Fangaea Con coming to San Diego!

Oh, wow! Check it out!

Fangaea Con is returning to San Diego for 2023. It will be taking place in Mission Valley at the Scottish Rite Event Center on April 29th!

Your friendly neighborhood blogger has scored a media pass to the event, so you can bet lots of fun photos will be posted!

The Fangaea Con website explains:

The Fangaea concept started in late 2016 as just an idea between a few friends who are big fans of subcultures… the idea began to turn into reality when more friends got interested in being a part of making something great and fun for fans of all different worlds… nerds, geeks, gamers, cosplayers, movie lovers, and more… who love immersing ourselves into experiences… in a funtastic, all-inclusive event.

Artists! Cosplay! Panels! Video and board games! An escape room! Giveaways! I’m sure it’s going to be awesome!

Interested in learning more or attending? Click here!

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Gold coin, weird volleyball on Coronado ferry.

Those who ride the Coronado ferryboat Cabrillo might notice a mysterious display at the concession counter near the center of the ship.

Displayed in one case is a single gold coin that was found on the beach in Coronado. The rare coin is believed to have been stolen from a pirate’s chest. Greedy passengers on the ferry might wish to avoid this gold, however, because it is said to be cursed.

Another display case features a very weird volleyball. The ball was found floating in San Diego Bay by Cabrillo crew members in 2001. A strangely smeared hand print, that resembles a face, suggests the ball was cast away by an unknown someone out at sea. At least, that’s one plausible theory.

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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!

Meet pilots, crew of the Top Gun movies!

Do you love the movies Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick? Here’s an incredible opportunity for fans that will take place this May in San Diego!

Sign up for Top Gun Days San Diego 2023 and you’ll meet a veteran Blue Angel pilot, who flew the F-18 during scenes in Top Gun: Maverick. You’ll meet a TOPGUN graduate and former instructor, who played a vital role in making Top Gun. You’ll rub shoulders with other pilots from the movies, and get the inside scoop on the filming of these two epic blockbusters!

The three day Top Gun Days San Diego event ends at the USS Midway Museum, then Kansas City Barbeque, the nearby restaurant where the “sleazy bar” scene in the original Top Gun was filmed!

How cool is this?

I ran into the group while they toured the USS Midway last year, and it was apparent everyone was having a great time!

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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!

Mario Lopez spotted in Chula Vista!

Celebrity superstar, Mario Lopez, has been spotted on Third Avenue in Chula Vista! His famous smile has been painted on a construction fence in front of the old Vogue theater building!

Mario was born and raised in Chula Vista, in San Diego’s South Bay.

Hey Preppy! Have you watched the Saved by the Bell revival on Peacock? If so, those words might ring a bell!

Mario Lopez first played Slater in the original, very popular Saturday-morning sitcom Saved by the Bell. Since then he’s reprised the role, plus he’s had many other film and television credits.

For over a decade, Mario was host of the television newsmagazine Extra. Now he’s an anchor on the entertainment show Access Hollywood.

And today he’s also hanging out on Third Avenue! With a smile painted by Ground Floor Murals (@groundfloormurals).

Are those his fluffy pink dice and keys? The key art is by Victor “Dogs” Rodriguez (@ThatOne_Dog).

Check out some San Diego Padres art on the same fence here!

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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!

Ghostbusters capture Slimer in University Heights!

When there’s something strange in the University Heights neighborhood, who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!

Slimer was observed passing through the walls of Gnarly Girl Pizza at 2302 El Cajon Boulevard, so the original Ghostbusters crew–Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore and Peter Venkman–were promptly summoned. Using their proton packs, careful to not cross the radially polarized electrostatic beams, they successfully captured the hungry green ectoplasmic imp!

A weird creature that devours its own pizza head was also spotted. The pepperoni freckled monster is still at large.

This very cool art was painted last year by Alex Julian (@alexfizix). His style is unmistakable. You’ve possibly seen his comic-inspired murals elsewhere in San Diego!

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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!

Ron Burgundy surfaces in San Diego!

Famous anchorman Ron Burgundy has surfaced in San Diego! His perfectly coiffed hair has risen from the deep . . . among dolphins!

Why did he jump into the water? Perhaps diving into the ocean seemed more heroic than leaping into a bear pen at the zoo. Fortunately his hair remains intact.

This fun mural can be found in Point Loma. Perhaps you’ve seen it on Midway Drive, south of Rosecrans Street, on the side of Hi Auto Repair. It was painted last September by AQUA ONE ART!

Those who say Ron Burgundy is all wet are proven correct.

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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!

Dragon Tree recalls movie at Hotel del Coronado.

Not far from the front entrance to the Hotel del Coronado grows a tree you might have seen in a classic movie.

It’s the Dragon Tree, which appears briefly in the 1958 comedy Some Like it Hot, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.

Here’s a page on the Hotel Del’s website about the filming of Some Like it Hot. In the movie the world-famous Victorian beach resort is called the Seminole Ritz.

When I was walking around the Hotel del Coronado late last month, I noticed the unusual Dragon Tree and then a nearby plaque…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

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!

Frank Sinatra filmed on a San Diego museum ship!

Did you know Frank Sinatra filmed a scene aboard the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s historic steam ferryboat Berkeley?

I had no idea until my visit to the museum today!

During the opening of the 1957 film Pal Joey, starring Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak, the legendary crooner watches a pair of lady’s legs descend steps aboard what was then a San Francisco ferryboat.

If you watch this YouTube beginning at 2:53, you can see the historic ferry departing Oakland Pier to cross San Francisco Bay. You can then recognize several features of the ferryboat Berkeley as Sinatra does his thing.

Here’s a great website with photographs from the movie and the corresponding locales. You can see a train that pulled up to the Oakland Pier, where passengers would transfer their luggage onto the Berkeley.

What a cool, little-known bit of history!

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It’s easy to 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!

Sweet memories of Top Gun in Oceanside!

Fans of the original Top Gun movie would love visiting the recently restored Top Gun House near the foot of the Oceanside Pier.

The historic old Victorian beach house, an 1887 Queen Anne Cottage that was featured in the popular movie, has been turned into an ice cream shop filled with sweet Top Gun memories!

The first thing visitors to the Top Gun House might see is a motorcycle by the front porch steps. It’s a replica of the motorcycle ridden by Maverick when he visited his love interest Charlie at the house.

A plaque a few steps away describes the house’s history in Oceanside, its architectural importance, and its role in the movie.

Step inside the beautiful little cottage and you’ll discover movie posters, photographs and other memories from Top Gun. I thought you might enjoy a look…

The 1887 Top Gun House was built by Dr. Henry Graves as a vacation home. Scenes from Top Gun were filmed around the house in 1985. In 2022 the house was fully restored.

The Kawasaki Ninja ZX900 is a replica of the motorcycle made famous in the movie Top Gun. Actor Tom Cruise, playing lead character Maverick, rode it to this house.

It was cool to see the work of an artist I often encounter while walking. Paul Strahm has a painting inside the Top Gun House!

Memories of Goose, Maverick and Iceman.

A sweet smile!

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!

Cool photographs for Star Trek Day!

Today, September 8, is Star Trek Day!

September 8, 1966 was the day when the very first Star Trek episode of the Original Series aired, titled The Man Trap. Remember the shape-shifting creature that sucked the salt out of Enterprise crewmembers?

For over fifty years, the popularity of the ever-growing science fiction franchise has persisted, providing the world with numerous movies, television series, novels, comics, video games, and even a few futuristic technological ideas that have (more or less) been realized!

In the past I’ve photographed all sorts of Star Trek related stuff: from Comic-Con cosplay and extraordinary Paramount exhibits, to artwork at IDW’s San Diego Comic Art Gallery, to the old Captain Kirk’s Coffee in South Park (a block from where Whoopie Goldberg–who played Guinan–once worked), to an amazing Gene Roddenberry exhibit at the Comic-Con Museum . . .

To celebrate Star Trek Day, please enjoy a few of these photographs!

If you’d like to see even more photos on my blog that concern Star Trek, plus written descriptions, click this tag and scroll down. You’ll notice lots of other fun stuff mixed in, too!

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!