A bunch of stickers were recently applied to sidewalks around the downtown San Diego neighborhood of Cortez Hill. These round purple stickers mark the locations of the Long and Short Loop, where people can walk, jog or ride in wheelchairs, to get some outdoor exercise and fresh air, or perhaps make a short trip to the store.
Today I happened to notice that a sign went up describing the neighborhood’s many Jacaranda trees. The sign provides a good map of the two loops.
I see that the Short Loop is one easy mile. The Long Loop, which passes the place where I live, is a moderate 1.5 miles, including a short but somewhat steep climb to the very top of beautiful Cortez Hill.
If you want a better look at the map, click my photo and the image will enlarge!
Satellite map shows the Short and Long Loop in downtown San Diego’s Cortez Hill neighborhood.
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There’s a very special garden in San Diego that few people visit. It’s called the San Diego River Garden. It’s situated near the center of Mission Valley, a short distance south of the San Diego River.
Every so often I drive past this native plant garden, but I never see a place to park. The stretch of Camino del Rio North beside it is mostly used by people going to and from nearby office buildings, and no street parking is available.
The gate of the San Diego River Garden’s small dirt parking lot is usually shut. The only other way in is to walk along a dirt path beside the road and pass through an entrance in the fence. Which is what I did this morning!
All was quiet. The early morning summer breeze was pleasantly cool. The few picnic benches were empty. I saw no other people. But I did see many active birds. And bright flowers. And lots of flourishing native plants including some cacti. And modest planters holding more greenery. And many winding trails. And Bigfoot! Yes, you heard me correctly! And–to my additional delight–a whole lot of nature artwork created by young students, including painted tiles scattered here and there on the ground and a cool mural on a shipping container!
According to the San Diego River Park Foundation website: “This site used to be a vacant area reserved for future use by the City of San Diego. But thanks to the City and the many volunteers, sponsors, groups that have come out to garden, the River Park Foundation is caring for this 5 acre area to make it attractive for the community.”
If you or your group would like to volunteer and do a little gardening out in the warm San Diego sunshine, or if you simply want to visit this beautiful kid-friendly park or learn more about it, click here!
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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!
If you’d like to learn how to play the game of horseshoes, you have an opportunity to do so in San Diego’s beautiful Balboa Park!
During my walk this morning, I spotted members of the Balboa Park Horseshoe Club out having fun in the horseshoe pits in the southwest corner of the park. I spoke with some of the friendly folks and learned that the public is invited to learn the game with a free horseshoe pitching lesson! The lessons are held on Thursdays at 6 pm, near the corner of Juniper Street and Sixth Avenue. Look for the blue sign that reads San Diego Chess Club/Balboa Park Horseshoe Club.
During the present coronavirus pandemic, they have taken all the necessary precautions, so you can feel safe.
Make sure you notify the Balboa Park Horseshoe Club San Diego you’d like a free lesson, so someone will definitely be there! You can connect via their Facebook page here.
The San Diego Horseshoe Pitching Club has a lot of fun at the facility also known as the Balboa Park Horseshoe Club.David Lavallee of the Balboa Park Horseshoe Club is working to grow the love of the game in San Diego.
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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!
Audience looks down as a dancer portrays a homeless person during the first stage of 2018 Trolley Dances at Hazard Center.
This morning I watched the first dance of the 2018 Trolley Dances at Hazard Center shopping mall. This unique annual event is a production of the San Diego Dance Theater.
Arriving early, I stood a couple of floors above the outdoor performance, and let my eyes wander about as I took in the entire scene.
The first dance portrayed the homeless. As the invisible curtain rose, dancers, who sat alone among their scant possessions, rose and converged in a dizzy, tragic performance.
Two male dancers tussled over a shopping cart, but that seemed to be the extent of their malice. The twisting dance showed troubled souls coming together, having a moment of hope and happiness, raising each other up before departing to go their separate ways.
After the first dance ended, I followed the mobile audience as they were led west down the nearby San Diego River Trail to the next outdoor stage. Chairs were set up short of the place where Highway 163 crosses Mission Valley.
I continued walking. What I saw thereafter wasn’t part of the program.
As the audience gathers on the south side of the Hazard Center shopping mall, one performer appears be homeless, sitting alone.The gathered audience awaits the first outdoor dance of 2018 Trolley Dances.The performance begins, and another dancer rushes onto the stage.Dancers converge in front of the audience. The raw, disturbing dance portrays the lives of different people who are homeless.Dancers move about fluidly, showing a variety of emotions, including pain, loss, uncertainty, anger, hopelessness.A shopping cart is a focal prop. Seen from above, it is empty.Performers tussle briefly over the shopping cart, while a nearby couple dances.The dancers spread out and face the audience.The dancers move together, as if suddenly animated by a unifying energy.One dancer is raised up by the others.
The dancers finally exit the stage, struggling up sets of stairs at Hazard Center.They return to take their bow. There is great applause.The dancers collapse and lie on the concrete.This performance is over.The audience will be led across the street and on to the next nearby dance location, on the path by the San Diego River.What the audience did not see. An empty drug baggie at the bottom of some stairs behind Hazard Center. Very few people use these particular stairs.The audience heads west along the San Diego Trolley tracks.The mobile Trolley Dances audience is guided through a short stretch of Mission Valley along the San Diego River toward the next unique stage.Empty chairs and graffiti on a construction wall await at the next Trolley Dances stage.That is as far down the path the audience would venture.Had they proceeded farther, they would have reached a place where many homeless gather and take shelter–in shadowy places beneath Highway 163.
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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!
Images from the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego decorate a construction fence at their La Jolla campus.
During my walk through La Jolla last weekend, I noticed some graphics on a construction fence in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. As I approached the fence, I read signs that provided an explanation.
This cool, temporary Inside-Out Gallery features images of works that are in the museum’s permanent collection. An expansion of the museum’s La Jolla campus is underway. Please read to the photo captions to learn about MCASD’s very bright future!
The Inside-Out Gallery features images from the museum’s permanent collection. The La Jolla location is closed for new construction. The gallery space is being greatly increased.Red Blue Green, Ellsworth Kelly, 1963.An Inner Dialogue with Frida Kahlo (Collar of Thorns), Yasumasa Morimura, 2001.Terms Most Useful in Describing Creative Works of Art, John Baldessari, 1966-1968.No Splash, Ramiro Gomez, 2013.Bottles, Philip Guston, 1977.Sinjerli 1, Frank Stella, 1967.Under the Table 2, Nicole Eisenman, 2014.Pool Party, John Valadez, 1986.The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is expanding its La Jolla campus. The gallery space will be quadrupled from 10,000 to 40,000 square feet.A rendering shows the future museum after expansion. The design by New York City-based Selldorf Architects will offer dramatic views of the nearby ocean and coast.Another rendering depicts a front corner of the museum after its expansion.The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla is currently closed due to the construction.A plaque near the museum’s entrance is In Memory of Ellen Browning Scripps. The original building whose facade is still visible was designed by famed architect Irving J. Gill and considered one of his masterworks. The building was commissioned by Scripps and became her La Jolla home.Flowers, Andy Warhol, 1967.
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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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Early this afternoon I enjoyed a short walk through Sweetwater Marsh. I’ve already blogged about a guided hike through the marsh here, where you’ll find a bit more detailed information.
My solo walk today was for quiet introspection. And the absorption of natural beauty.
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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!
I didn’t walk yesterday. I gave my legs a rest, watched football, did some work on the computer. I really missed being outside.
While Cool San Diego Sights tends to concentrate on walks in the city, I’ve taken quite a few photographs while journeying through or near natural beauty. My hikes are generally easy. Their central purpose is stimulate the mind and senses.
Here are photos from 14 nature hikes all around San Diego. Click the following links to discover trails of wonder near and far. Perhaps they’ll inspire you to see what’s out there.
Every walk in one’s life can open unexpected vistas. Natural beauty and adventure await in every direction…
This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of fun stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Some supporters of Balboa Park, including The Committee of One Hundred, would like to restore the Palisades area of the park to its former glory. I learned about this visionary effort on Labor Day while grabbing some napkins at the cafe inside the Casa de Balboa. A stack of postcards had been placed nearby. I picked one up. Here’s a photo:
A postcard created by The Committee of One Hundred shows Balboa Park’s Palisades area in 1935 and 2017.
As you can see, in 1935, during the California Pacific International Exposition, the Palisades contained spacious lawns, flowers and benches where today you’ll find a large ugly parking lot.
Sounds familiar? For decades the Plaza de Panama on El Prado contained a similarly ugly parking lot. But after that parking lot’s removal and replacement with tables, umbrellas, potted greenery and public art, the Plaza de Panama has become a bustling hub of activity full of people enjoying the sunny San Diego outdoors, as was originally intended.
Now back to the Palisades area. After a little more research, I’ve learned The Committee of One Hundred is already working to replace the four long-lost murals that used to be above the entrance of the 1935 California State Building, which is home to the San Diego Automotive Museum. To see more about that project, check out The Committee of One Hundred’s 2017 newsletter.
Given what I’ve read and know, I must say I’m in full agreement with the idea of restoring the Palisades. The parking lot is an absolute eyesore and many of the surrounding buildings appear bare and decayed. Most people who park here don’t linger. They immediately head in the direction of El Prado.
The Palisades parking lot seems completely unnecessary. Today, without spending a penny in construction, it appears to me there’s already plenty of parking across Park Boulevard south of the Veterans Museum–that huge lower lot is usually mostly empty. Simply add signage and one or two more stops for the parking shuttle.
When San Diego Comic-Con eventually opens their new museum in the Federal Building, I imagine many more visitors will be drawn into the Palisades area. It seems to me the energetic people at Comic-Con International and other museums who would greatly benefit from a revitalization of the Palisades–the San Diego Air and Space Museum in particular–could use their considerable combined influence to help speed a beautiful restoration.
And why must it be an exact restoration? Why not add more flowers, some new outdoor art, and even a lively, splashing fountain? Why not both restore history and make history? Balboa Park should be forward-looking, optimistic, alive! San Diego’s world-renowned gem could shine even more brightly! Just imagine!
On a fence behind the Nature Center at Tecolote Canyon Natural Park one can find many colorful paintings of native wildlife. The fence follows a dirt road that leads to a hiking trail through Tecolote Canyon.
The paintings of spiders, butterflies, beetles and other insects were recently completed by students at University City High School. I believe the paintings of mammals, reptiles and birds have been on the fence for some time.
Colorful paintings of insects and other wildlife on a fence behind the Nature Center at Tecolote Canyon Natural Park.California Root Borer Beetle. Lucero Rayos.Black and Yellow Garden Spider. Nour Barbakh.Anise Swallowtail. Lawdyka Solano.Spotted Cucumber Beetle. Kayla Kenney.Tarantula Hawk. Andrea Angeles and Christian Covarrubias.Western Tiger Swallowtail. Tyler Coehrane and Lauren Ferrer.Darkling Stink Beetle. Morgan Boland.Roseate Skimmer. Issac Felcher.Silver Argiope. Zaynab Albaghdadi.American Lady. Aurora Godinez Quevedo.Green Lynx Spider. Jamison Legaspi.Harlequin Shield Bug. Jakob De La Cruz.Datura Weevil. Jacob Stoermer.Green Fruit Beetle. Makayla Srioudom.Vivid Dancer Damselfly. Miyoko Seldon and Andrew Bayot.Pruinose Squash Bee. Quincy Stone.California Sister Butterfly. Steffany Shapow.Coyote.California King Snake.Great Blue Heron.Striped Skunk.Southern Pacific Rattlesnake.Western Scrub Jay.Raccoon.Red Tailed Hawk.Southern Alligator Lizard.Anna’s Hummingbird.Bobcat.Pacific Gopher Snake.Gray Fox.Western Fence Lizard.Great Horned Owl.Spotted Towhee.
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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!
A huge shark has appeared at the Quartyard in East Village!
Some cool new urban artwork has appeared at the Quartyard since my last visit. Some day I need to grab a bite here, or attend an event! Looks like a really fun place!
New urban artwork in the Quartyard gathering place at the corner of Park Boulevard and Market Street in San Diego.Impermanence is the only permanent in life. So embrace that nothing should be clung to as I, me, or mine.Picnic table in the Quartyard reads beer, next to a planter with fun artwork.Several planters have their sides painted with whimsical faces. These characters are eating food-like letters and pulling tongues.More happy, silly faces.Lots of tongue pulling going on.Tired tongues dangling.Just plain silly.A mural by the Quartyard stage attracts attention.Keep going! You got this! Yay!
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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!
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