Tag: magic

A path of many colors leads to a magical place.

Follow this path of many colors and you will enter a magical place!
Follow this path of many colors and you will enter a magical place!

This morning during my walk I stumbled upon inexplicable wonder. A rainbow had mysteriously fallen to the ground. The shattered rainbow formed a twisting path.

I followed that path of many colors to a magical place.

Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park is a place of many wonders. Today there were exhibitors from the San Diego Mineral and Gem Society outside selling their beautiful lapidary work.
Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park is a place of many wonders. Today there were exhibitors from the San Diego Mineral and Gem Society outside selling their beautiful lapidary work.
I learned the yellow in this labyrinth was painted a couple weeks ago by an artist who works in Studio 10. Now the magical design really stands out. You'll find it in front of Studio 13. Many curious kids (and some adults) like to journey down this curving path!
I learned the yellow in this labyrinth was recently painted. Now the once elusive design really stands out. You’ll find it in front of Studio 13. Many curious kids (and some adults) like to journey down this curving path!
If this is a Road to Nowhere, I'll follow it happily!
If this is a Road to Nowhere, I’ll follow it happily!
Cool bits of art in front of funky Studio 13 in Spanish Village. The artist with whom I spoke was super nice. She once painted hopscotch patterns from different cultures around the world on the nearby patio.
Cool bits of art in front of funky Studio 13 in Spanish Village. The artist with whom I spoke was super nice. She once painted hopscotch patterns from different cultures around the world on the nearby patio.
Today there was also a big San Diego Potters' Guild sale on Spanish Village's main patio. My eyes were overwhelmed with so much to see. The potential for beauty is infinite.
Today there was also a big San Diego Potters’ Guild sale on Spanish Village’s main patio. My eyes were overwhelmed with so much to see. The potential for beauty is infinite.
Should you find yourself in Balboa Park, do not hesitate to follow this magical path of many colors!
Should you find yourself in Balboa Park, do not hesitate to follow this magical path of many colors! It was painted only a couple weeks ago by an artist who works in Studio 10!

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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!

The fantastic, amazing Harper’s Topiary Garden!

People ride past what is possibly the most amazing, fantastic front yard in all of San Diego!
People ride past what is possibly the most amazing, fantastic front yard in all of San Diego!

I walked through Middletown yesterday on a mission. I wanted to pay a visit to the locally famous Harper’s Topiary Garden!

What a fantastic, amazing creation! This private front yard on a hillside has been transformed by the residents into a eye-popping landscape of weird animals and delightful designs. I felt as though I’d stepped into a small world touched by magic.

This is one super cool sight that is undeniably extraordinary!

Human imagination coupled with passion can actually turn wildest dreams into reality!

Mission Hill Garden Club asks How Does Your Garden Grow? I'll bet it's nothing like the Harper's Topiary Garden!
Mission Hill Garden Club asks How Does Your Garden Grow? I’ll bet it’s nothing like the Harper’s Topiary Garden!
Harper's Topiary Garden seems to be a combination of a vegetable Noah's Ark and an army of unearthly creatures paralyzed by magic.
Harper’s Topiary Garden seems to be a combination of a vegetable Noah’s Ark and an army of fantasy creatures paralyzed by magic.
A green guy in a sombrero takes a siesta. Perhaps this is his dream.
A green guy in a sombrero takes a siesta. Perhaps this is his dream.
A funny rabbit stands and points among many topiary creatures.
A funny rabbit stands and points among many topiary oddities.
It appears that Edna Scissorhands is kept quite busy.
It appears that Edna Scissorhands is kept quite busy.
Harper's Topiary Garden is a marvel of human creativity.
Harper’s Topiary Garden is a marvel of human creativity.
Those who drive up this street might be in for a great surprise!
Those who drive up this street might be in for a great surprise!
Cats and critters with long ears lounge in the sun near the top of the wonderfully weird garden. I think I also see a robot.
Cats and critters with long ears lounge in the sun near the top of the wonderfully weird garden. I think I also see a robot.
Perhaps the garden was inspired a bit by the fantastic worlds of Dr. Seuss, who lived in nearby La Jolla.
Perhaps the garden is inspired a bit by the fantastic worlds of Dr. Seuss, who lived in nearby La Jolla.
A most fantastic topiary garden. A treat for the eyes!
A most amazing topiary garden. A treat for the eyes!

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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!

Optical magic at the Bay Overlook.

I took a few photos today at Tuna Harbor Park’s popular Bay Overlook. The sun had fallen low. Sunset colors were rising.

Glass, water, clouds and sunlight created optical magic.

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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!

Waning rays of sunlight, magically captured.

One of the metal Wind Palms in front of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront catches golden light at the end of an October day.
One of the metal Wind Palms in front of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront catches golden light at the end of an autumn day.

I walked along the Embarcadero late today. As I reached the Hilton San Diego Bayfront the sun was beginning to set. Looking up, I observed that golden rays of waning sunlight had been magically captured by some peculiar palm trees…

Sunset begins behind trees of Embarcadero Marina Park South.
Sunset begins behind the trees of Embarcadero Marina Park South.
Late sunlight on one of the rotating Wind Palms created by artist Ned Kahn in 2008.
Late sunlight on one of the rotating Wind Palms created by artist Ned Kahn in 2008.
People jog along San Diego's Embarcadero as evening approaches.
People walk and jog along San Diego’s Embarcadero as evening approaches.
Waning rays of sunlight, magically captured.
Waning rays of sunlight, magically captured.

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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!

Stories glimpsed along a sidewalk in Little Italy.

Words in the story of Little Italy. Words that appear in untold human stories. Factory and first class Italian macaroni.
A chapter in the history of Little Italy. These few words also appear in untold human stories. Factory and first class Italian macaroni.

Sidewalks are crisscrossing pathways inside countless stories. Often elements from the stories linger in front of one’s eyes.

I recently walked down Kettner Boulevard in Little Italy. I moved slowly forward down the west sidewalk, from Kalmia Street to Fir Street.

Someone carefully laid these tiles in one small section of the sidewalk. Adding to many forward journeys a brief moment of beauty.
Someone carefully laid these tiles in one small section of the sidewalk. Adding to many forward journeys a brief moment of beauty.
Art, love, tears, humor . . . and croissants. Elements that are shared in many stories.
Art, love, tears, humor . . . and croissants. Elements that are shared in many stories.
Essential words underfoot. Many pass without noticing.
Essential words underfoot. Many might pass without noticing.
What thought or emotion caused someone to produce this image on a wall? Where is that person now?
What thought or emotion caused someone to produce this image on a wall? Where is that person now?
An airy vision of what might be. An enhancement of a wall that presently is.
A carefree vision of what might be. Dreams on another wall in the city.
Two stories intersect for a moment. The story of an artist and the story of a pedestrian.
Two stories intersect for a moment. The story of an artist and the story of a pedestrian.
Art on a sidewalk shows an imagined path into a promising future.
Art on a sidewalk shows an imagined garden path into an idyllic future.
Many in Little Italy have had their lives positively influenced by Vince Lombardi.
Many in Little Italy have had their paths influenced by legends.
This restaurant has been a dream ever since we were kids playing on the street of Little Italy...
This restaurant has been a dream ever since we were kids playing on the street of Little Italy…
A moment in memory captured, made magical, and shared.
A moment in memory captured, made magical, and shared.
Little Italy in San Diego, where countless moving feet and stories converge.
Little Italy in San Diego, where countless moving feet and stories converge.

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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!

To read a few stories I’ve written, click Short Stories by Richard.

A short, mysterious story about a dog’s tail.

Like a mysterious living battery, your dog stores up love. Its tail is powered by love.

A healing love that flows from hand, to hand.

If you’d like to read a bit of fiction I wrote over the weekend about this magical phenomenon, a very short story that I’ve simply titled A Dog’s Tail, then follow the link! If you enjoy reading Cool San Diego Sights, you might like it!

Along with a variety of other philosophical stories, A Dog’s Tail resides on my special writing blog, Short Stories by Richard.

Ships, water, light and magic.

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I finally got my act together. Late this afternoon I renewed my annual membership in the Maritime Museum of San Diego.

Why?

Perhaps it’s that deep feeling of living inside history.

Perhaps it’s the light-splashed ships.

Perhaps it’s the water like molten silver and its dancing, inexpressible magic.

Perhaps it’s the sea, and my longing for a far horizon.

I can’t think of the right words.

So I’ll let my small camera speak its own language. I took these photos before sunset.

UPDATE! I substituted one of this post’s original photos with a new one taken a week later. Can you guess which one? The sky is a bit different, but it’s still the same time of day–perhaps an hour or less before sunset.

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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!

Friday food trucks and fun in Balboa Park!

People stroll down El Prado, checking out a variety of gourmet food trucks on a late Friday afternoon.
People stroll down El Prado, checking out a huge variety of gourmet food trucks on a late Friday afternoon.

If you haven’t been to Food Truck Friday in Balboa Park, you’re missing out!

Not only is there all sorts of yummy food, but there is grass to picnic on and live music and juggling and hula hoops and checkers and crafts for the kids and colorful flowers and splashing fountains and amazing architecture and smiles and . . . I could go on and on! And the museums are open late, too!

Balboa Park’s special magic adds spice to an already tasty meal!

Balboa Park Food Truck Friday promises yummy eats and fun through September in the Plaza de Panama.
Balboa Park’s Food Truck Friday promises yummy eats and fun through September in the Plaza de Panama and along the length of El Prado.
Feasting on the grass in sunny Balboa Park. Food Truck Fridays is the place to be for a fun and festive dinner.
Feasting on the grass in sunny Balboa Park. Food Truck Fridays is the place to be for a festive family-friendly dinner.
Kenny Shelton the friendly juggler was getting warmed up. He and other entertainers can be found throughout the park.
Kenny Shelton the awesome juggler was getting warmed up. He and other entertainers can be found throughout the park.
A beautiful photo of the Plaza de Panama, its fountain, flowers, and the House of Hospitality during Food Truck Friday.
A beautiful photo of the Plaza de Panama, its fountain, flowers, and the sunlit House of Hospitality during Food Truck Friday.
If you live in San Diego, this giant checkerboard and these hula hoops are waiting for you!
If you live in San Diego, this giant checkerboard and these hula hoops are waiting for you!
Musicians were playing under the Balboa Park Conservancy canopy near the Plaza de Panama fountain.
Musicians were playing under the Balboa Park Conservancy canopy near the Plaza de Panama fountain.
The San Diego Model Railroad Museum had a table in the plaza where kids could paint pictures of trains!
The San Diego Model Railroad Museum had a table in the plaza where young kids could apply dots of paint to fun trains!
And nearby, Spanish Village Art Center had their own fun table where kids could be creative!
And nearby, Spanish Village Art Center had their own cool table where kids could be creative!
I spotted a Puppet Shows sign traveling through the plaza. So naturally I had to investigate...
I spotted a Puppet Shows sign traveling through the plaza. So naturally I had to investigate…
The Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theatre in Balboa Park is now presenting The Little Mermaid! A pelican puppet says hello and invites you all to the show!
The Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theatre in Balboa Park is now presenting The Little Mermaid! A pelican puppet says hello and invites you all to the show!
A truly Happy Friday in San Diego's always amazing Balboa Park.
A truly Happy Friday in San Diego’s always amazing Balboa Park.

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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!

Do you love Balboa Park? Follow my special blog which I call Beautiful Balboa Park!

Seeds in your mind: More short works of fiction.

Can you believe it? My writing blog Short Stories by Richard now contains 23 short stories and a poem!

My works of fiction (and poem) operate like small seeds in your fertile mind. Plant one or two–and see what might grow.

Are you curious? Simply click the following links to read my most recent stories:

A Short Bloom offers the wisdom of one gardener.

Writing Infinity is a poem about capturing perfect truth.

Walking on Light is a strange, magical story about an uplifting kind of light.

Beth’s Window contains flowers that will always regrow.

A Bottle of Polish is a tragic story about one person’s secret shine.

How to Catch a Crab is about mystery, danger and a boy’s desire.

Elvis and the Time Machine proves that anyone can time travel.

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Richard

Optical magic at the Marriott Marquis.

A bicyclist passes reflections on the glassy two-level ballroom of the Marriott Marquis.
A bicyclist passes reflections on the glassy two-level ballroom of the Marriott Marquis.

Here are two magical photos. Bright reflections of nearby high-rises were captured by my camera as I walked past the new ballroom expansion of the Marriott Marquis. I love San Diego’s beautiful waterfront.

Optical magic on glass windows.
Optical magic on glass windows.

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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!