The sun rises behind trees atop Cortez Hill, the neighborhood where I live in downtown San Diego.
Yesterday morning, just after sunrise, the clouds high above San Diego were absolutely amazing. They were delicate and windswept, like angels’ wings and painted dreams. The clouds were so swirly and curly, it seemed the wind knew not which way to go.
I took these photos during a short walk from Cortez Hill to Bankers Hill.
Eucalyptus trees at the southwest corner of Balboa Park, beneath glowing, fantastic morning clouds.Mother Nature put on quite a sky show for those who thought to look upward!Swirly, curly, windswept clouds high in the blue San Diego sky, like a delicate dream.Morning clouds above Bankers Hill make for a truly cool sight in San Diego, the beautiful city I call home!
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A wheelbarrow full of colorful flowers on a spring morning, following a light rain. Photo taken near base of the Little Italy landmark sign on India Street.
Early this morning I headed through Little Italy. The streets were still wet after a slight rain in the night. I was admiring all the brightly damp flowers up and down one sidewalk, when it occurred to me I should pull out my camera. So I did!
I love springtime in San Diego. Lots of walking and photos ahead!
Looking east from Kettner Boulevard in downtown San Diego’s beautiful Little Italy neighborhood. Morning clouds catch the rising sun after some nighttime sprinkles.Little Italy streets have many public planters filled with flowers. Orange blooms in this hanging planter are still wet from the recent rain.Many spring flowers provide a burst of color near the windows of a Little Italy restaurant.A small patch of color on India Street. A nearby sign reads Garden by Randall.Some moisture has pooled in the leaves of this potted geranium on the sidewalk.More happy flowers by the outdoor seating area of a restaurant. The clear plastic that provides protection from inclement weather is still wet with many raindrops.Bunches of hanging flowers. Gorgeous spring colors are all about Little Italy’s friendly streets.Banner on a street lamp advertises the upcoming Mission Federal Art Walk in Little Italy. It’s about a month away.Some yellow blooms on a small table in the front patio of a Little Italy residence.An eye-catching bird of paradise flower greets anyone who approaches this door!Walking with the dog up a sidewalk in Little Italy, early one spring morning after some rainfall.A peek through a window at flowers on a table inside a Little Italy breakfast spot.To see lots of bright flowers on San Diego’s streets, perhaps swing by Little Italy during the spring!
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The delightfully unusual Beaumont Building rises in Little Italy at 434 West Cedar Street.
In my opinion, the most delightfully unusual building in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood is the Beaumont Building. The design–especially the two cylindrical towers–is both visually distinctive and impressive. Those mysterious-looking towers make me look up with fresh surprise whenever I see them.
The Beaumont Building was built in 1988. It was designed by Rob Wellington Quigley, whose architectural work can be seen in various places around San Diego. The lattice-domed San Diego Central Library and The New Children’s Museum are two well-known examples.
I often walk past this building, and have taken many photographs over the years. But none of my photos fully capture this very unique structure’s truly amazing presence.
Looking upward near the front entrance to the unique Beaumont Building.Another photo on a different day of this very cool building in San Diego’s always interesting Little Italy neighborhood.The two high towers of the Beaumont Building almost appear like antennas, or an over-sized science experiment.An eye-catching sight during a morning walk!
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Mural titled I Pescatori by artist Renee Garcia, 2003. Depicts tuna fishermen who lived in Little Italy (many were Italian immigrants) fishing off the coast of San Diego.
Camera in hand, I captured even more examples of fantastic, colorful artwork. Most of these pics were taken on India Street north of Ivy Street.
This painting of two dancers was in the front patio of a shop or cafe or restaurant of some kind–I forget what, exactly. I had to snap a quick pic.Ben-Hur Coffee. A cool old advertisement on the side of an old brick building in San Diego’s hip Little Italy neighborhood.Just a fun artistic tile on a building wall that I noted as I walked up India Street this morning.Several murals that together are titled Eredita Italiana. By Yakov Kandinov, 2004. According to a nearby plaque, this is a Precious Cheese Art Mural Project.A portrait of a proud Italian family that might have lived in this neighborhood.One of the grouped murals depicts the historic Our Lady of the Rosary church in Little Italy.Looks like someone else was walking up the sidewalk on India Street–and they had wet shoes!Just a fun sign on a Little Italy antique shop’s door. The Bungalow Store.A radiant Madonna above the front door of El Camino, a crazy, kitschy Mexican eatery and bar in San Diego’s Little Italy.Many faces of beauty on an exterior wall of El Camino.Old, faded graphic on wood wall shows a troupe of Mexican mariachis.Colorful application of kitsch on the outside of El Camino.A large smiling senorita mural looks right at you.Caballero muy guapo in Little Italy!
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Gazing east through dark trees into Balboa Park. The California Tower is a small spike inside a golden sunrise.
Early yesterday morning, the weather was so pleasant that I decided to walk to work. It’s about a four and a half mile journey. I started from downtown San Diego up Sixth Avenue along the west edge of Balboa Park, walked from Bankers Hill into Hillcrest, then finally descended Bachman Place into Mission Valley.
These photos capture the golden glow of a cloudless sunrise. Moving through the warm morning light was a modest adventure in a magical world.
Buildings along Sixth Avenue on Bankers Hill reflect breaking day one early January morning.A warm glow and reflection on the Redwood Bridge Club sign at the west edge of Balboa Park.A stately house at Sixth Avenue and Upas Street seems magical.Happy orange flowers poke through some bars along the sidewalk.The Tap House has a glowing light bulb on their business in Hillcrest.The sky is gradually brightening above a shadowy Hillcrest alley.A reddish splash in blue water. Morning photo of the fountain in front of Scripps Mercy Hospital.Eucalyptus trees in warm winter morning light. Photo taken while walking down Bachman Place into Mission Valley.Reflection in windows of the once-proud San Diego Union Tribune building in Mission Valley. The newspaper offices are moving to a smaller location downtown.
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Catamaran driven into the rocks near the Grape Street pier during an El Nino storm in downtown San Diego.
Yesterday and last night an El Nino-driven storm produced very strong winds throughout San Diego. Last night as I lay in bed I listened to the wind howl and powerful gusts shake my building. So this morning I figured I’d get up and see if any damage occurred downtown.
Large branches were down, and one tree lay on the sidewalk on State Street just south of Cedar. But when I reached the Embarcadero, I saw some real devastation. Many boats had been driven aground, and were either submerged or partially submerged.
Here are some photos. They aren’t cool. But they are newsworthy. I feel badly for the people who lost their boats.
Masts of a sailboat rise above the water the morning after fierce winds buffeted San Diego’s Embarcadero.All the local television news stations had cameras at the scene. The images were truly devastating.Resident of catamaran driven aground on deck of half-submerged boat. I wish her well in this difficult situation.The seagulls were enjoying the stiff chilly morning breeze, but the worst of the gusts seem to be over by sunrise.Another boat was driven up against the boardwalk between the Hornblower dock and Maritime Museum. Just the mast was sticking out from the churning bay.Several more boats piled up right next to the Maritime Museum of San Diego.A small boat between the museum’s deep diving Dolphin submarine and the pilings. I was told the restored Swift Boat owned by the Maritime Museum of San Diego sustained some damage.The effects of El Nino winds seen up close. The wind howled during the night, and in the morning light, the damage became apparent.
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Flags, palm trees and early morning fog on Cortez Hill in San Diego.
My walk early this morning was a real treat. Magical, mysterious fog had crept during the night into the very heart of downtown San Diego, where I live. High skyscrapers disappeared into the gray. Please enjoy a few photos…
The historic El Cortez Hotel building seems to vanish into the gray morning fog.Many seagulls were enjoying the fog, and were circling over the city streets everywhere I walked.Skyscrapers aren’t scraping so much this morning. They are being softly engulfed by the elements!Looking up into the unusually thick fog past a San Diego Symphony banner downtown.An Orange Line trolley heads down a quiet C Street.Cranes and construction next to several high towers, in a San Diego fog.The magical, mysterious fog made the forms of buildings appear like abstract shapes emerging from some other world.Looking down Kettner Boulevard past Santa Fe Depot and America Plaza into the distant fog.An unusual fog made downtown San Diego appear very atmospheric and mysterious this morning. I loved walking through it!
Getting a balloon ready for today’s Holiday Bowl “Big Bay Balloon Parade” in San Diego!
The Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl Parade kicks off this morning at 10 o’clock on Harbor Drive near the County Administration Building!
At this very moment, folks are busily inflating the many fun balloons that will be parading down the Embarcadero to the delight of thousands of onlookers.
I can’t make it to the Big Bay Balloon Parade this year because I have to work. But I did get some cool photos that you all might enjoy!
People were out early this morning filling balloons with helium in the parking lot north of the County Administration Center.A truck hauling helium. Numerous big balloons await, ready to be filled.This fun-looking one is inflating!Looks to me like Humpty Dumpty. With all that gas inside, I think he’ll bounce should he fall.A balloon has been wheeled on a platform across the parking lot, waiting its turn to be inflated.Meanwhile, on Pacific Highway next to the County Administration Building, marching bands have begun to arrive for the parade! Highland High School came all the way from Ewing, Missouri!Band members get off the bus with instruments.The balloon-filling had just begun when I walked by. Then I had to rush home to share my pics!It’s a happy Gingerbread Man rising in the blue San Diego sky!
Early Wednesday morning in downtown San Diego, and men are hard at work collecting the city’s trash.
It’s very early Wednesday morning. That means a small fleet of garbage trucks will soon be rumbling throughout downtown San Diego. Dumpsters will be hauled, pushed, lifted and emptied. Clank! Crash! Bang! It’s trash collection day!
I took some photos last Wednesday of all the activity. I delayed posting these pictures, however, because stinky, messy trash collection didn’t seem to convey the proper Christmas spirit. (Some would probably say that it does!) Now that New Year’s Day is approaching, these photographs seem more fitting. What’s old vanishes, making way for the new!
A building’s dumpsters are ready to be hauled out and emptied.Plastic garbage cans overflow near the House of Blues. Life in the big city.Few people are about this early in the morning. One gentleman was slowly walking down Broadway.Rows of garbage receptacles in the Gaslamp. The remnants of good times.While garbage is collected, early morning deliveries are also being made, including kegs of beer on pallets.Several garbage trucks converged at once on this block and I paused to watch for a moment.Collecting garbage in downtown San Diego while many still sleep.Blue recycle bins are lifted, banging and clattering, and contents are dumped.A truck heads up to Cortez Hill. Perhaps my own trash will soon be transported away.
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Sunrise in downtown San Diego. Photo taken from Eighth Avenue and A Street.
Early yesterday morning I walked down Eighth Avenue, from the top of Cortez Hill to Petco Park. Here are a few random, interesting photos…
Blue Sky apartment tower under construction in downtown San Diego.Cool street art visible from Eighth Avenue, south of Broadway.Early morning activity in front of Lucky D’s Hostel.Some faded utility box artwork on a sidewalk in San Diego’s East Village.A boy jumps rope on one October morning in a downtown San Diego parking lot.Birds in a row atop a street lamp. Bright clouds as day begins.Surveyors have begun their work early in a parking lot beside Market Street. Another utility box with colorful street art.The recently completed Sempra building, just north of Petco Park, reflects clouds and blue sky in the morning.Worker inside old brick building that is being renovated. Cool posters in windows advertise Underground Elephant.
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