September 29, 2026. First game of Major League Baseball’s National League Wild Card series. Ninth inning. After two years of surgery and rehab, out of the bullpen strides native San Diegan, Padres hero Joe Musgrove.
Petco Park went absolutely crazy. (My friend who works at Cine Cafe three blocks away could hear it!)
It was a moment, along with an absolutely incredible game by the Padres, that will go down in San Diego history. Decades from now, it will be remembered with goosebumps.
Over the years, I haven’t photographed all the murals around San Diego concerning Joe. But I have captured a couple. The one above is dedicated to his grandmother and can still be found in Little Italy. That’s where she lived. I first blogged about the mural here.
The next sign appeared on the Western Metal Supply Company building’s Padres Team Store five years ago. On April 9, 2021, newly acquired Joe Musgrove pitched a 3–0 no-hitter against the Texas Rangers, the first no-hitter in San Diego Padres history. The no-hitter also broke a streak of having gone 8,205 games without throwing one, a major league record.
The last photo is of the “It’s Our Time” mural painted back in 2022. See my past blog post concerning it here.
Remember how in the 2022 postseason the losing New York Mets accused pitcher Joe Musgrove of using a banned sticky substance because his ears were red? It was a desperation move. Joe was dominating the Mets.
Go Joe!
Go Padres!
World Series or bust!
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A beautiful Dia de Los Muertos altar (ofrenda) was created today for the large display case outside the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park.
This particular altar, containing marigolds and other traditional spiritual symbols, is dedicated to beloved athletes who’ve passed away, including Tony Gwynn and Junior Seau.
The altar was created by members of the Sherman Heights Community Center, whose own displays at the community center will open to the public on October 15th.
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Those are the words that welcome lovers to the wedding arbor at the San Diego County Administration Center’s Waterfront Park.
A plaque beside the wedding arbor states:
The ceremonial wedding arbor is provided for civil wedding ceremonies performed at the County Administration Center and was dedicated on Valentine’s Day 2001.
The Latin phrase in the arbor translates to “Love Conquers All.”
Gregory J. Smith
Commissioner of Civil Marriages
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At the front desk of the Timken Museum of Art, I learned some visitors really love the museum’s current exhibition Drift, while others hate it. I’m not entirely sure what my own reaction is.
Drift was created by the Timken’s summer artist in residence Margaret Noble. As the exhibition webpage explains: Drift brings together sculpture, sound, and moving images to explore the ways in which space and perception are experienced. Drawing inspiration from François Boucher’s Lovers in a Park (1758), Noble reinterprets Rococo ideals by introducing motion and layered context through reverse glass animation, revealing and disrupting the painting’s serene, ornamental narrative.
During the unsettling video, thick black paint creeps into the frame of Lovers in a Park in unexpected ways. Black birds (crows?) fly through the Rococo painting, as does a drone. A robot, a sinister masked face, ants and a rat appear. Tiny human figures tumble into consuming blackness. The intruding images tend not to be pleasant. The video feels subversive, juvenile, but not entirely so. To me, the effect is mostly experimental and weird.
Does the artist mean to say contemporary thinking is dark and cynical, and opposed to the Rococo ideals of pure beauty and love? Contemporary art often seems that way.
Perhaps the creepiest part of the video was when the two lovers became slowly covered by a big black blob. From it a claw-like hand emerged, reaching toward the passing peasant girl. (Reminding me of the black symbiote in Spider-Man!)
In the Timken Museum’s atrium, people can use black cut-out shapes to create their own altered Lovers in a Park. The figures visitors are provided with are less creepy and include butterflies, dragonflies and dogs.
What does it say about the artist’s intentions and broader human nature–that the video is very different from what museum visitors can happily assemble?
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This very colorful street art was painted on two electrical boxes on University Avenue in Hillcrest. It’s signed by artist Liz Lancaster (@lizmurals) and dated 2024.
Different heads appear to be growing atop multi-colored stalks. On the street-facing side of one box there are flowers and the words: Let Love Grow.
You can find this street art a bit west of Park Boulevard. It is so very unique that it’s hard to miss!
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A mural proclaiming “love joy peace patience kindness” brightens a block in North Park. You can find the painted words on Iowa Street, just north of University Avenue.
The world would be such a better place if we all strived for these positive ideals. A beautiful work of art like this is a perfect reminder.
According to the artist signature I found, the mural was created by @beccakaybeal and Jenna Marie.
Inspiring!
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At either end of the 3800 block of Grim Avenue in North Park you might see a street sign. Honorary Lucky Lane.
A couple days ago I photographed the sign while walking down University Avenue. And I wondered: What makes this lane so lucky?
Well, this article provides an explanation. The block was renamed Lucky Lane last year after “Lucky” Wong, who opened Lucky’s Golden Phenix Restaurant on the corner of North Park Way and Grim Avenue in 1975.
Lucky was known and beloved by many in the community. He ran his restaurant for an incredible fifty years, kindly greeting and serving everyone, never changing his prices. Lucky died in December at 90 years old, in the restaurant where he lived.
A petition to change the block’s name to Lucky Lane quickly gathered signatures. Within weeks, more than 4,200 people signed.
North Park residents who traveled down this lane for half a century were indeed lucky. They were fortunate to have Lucky call the place home.
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April is National Volunteer Month. Have you considered going out into your community and volunteering? Here are 20 past blog posts that are full of ideas!
Hundreds of volunteering opportunities await you all around San Diego. What is your passion? Neighborhood cleanups? Rescuing dogs? Planting flowers? Helping out at a food bank? Creating art? Preserving history? Helping the elderly? Helping kids in hospitals?
Over the years, I’ve blogged about many events and organizations that concern or welcome volunteering.
Because Cool San Diego Sights focuses on my discoveries during walks, I often stumble upon environmental cleanups. But there’s a whole universe of very different volunteering possibilities out there!
I’ve chosen 20 past blog posts that might inspire you to investigate further.
Click on the following links and get some ideas!
(I usually provide a link to the organizations that welcome volunteers. If by chance I didn’t, Google will do the trick!)
Fido Fest was held yesterday in Santee’s Town Center Community Park East. Organizations and vendors that support dogs gathered together for the free, very popular event.
I was astonished by the number of organizations present that engage in dog rescue. They came from all around the San Diego and Baja California region. Between them, hundreds of dogs were up for adoption.
Would you like to adopt a dog? Would you like to support those good people who are rescuing dogs and providing them with a loving home?
I walked about Fido Fest and saw many of these good people.
My first photo, above, shows Woofs and Wags Dog Rescue. Their goal is to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome dogs rescued from from San Diego and Baja California. Their website is here.
Labrador Rescuers has been dedicated to the noble cause of rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming Labrador Retrievers for two decades. Their website is here.
Open Arms Rescue, based in Imperial Beach, is giving dogs a new start at a happy life! Their website is here.
Friends Humane Services Tijuana supports street rescues, mass spay and neuter clinics, pet owners with extremely limited resources needing veterinary care for their animals as well as public education programs, adoption programs for rescuers, and a pet food distribution program for animals in need. Their website is here.
Chihuahua Rescue of San Diego County is dedicated to rescuing and caring for homeless, abandoned and injured small breed dogs. Their website is here.
San Diego Humane Society needs no introduction. They do much good work. Visit their website here.
Paws 4 Thought Animal Rescue is an all-breed animal rescue organization. They rescue dogs from shelters at risk of being euthanized, as well as abandoned, abused, and stray dogs in both the U.S. and Tijuana/Rosarito areas. Their website is here.
Calexico Border Paws relocate their visiting animals to forever loving homes that match their needs, while avoiding as much euthanization and as possible. Their website is here.
DeTommaso Dogs Rescue aims to save as many animals in need as they can. They rescue animals from the streets of Baja California. They provide medical care, food, shelter, and rehome dogs. Their Instagram is here.
Southern California Golden Retriever Rescue is the third largest Golden Retriever Rescue in the country, finding homes for over 300 dogs annually. Their website is here.
Ruger’s Rescues is for those individuals and families up and down the state (and even in other states) that found that special dog, but are unable to get to the shelter in time or transport them home. Their website is here.
Rescue Fenix is an all volunteer all breed rescue mobilized by the feeling of compassion for animal welfare: those animals who are in danger, sick, abused and neglect. Their website is here.
Leonberger Rescue Pals is an all volunteer national organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing of unwanted, abandoned or abused Leonbergers and Leonberger mixes. Their website is here.
Animal Donation Advocates has many dogs up for adoption. See their Facebook page here.
Labradors and Friends Dog Rescue‘s mission is to help save the lives of homeless Labradors, Labrador-mixes, and Labrador “friends” from kill-shelters in California and across the southwest. Their website is here.
Animal Rescue Resource Foundation supports a variety of efforts in San Diego County to protect and defend our furry friends. Their goal is to provide connections and solutions for pets and the people that work with them. Their website is here.
Fido Foster Community helps you find your perfect foster match and join San Diego’s cross-rescue foster community. Their website is here.
Heart of Gold’s Shelter in El Cajon is making the world a better place! Their Facebook page is here.
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In Oceanside, it’s easy to arrange for a blind date . . . with a book!
For your blind date, simply head over to Jane & Evie’s Used Books at 323 North Coast Highway and choose one of the plainly wrapped packages pictured above.
Beneath the mysterious wrappings you’ll discover a book!
Will you fall in love with it?
You can’t judge a book by its cover. Particularly in this instance. Fortunately, there are written clues on the wrappings that provide an idea of what you might find inside. (You get a beautiful bookmark, too!)
Every five dollar purchase helps to fund the Oceanside Public Library. What’s not to love?
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