Tag: outdoors

Unexpected outdoor art gallery in Barrio Logan!

There’s a surprising outdoor art gallery in an alley in San Diego’s Barrio Logan neighborhood. It’s located on the side of the building at 915 S. 26th Street, currently home of Hard Dresser Salon.

Quite unexpectedly, I happened upon this weather-beaten art gallery about a week ago during a long walk.

A very faded graphic to one side of the framed artworks indicates Gold Leaf Project.

According to this website: The premise behind the Gold Leaf Project is that artists currently showing also install and display artwork on the streets of San Diego / Tijuana framed by these Rococo style gold-leaf frames. The point is to literally take art out of the gallery, but still display it as such in the context of the streets.

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Rest, strength and Lying Fallow in Logan Heights.

One gallery inside Bread and Salt in Logan Heights now contains an art installation titled Lying Fallow. Dried tall grasses rise from soil underfoot in an artificial indoor meadow. One can walk through the small “meadow” and rest on one of the seats, regathering strength.

I love the outdoors and being in nature. That’s where I feel the most healthy, alive. I know many other people feel the same way.

This installation, when I visited it, did remind me that a real meadow, outdoors, with its earthy smell and gentle movement in the wind, calms, restores, inspires, reconnects the mind, body and soul with something larger than ourselves.

But where in the gallery is the sky?

Everything about Lying Fallow is sincere. The artist Helena Westra has assembled something that is an important reminder: Quiet renewal helps us on life’s journey. It helps us to be newly creative.

But what sort of world have we created where we feel compelled to build a realistic natural landscape inside walls?

Are we so hurried and so trapped in artificial environments that “being in nature” is merely an exhibit that we experience for a moment or two?

Real meadows are still out there.

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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 X.

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Rehearsal of Chicago the Musical at Rady Shell!

I got super lucky today. I was walking near the Rady Shell on downtown San Diego’s waterfront when I heard singing voices. I turned toward the San Diego Symphony’s beautiful outdoor venue and discovered Chicago the Musical in Concert was rehearsing for tomorrow’s evening performance!

I sat for a while–one cool thing about rehearsals at The Shell is the public is free to watch politely up close and listen. All I can tell you, anyone going to Chicago the Musical in Concert on Friday is most likely in for a treat!

All That Jazz… Cell Block Tango… Mr. Cellophane… All of the jazzy voices are amazing. I seriously thought I was at a Broadway production.

When I looked at the vocalists’ bios just now, I see that, indeed, they’ve performed in many world-class productions in the most prestigious venues!

Learn all about Chicago the Musical in Concert, and perhaps purchase tickets, by visiting the Rady Shell’s website here!

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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 X.

Feel free to share!

Colorful “I Am San Diego” lifeguard tower!

I discovered a colorful “I Am San Diego” lifeguard tower in Mission Bay Park today! It overlooks the water a bit north of the San Diego Mission Bay Resort.

The lifeguard tower is decorated with images that represent the vibrancy of life in our city. It’s part of the “I Am San Diego” citywide project that was launched last year. San Diegans are encouraged to share their San Diego stories and experiences on social media using the hashtag #IAmSanDiego. Learn more about it here.

Lifeguard towers are an iconic sight in sunny San Diego. This one definitely attracts beachgoers for a closer look.

I really love how lively this lifeguard tower has become!

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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 X.

Feel free to share!

Photos along San Diego Embarcadero before fireworks.

Today, in the mid-afternoon, people were gathering along San Diego’s Embarcadero to watch Fourth of July fireworks. Families were camping in grassy spots and setting up lawn chairs and blankets in strategic positions next to San Diego Bay. After dark, four barges on the water would be launching synchronized fireworks during the 9 o’clock Big Bay Boom!

I enjoyed a long walk, observing the activity. As time passed, more and more people arrived until a good crowd was milling about on the Embarcadero’s boardwalk.

These photographs begin near the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, proceed through Embarcadero Marina Park South, then head up past the Marriott Marquis Marina, through Seaport Village, through Embarcadero Marina Park North, past Tuna Harbor, the USS Midway and the Broadway Pier, and end a short distance north of the Maritime Museum of San Diego.

It was a sunny afternoon, with barbeques out and kites flying–another perfect day in America’s Finest City!

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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 X.

Feel free to share!

San Diego’s downtown roller-skating rink returns!

Downtown San Diego is about to become even more fun! That’s because Downtown Skate will soon be returning to the the Marriot Marquis San Diego Marina hotel!

As you can see from these photos taken today, workers have been busy setting up the outdoor roller skating rink on the Marina Terrace!

If this seems familiar, perhaps you recall how Downtown Skate popped up in the same place during the holiday season. I visited back then and took these photographs.

This time Downtown Skate will be operating from June 27 to July 9, 2025. You can find the hours and other information on the event website here.

Like last time there will be food and snacks available, and DJs playing music to skate by!

Have fun in the summer sunshine beside San Diego Bay!

Old-fashioned games in Old Town San Diego!

An old-fashioned Sack Race at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.

Visitors to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park were have tons of fun today!

To celebrate California State Parks Week, outdoor games that were popular in the 1800s were being enjoyed in the park’s historic plaza!

Tug of War, Hoop and Stick, Graces, Sack, Egg and Wheelbarrow Races–park visitors were invited to take part in these fun old-fashioned pastimes!

I hung around for a few minutes and watched the action! Participants who won each game or took second place were awarded ribbons!

Who will win this game of Tug of War?
The game of Graces involves launching and catching a small wooden hoop with two wands.
Hoop and Stick is a fun way to pass the time. In 19th century San Diego, there were no television shows or video games.
During an Egg Race, one must balance an egg on a spoon, while hurrying along toward the finish line!

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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 X.

Feel free to share!

Hunt for hidden treasures in a La Mesa park!

Collier Park in La Mesa contains hidden treasures!

Those who explore the city park might come across 18 coin-like plaques that feature images of local plants and animals.

If you would enjoy a fun outdoor treasure hunt, head over to La Mesa’s historic Collier Park, walk along its easy nature trail and begin your search.

Make the treasure hunt a game! Challenge your family or friends. Who can find the most?

Explore the park to find the hidden treasures of different plants and animals! Find all 18 emblems below!

Sage, Poppy, Skunk, Frog, Hummingbird, Snake, Squirrel, Beetle, Hawk, Sycamore Leaf, Raccoon, Butterfly, Rabbit, Spider, Ladybug, Dandelion, Oak Leaf, Sparrow

By strolling around Collier Park, you can also discover a bit of history.

As the city of La Mesa’s first park, Collier Park has long served as a community gathering space.

Kumeyaay – The Kumeyaay Tribe of Indigenous peoples have a rich history in the area, harnessing nature’s local resources. The natural spring in the park once served as a seasonal stopping place for the local Kumeyaay.

David C. Collier – Colonel David Charles (D.C.) Collier, a pioneer community developer in La Mesa and throughout San Diego County, was responsible for donating the land to the community for what would become the City’s first public park after incorporation in 1912.

In the next photograph, you can spot La Mesa’s historical Spring House. Curious? I blogged about it here.

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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 X.

Feel free to share!

Join Balboa Park’s volunteer Rose Garden Corps!

Do you love gardening? Do you love roses?

Perhaps you’d like to join Balboa Park’s volunteer Rose Garden Corps. You’ll help beautify the world-class Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden!

I saw a small army of volunteers today in the rose garden, pruning, weeding, raking and fertilizing, while enjoying the San Diego sunshine. Rose Garden Corps members work Tuesdays or Thursday in the morning, and there is a monthly meeting.

If you think you’d like to join the Rose Garden Corps, check out this webpage to learn all about it!

Incidentally, the rose garden is in peak bloom right now. It’s spectacular!

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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 X.

Feel free to share!

Stimulating your senses at Park Opera!

Park Opera was enjoyed by visitors to San Diego’s beautiful Balboa Park this evening. People on foot, following a map and at times using their smartphones, partook of unique outdoor performances that stimulated the senses in often unusual ways.

Park Opera was composed by Wojtek Blecharz, and produced in San Diego by arts organization PROJECT [BLANK]. As the event website explains: PARK OPERA was commissioned in 2016 by Theater Powszechny in Warsaw, Poland. In 2020, it was reimagined in a forest near Basel, Switzerland as part of the Rümlingen Festival, and was performed again in Austria in 2024 on a tiny island in the middle of a turquoise alpine lake at Carinthischer Sommer Festival.

How does one describe each quiet “Act” encountered while walking through Balboa Park? Subdued. Subtle. Somehow elemental. Stimulating–if you wish it.

Those who follow the map from one Act to the next are considered the protagonists of a personal story. It’s a story that involves concentrated listening and being in the moment. The park’s ambient noise combines with soft instruments and voices, and we become more sensitive and aware of the amazing world that is all around us.

I photographed some of the eleven Acts.

ACT 2: Overture for 4 instruments

ACT 4: Ballet

This was a ballet of sound. Dancing performers whirled small speakers around those passing by. The changing tones seemed natural, perhaps like strange sounds in a wilderness, or dream . . . and weirdly cosmic. One must hear to understand.

ACT 6: Duet

ACT 7: Binoculars for Sound

Different hollow objects act like seashells when held to the ear…

ACT 8: Recitativo

ACT 11: The Gong

Most visitors struck the gong very softly to hear its subtle, resonating sound.

One person struck it with all of their might. Now that was stimulating!

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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 X.

Feel free to share!