I couldn’t believe how many surfers were out in the water on Saturday afternoon. I watched the action from the OB Pier and strove to get a few decent shots with my little camera.
So many people were paddling out, bobbing on their surfboards and catching waves that the action was frequent and entertaining! Sometimes multiple surfers would wipe out simultaneously, and boards and bodies would be flying every which way!
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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!
One last blog post from my Mission Bay adventure yesterday!
Loving the fresh air, I walked out onto the narrow jetty at Hospitality Point. To my left, beyond the San Diego River, I saw families and their playful dogs at Ocean Beach. To the right, I saw sailboats navigating out of the Mission Bay channel toward the Pacific Ocean. A couple was paddling kayaks nearby. Several guys were fishing from the rocks. Bicyclists also headed down the jetty.
I didn’t notice until I’d taken many photographs that the inside of my camera’s lens had fogged up! But I did capture some decent images. Hopefully you get an idea of what it’s like to walk out on the jetty on a summer Sunday afternoon.
A bright watery world stretches all around you.
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The piers and boardwalks of San Diego reopened yesterday. The coronavirus pandemic seems to be subsiding locally.
I got off work early this hot June day and decided to go to Ocean Beach. A fresh sea breeze would be so nice. I hadn’t been out on the OB Pier in a long while.
When I arrived, a good crowd was gathered on the beach. It seemed fewer people were on the pier.
Fishermen were leaning against the rail or sitting on benches hoping to catch the big one. Those strolling down the pier often paused to watch a group of surfers below.
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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!
It’s Labor Day. The unofficial last day of summer.
Early this morning I headed to Ocean Beach. There’s no better place in San Diego to people watch.
As the warm sun climbed higher and broke through the morning haze, humanity trickled down Newport Avenue to find breakfast, to surf, or to stake out a spot on the beach or OB pier.
Many shops were closed. Nobody I saw seemed to be in a very big hurry. Even in laid-back Ocean Beach, the day had an easy holiday vibe.
As I walked I took these photos…
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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!
Dozens of kites take to the sky at the 70th Annual Kite Festival in Ocean Beach!
The older I get, the more I enjoy watching kites. I like to sit quietly and watch joyful kites flutter and soar like birds. It’s such a simple thing. I must be well into my dotage. Or perhaps I never grew up.
Today I headed down to Ocean Beach’s Robb Field to check out the big 70th Annual Kite Festival. This popular family event is presented by the Kiwanis Club of Ocean Beach, who make the world better with their generous, charitable work.
According to the event’s description, The OB Kite Festival is the oldest children’s kite festival in the United States. All I know is, even on an overcast day, those kites made the sun shine throughout Ocean Beach.
A couple has front row seats to a lot of colorful kite action at Robb Field in OB.Young and old participated in this very cool event.Among a variety of festival participants were some clever vendors who conveniently sold kites!Materials at a kite creation and repair station include markers to add color to new kites.I saw some four-legged friends on the grass.The event was sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Ocean Beach and the Ocean Beach Recreation Center. The Point Loma Kiwanis Club also participated. They distribute cookies to the troops as a comfort and thank you.Bubbles mix well with kites.This guy has a cool U.S. Navy Blue Angels kite!Any day blessed with a breath of wind, even a cloudy one, is a perfect day to go fly a kite!
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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!
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!
A friendly dog welcomes people walking past the front door of an East Village business.
Just a quick, fun blog post!
I snapped these four photos during various walks–don’t ask me when. Without further ado, meet eight friendly dogs!
Bum, San Diego’s official town dog in the late 19th century. You can find this small sculpture inside the House of Scotland cottage in Balboa Park.A friendly dog in the passenger sear of a cool hot rod in Ocean Beach.Five dogs ride in a car in an Ocean Beach community mural.
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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!
Windows at The Black contain all sorts of sights that fit right in with the laid-back, unconventional OB lifestyle.
Walk through Ocean Beach, particularly down Newport Avenue, and you’ll pass all sorts of weirdly wonderful shops. Look into some windows and you might think you traveled by time machine back to the 60’s.
I paused for a moment in front of The Black, a store that sells stuff that fits perfectly with OB’s alternative lifestyle. Coming down the sidewalk were surfers, retired hippies, free-spirited youth and sandal-wearing professionals. I looked into one window filled with dragon figurines and small toy robots.
My eye was then caught by a nearby historical sign. It explained that The Black’s rather plain-looking building, dating from 1918, has been home to a variety of more traditional grocery stores and markets selling meat, fruit and fresh produce. But that was decades ago. Long before the counterculture’s rise in the 1960’s.
One fascinating thing about history is that a community can change in ways that seem rather unexpected!
The Black in Ocean Beach occupies a building with a unique history. Greeson Hardware was once here, as were various markets, and the USO.Historical photo on the building at 5017 Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach shows past markets. The Black’s owner won the right to lease in the building after winning a card game across the street.In the window of The Black I see Gumby, Mr. Bill, some drums, guitar strings and a Grateful Dead baby onesie.Smoke shop items and other diverse gifts can be seen in the front windows of The Black in Ocean Beach.I see some fun, nostalgic robot toys!I also see a Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band tin tote and a Super Mario figure.
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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!
Yesterday I went to Ocean Beach. My walk included a stretch along the water, to the OB Pier. It was late morning, right around high tide.
Huge, unrelenting surf resulting from a stormy Pacific Ocean was pounding like crazy and constantly threatening to break over the pier. So the pier was closed.
I took a few photos of the dynamic waves crashing under the pier.
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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!
Walking south along the Ocean Beach boardwalk near the foot of the OB Pier, toward the old Silver Spray Apartments and Plunge.
Let’s take a walk along the shore! We’re going to start at the boardwalk near the foot of the Ocean Beach Municipal Pier, pass quickly around the historic, ruin-like Plunge, then head along a rocky trail between cliffs and the crashing ocean.
We’ll see tide pools, tiny pocket beaches and amazing scenery. Many refer to this stretch as a part of San Diego’s Sunset Cliffs, even though the official Sunset Cliffs neighborhood lies farther south down the Point Loma peninsula.
Ready to go exploring? Let’s start!
People explore tide pools between the sand-filled, long-defunct Plunge and the OB Pier.The saltwater Plunge, now often called the Sandbox, was built in 1917. Famous English Channel swimmer Florence Chadwick, who grew up in San Diego, trained in this historic pool.We’ve passed the Plunge, which is officially part of the beach, and are now carefully traversing sandstone rocks along the base of cliffs. It can be very slippery.Looking back north we see the Ocean Beach Municipal Pier and beach.People enjoy looking into small tide pools in the eroded sandstone. I occasionally saw some small crabs.The easily carved sandstone is like a book containing years of names and often humorous images.OB is a place for free spirits, and the rocks along the water attract many.Looking north again. I see Pacific Beach and La Jolla in the distance.Splashing water and curious eyes.People peer down at us from the street level above.A small group walks along the crude trail.A perfect day to explore nature’s many wonders beside the ocean.Someone heads toward one of the small pocket beaches tucked between rocky outcrops.Standing on a tiny beach at the water’s edge.The sandstone cliffs are unstable and sometimes you hear of people accidentally falling and needing rescue.Here comes a guy and his dog.As we continue to walk south, we can see the coast vanishing into the distance. The actual Sunset Cliffs neighborhood is farther down the Point Loma peninsula.A white sailboat out on the wide blue Pacific Ocean.In places the rocky and slippery sand footing is a bit difficult to navigate, even on the trail. Wear good shoes!Looking north. Spectacular scenery.More natural beauty.The rough trail continues south. Fewer people seem to be in this section.Now we’re approaching an interesting part of the walk, with a short, undulating path along a sea wall.Looking back.We’ve almost reached the end of our walk. The concrete pathway ahead has either been undermined by water, or intentionally made into a ramp for thrill seekers.At the foot of old stairs that climb up to Orchard Avenue.As we head up, someone begins down.Two people begin their own adventure along the rocks.Looking back north at the short stretch we just finished.Someone gets exercise on the steps. At the top there is some fun artwork.Relaxing on a unique surfboard bench, gazing across the magical blue ocean.
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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!
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 fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Fishermen enjoy a perfect September day along the Ocean Beach Pier. Today everybody was catching mackerel.
Today was a good day to catch mackerel in Ocean Beach. Fishermen were pulling up shining prizes all along the OB Pier.
What was their secret? Cut bait, a little patience, slathered sunscreen, and perhaps a cool beverage and some music. Nothing more. (Not even a fishing license. It’s free to fish from a San Diego pier.)
The Ocean Beach Municipal Pier was built in 1966 and is the longest concrete pier on the West Coast. Its reach into deep water makes it an excellent place to catch a wide variety of fish.Not everyone was fishing. Some were just out enjoying the sunshine. A guy on a bike looks down on the busy beach.This guy caught a silvery mackerel. They were really biting today along the entire length of the pier.Young and old alike were having success!Below the pier, there seemed to be as many surfers as fish in the ocean.Some kids at the OB Pier’s T-shaped end catch another nice mackerel!This guy caught one, too!A curious glance backward as a photo is taken of a prized catch!It appears catching that mackerel was a lot of fun!
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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!
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