordinary city life near the Fifth Avenue trolley station.Entertainer wears a horse head at the Little Italy Farmers’ Market.A slow Sunday in downtown San Diego.
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Dr. Carol Williams, San Diego Civic Organist for 15 years, in the middle of her final Sunday afternoon performance at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park.
Thank you Dr. Carol Williams.
Thank you for 15 years of inspiration, dedication, and–most of all–unparalleled music. Thank you for making the Spreckels Organ come so alive. Thank you for your quirky good humor and your wonderful showmanship. Thank you for being such a great part of San Diego’s history, for being one of a long string of distinguished musicians, Civic Organists who first made the Spreckels Organ’s powerful lungs sing in 1915. Thank you for helping culture in Balboa Park to thrive. Thank you for bringing in some of the finest organists in the world for our absolutely incredible Summer Organ Festivals. Thanks for being a part of many Sunday afternoons, at two o’clock, when I could simply close my eyes and feel the music move through me. Just music. Each living note. Thank you!
In the years ahead, may you produce many fantastic compositions for the king of instruments!
A large crowd turned out to enjoy the music produced by Carol and the Spreckels Organ one last Sunday afternoon.Dr. Carol Williams wows the crowd with another amazing performance. She is one of the world’s finest concert organists. And her dog Dietrich up on stage seems quite proud!A special day in Balboa Park as our nation’s first woman Civic Organist plays the king of instruments one last Sunday.The Spreckels Organ Pavilion was filled with people who have enjoyed Carol’s concerts for many years.Carol and pal Dietrich between pieces. KUSI television videotaped the historic occasion.Dr. Carol Williams, a premiere concert organist, plays the Spreckels Organ, the largest outdoor pipe organ in the world.An artist at work.The beginning of a standing ovation, just as Carol asks everyone to stand for the National Anthem.Dr. Carol Williams greets organ lovers in the gift shop after her final Sunday concert in Balboa Park. She has long been a San Diego treasure, and now becomes a part of our city’s history.An organ student thanks Dr. Carol Williams. She worked hard to educate youth, to encourage aspiring musicians, and to build the Spreckels Organ Society into a powerful presence in the music world.
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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!
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