This Saturday, June 20, 2026, you have the opportunity to learn about beach safety in Encinitas…and win a cool prize, too!
Come down to Moonlight Beach in Encinitas and visit the Ocean Safety Awareness Booth out on the sand between 11 am and 2 pm. The booth is hosted by the Encinitas Youth Commission, Encinitas Marine Safety Division and AMR.
In addition to learning CPR and ocean safety facts, you can win fun prizes and enter a drawing for a FREE pair of AirPods!
While you’re there, why not spend an awesome day at one of San Diego North County’s great beaches!
Some photos from past years…
Photo courtesy Chet Kinzelberg.Photo courtesy Chet Kinzelberg.
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The most exceptional part of the San Diego County Fair is arguably the Design in Wood exhibition. Exquisitely crafted wood art, furniture, boats, musical instruments and more are exhibited in what has been described as the premiere woodworking show in the United States.
The San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association produces this annual show at the fair in Del Mar. Every time I go the fair I make sure to check it out. Most of the pieces that are displayed will absolutely, positively blow your mind!
Don’t believe me? I submit for your consideration a few photographs!
You might notice a few photos of woodworkers demonstrating their craft at the show. Several local woodworking organizations participate, right there in front of curious fair visitors, making tops, model ships, toys and other objects. Some carve by hand. Others shape pieces of spinning wood using a lathe, or use woodworking scroll saws.
Going to the San Diego County Fair this year? Don’t miss the Design in Wood exhibition!
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Everyone is invited to enjoy a free festival this Saturday in City Heights. Love City Heights Day will take place at Pop-up Winona, at 4951 El Cajon Boulevard.
There will be live music, live painting, food, community vendors and fun for the whole family!
Come by between 2 and 9 pm. Check out the above flyer for all the info.
This was the coolest thing I saw all day! An old Sarao jeepney, displayed at the International Cottages in Balboa Park during the House of the Philippines lawn program!
Take a look at these photos!
The super fun jeepneys are slowly disappearing in the Philippines. This particular one was built in 1964 and awaits restoration. Incidentally, you can help with its restoration. Check out its dedicated website here.
Jeepneys started as abandoned World War II jeeps that were converted into mini-buses. The unique vehicles feature all sorts of bright, colorful decoration, and can be considered objects of folk art. Sarao Motors created jeepneys with metal horses standing atop the hood!
This jeepney has a complex history, including being part of a museum exhibit. A sign that was posted nearby details a campaign to restore this beauty, in anticipation of it being used in parades and festivals, or as a tourist attraction, or as an open air shuttle or party bus rental.
Enlarge my photograph of the sign to find an email address.
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Audible’s popular audiobook series Harry Potter and Dungeon Crawler Carl are being promoted on a new San Diego trolley wrap for Comic-Con 2026!
I caught sight of the new trolley wrap this morning and captured these photographs.
UPDATE!
A second Audible wrap design has appeared. It promotes original comedy series Heads Will Roll: Heir Apparent, and We Are Legion (We Are Bob), the first installment in the Audible Original Bobiverse series!
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
An awesome festival in advance of the big NASCAR race at North Island was held today at Waterfront Park in San Diego.
The Garage, presented by Toyota Racing, featured race cars and cool vehicles, racing simulators, a Tundra covered with 143,021 rhinestones, music, food trucks, photo ops, merch, art and even a skateboarding half pipe with Team Toyota athlete Jordyn Barratt!
The Padres happy mascot Swinging Friar gave me a high five! I said hello to Phoebe Nelson of (@pandrdesign), a local muralist whose work I’ve photographed around San Diego over the years! I tried out a video game simulator and took 40th place!
Loads of NASCAR fun!
My photos…
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A pirate ship was observed this afternoon sailing through San Diego Bay. What were these pirates up to?
The pirate ship pursued tiny, helpless sailboats competing in a regatta. The rascals!
Fortunately, the shore battery on the barge behind the Maritime Museum of San Diego noticed the mayhem. A gunner quickly prepared several cannons.
(Yes, the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier was entering the bay at the time. Did they notice these sneaky pirates?)
Cleaning the cannons and inserting cartridges with a ramrod.
Two swords and an axe were kept within reach. Just in case dangerous pirates must be repelled hand to hand.
Uh, oh. The pirate ship has come about and is steering toward the Maritime Museum’s defensive shore battery!
A shot is fired across the pirate ship’s bow! Will the brazen invaders retreat?
They promptly fire back with a ship’s gun!
The shore battery fires once again. Is there any hope for San Diego?
A miss! The situation now appears hopeless!
We wave the white flag and surrender!
Fortunately, those swords weren’t put to use. The pirate ship, triumphant, would sail away in search of treasure at Skull Island.
OKAY! What happened here?
Maritime Museum of San Diego visitors on the barge got to watch a sailing adventure that takes place on their Spanish galleon replica San Salvador. The fun shipboard event is an interactive experience called Boarded!
Families and kids sail with a crew of pirates out on San Diego Bay. This hilarious interactive pirate show in San Diego puts visitors right in the middle of the action. Participants will be sworn in as part of the ship’s crew, trained how to navigate, sword fight, bail water from a sinking ship, escape from the King’s Jail, swab the deck, and learn other pirate skills.
Whew! I was worried there for a moment!
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Once Upon a Fair is this year’s theme at the San Diego County Fair. What exactly does that mean? The fair in 2026 is celebrating reading books–and popular fiction and the classics take center stage!
The fair’s theme exhibit is filled with the wonders that readers find in books. The Wizard of Oz, Winnie the Pooh, Charlotte’s Web, Treasure Island, Harry Potter, Jules Verne, fairy tales we all know, Peter Rabbit, Superman, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Alice in Wonderland, Sherlock Holmes . . . visitors encounter all the great characters and timeless stories generations have come to love!
There is reading aloud story time for the very young ones. There are opportunities for visitors to contribute their own writing. Everywhere you turn you’ll find tributes to famous authors and illustrators. Renowned authors with a San Diego connection are recognized. Visiting libraries is encouraged. The shelves of your local library are like open vaults where endless treasures await.
It was exciting to observe children running from display to display, breathlessly recognizing the books they had come to know. One large, playful section of the theme exhibit is dedicated to La Jolla’s own Dr. Seuss.
It was awesome!
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The second trolley wrap for San Diego Comic-Con 2026 promotes the new Nintendo Switch game Splatoon Raiders!
Cool graphics will greet Comic-Con goers this year who happen to take this trolley car.
The Splatoon game launches July 23, 2026, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2. Players take on the role of a “mechanic” working with the musical trio Deep Cut to explore the Spirhalite Islands, hunt for treasure, and battle Salmonids from a customizable “hideout ship” hub.
Sounds fun to me!
UPDATE!
Another wrap design appeared days later!
UPDATE!
One more!
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
A banner has been hung outside the Edward J. Schwartz United States Courthouse in downtown San Diego. It celebrates the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding.
Freedom 250 is proclaimed among images of four Founding Fathers. You can see the banner up high overlooking Broadway.
Can you believe Independence Day is now less than a month away?
