Beside the Mission Beach boardwalk, across the street from the “Hamel’s Castle” surf shop, one can see the Green Flash.
I love fun, super creative public art!
Thanks to the imagination of Malcolm Jones, the San Diego artist who also created Imperial Beach’s Surfhenge, people can glimpse the Green Flash right next to the boardwalk that runs along Mission Beach!
This cool artwork is inspired by that rare sunset phenomenon called the green flash. An educational plaque also provides a scientific explanation of why the color green might briefly appear. I like to learn new things, too!
People head down the always busy Mission Beach boardwalk, not far from public art titled Green Flash.The Green Flash seems to rise just above the far horizon of the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean.A plaque says who created this unusual public artwork. Green Flash by Malcolm Jones, 2002. Solid cast acrylic and concrete.A beachgoer walks under the Green Flash in Mission Beach. I see Belmont Park’s Giant Dipper roller coaster in the background.The sunset phenomenon called the green flash is often cited but seldom seen. A diagram shows how near-horizontal sunlight is refracted through the atmosphere.I think I’ve finally glimpsed the elusive Green Flash!
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Amazing works of art are being created by the world’s top sand sculptors at the 2017 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge in San Diego!
This morning I headed to the 2017 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge. Here are photographs of ten amazing pieces of art that were being worked on by some of the world’s top sand sculptors. These amazing artists have won numerous sand sculpting championships. It’s easy to see why!
The theme this year is Now and Then. The sculptures all had something to say about the passage of time. I saw youth and old age. I saw glimpses of eternity. I saw essential human beauty: profound, elegant, alive. Carved in mere sand.
If you want to be awestruck, go see these sculptures before time (and a broom) sweeps them away. They’re down on the Broadway Pier inside the Port Pavilion through Labor Day.
Susanne Ruseler, top sand artist from the Netherlands, works on a fine sculpture that juxtaposes youth and old age.Bringing a profound vision to life using compacted sand and a few simple tools.A careful touch to bring out inner feeling.Master sand sculptor Ilya Filimontsev from Moscow, Russia creates an exquisite work of art. He won the U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge in 2016.Master sand sculptor Dan Belcher from St. Louis, Missouri is creating an expressive, fantastic face.Thoughtful eyes gaze at each other.Abram Waterman is a Sand Master from Prince Edward Island, Canada. His sculpture is amazing, too.Looks like circuits in silicon that have come to life.Sue McGrew of Tacoma, Washington works on some monumental sand art that represents the continuum of time.Sue’s sketchbook provides some insight into her piece. The dividing line between past, present and future is an illusion.Numerals representing time whirl in the mind.Sand Master Thomas Koet, from Melbourne, Florida, creates amazing artwork that must be seen in person to be fully appreciated.Another fantastic work of art at the 2017 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge.Rusty Croft from Carmel, California is carving a fantastic horse’s head made of sand.The sand horse’s interior appears to be made of mechanical parts!Sand Master Fergus Mulvany from Dublin, Ireland is creating a cool sculpture that is abstract and layered.Stepping back with shovel to have a good look. Fluid links seem to represent the flowing nature of time.Morgan Rudluff from Santa Cruz, California is creating some great sand art. It shows campers gazing from a mountaintop into the far distance. Looks to me like she’s just getting started.Melineige Beauregard from Montreal, Canada demonstrates what time does to even the most mighty.The most beautiful, amazing sand art on the planet right now can be found in San Diego–through Labor Day!
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Live free like a butterfly. Street art in La Mesa.
I found a lot of fun street art during a random walk around La Mesa. I bounced from color to color like a butterfly, my feet pointed in every direction. I wandered down University Avenue, up La Mesa Boulevard, along Spring Street. Most of the artwork was discovered on sidewalk electrical boxes. These photos are in no particular order.
Butterfly painted on an electrical box.Street art shows colorful cars.A lot of mostly happy faces.Two giraffes.A panda bear.A high voltage heart and two red roses.The fish tank. Perhaps it contains an electric eel.Three fish.A white goose.Two owls.A blue bird.Graffiti child on a wall ready to play hopscotch at Coin Haus.Exotic mural up high in the alley behind Amethyst Moon.Koi.An abstract design.More butterflies and flowers brighten a La Mesa sidewalk.
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Yesterday I spotted some fun new murals in the process of being painted at Sheldon’s Service Station, a popular La Mesa breakfast and lunch spot. Many years ago this coffee shop’s building was a La Mesa gas station.
A friendly guy at Sheldon’s Service Station said an artist named Kara has been working on the two murals for a couple of weeks. Take a look!
One of two fun new murals being painted on outdoor walls at Sheldon’s Service Station in La Mesa.Funny animals in the imaginative mural include Droopy and tea-drinking pelicans!
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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!
Crushing It. A cool new mural just completed in San Diego’s East Village at the corner of Park Boulevard and J Street.
Last week I noticed a new mural was being painted on a building wall in East Village. I glimpsed the preliminary outlines as I passed by on the trolley, which was heading along Park Boulevard just south of the Market Street station.
Well, today I observed that this very cool mural has been completed! You can find it at the intersection of Park Boulevard and J Street. Apparently titled Crushing It, this colorful spray paint art was created by Carly Ealey and Christopher Konecki of Cohort Collective, a group of local artists who have awesome urban artwork all over San Diego!
It appears to me the local artists Carly Ealey and Christopher Konecki of Cohort Collective have crushed it!Lots of old wrecked cars are piled up behind that Rant’s Demolition neon sign!A beautiful female face has materialized on a building wall in downtown 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!
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 new building is rising at the corner of Ash Street and Kettner Boulevard.
Many new buildings are rising in downtown San Diego.
Yesterday I walked east from the Embarcadero along Ash Street and took photos of three projects: the Savina luxury condo building, the LUMA luxury apartment building, and a new, elegant Carté Hotel.
Savina is a 36-story high-rise building containing luxury condos, coming to downtown San Diego.Photo of Savina construction from intersection of Ash and Kettner.As I walked east up Ash I noticed some bicyclists looking around. Up ahead to the left is more construction.I’m heading up the sidewalk and getting closer.A concrete mixer truck turns the corner at Ash Street and Columbia Street. Under construction is LUMA, an apartment building opening in Fall 2018 according to their website.What LUMA will look like when completed.Construction worker atop the rising luxury apartment building.A third construction site is visible as I walk east on Ash.A prestigious new 240-room Carté Hotel is coming to 401 W. Ash in Little Italy in Fall 2018.The Carté Hotel downtown construction is still in the early stages!
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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 interesting photos around San Diego!
Female face spray painted on electrical box in East Village at F Street and Tenth Avenue.
Check out three cool street art faces I spotted while walking around downtown San Diego! They’re painted on electrical boxes at the intersection of F Street and Tenth Avenue in East Village.
I recognize two of the faces!
Funny Star Wars street art in San Diego. Jar Jar Binks says Meesa Lova Comic Con.Cool street art in East Village shows a colorful Jimi Hendrix.
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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!
Jogging and biking past the historic adobe ranch house in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve.
The second oldest residence in San Diego County can be found inside Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve. The adobe ranch house was built in 1824 by Captain Francisco María Ruiz, who was Commandante of San Diego’s presidio. He built two small adobe buildings on Rancho Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos, his large 8,486-acre Mexican land grant north of the Presidio and Mission San Diego de Alcalá. It was the first land grant by the Mexican government in this area. The grant was made in 1823, just two years after Mexico became independent from Spain.
The historic adobe ranch house has been modified, enlarged and restored by various owners over the years, and today is a popular destination for visitors to Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve. People often bike or hike through the picturesque ranch, and motorists can park in a nearby lot. Picnic tables are plentiful; there are goats and chickens to captivate children; and guided tours are available on weekends.
I toured the ranch recently and took photos of its various features. There are a variety of interpretive exhibits within the adobe house. Please read these informative displays (click to enlarge the images) to learn more about this fascinating place’s long and colorful history.
(What is the oldest structure in San Diego County? You’ll be completely surprised! I blogged about that here.)
The Los Peñasquitos Ranch House is open daily from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Guided tours are at 11:00 am on Saturday and 1:00 pm on Sunday.The ranch house is nestled among some shady trees. Two small adobe buildings were originally built in 1824. The house was enlarged by Captain George Alonzo Johnson in 1862.Plaque describes the establishment of the Johnson-Taylor Adobe Ranchhouse in 1862. The residence and later additions were used as a hotel, bunkhouse, and quarters for a working cattle ranch into the 1960s.A sculpture inside the courtyard, located on the east side (rear) of the ranch house. The planters were probably used by the residents to grow herbs and flowers.Part of the ranch house’s long porch beside the courtyard.Inside a living room that today contains museum-like exhibits, looking north out a window at various small structures on the ranch, including a chicken coop and goat pen.The Californio Period, 1821 to 1850, included vaqueros (cowboys) living at Peñasquitos. The American Rancher Period, 1850-1970, began after California became a state.1823-1834 timeline of the Mexican land grant of Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos, that was made to Captain Francisco María Ruiz.In 1859 Captain George Alonzo Johnson married Maria Estéfana Alvarado, daughter of Francisco María Alvarado, who bought the ranch from Ruiz in 1837.A hand blown and painted glass pitcher and drinking glass that belonged to Maria de Jesus Alvarado de Sepulveda, daughter of Francisco María Alvarado.The large earthenware olive jar was found under the ranch house floor during an excavation in 1983. Used for food storage, it was probably made in Spain or Portugal in the early to mid 1700s.Captain George Alonzo Johnson, a pioneer and businessman, came to California in 1849 during the Gold Rush. He became a rancher and horse breeder.Historical newspaper articles describe the ranch house, outbuildings and grounds of George Alonzo Johnson’s ranch.Floor plan of Rancho Peñasquitos from 1975 HABS survey.A drawing of the Los Peñasquitos residence of Colonel Jacob Shell Taylor, who purchased the property in 1882. He raised Durham cattle and thoroughbred horses and would found Del Mar.Various branding irons on display in the adobe house that were discovered around the ranch. Included are early Spanish irons used by rustlers.Rancho Peñasquitos courtyard photo taken circa 1889, showing ranch employee H. T. Sandford and his family.Photo of the San Diego-Escondido Stage Line circa 1906. In the mid-1800s, Peñasquitos was a way station on the wagon road between San Diego and Warner’s Ranch.Porch along the front (or west) side of the adobe ranch house, which faced the so-called Road to Yuma.I spotted someone riding a horse past the ranch house. Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve is an ideal place for those who love to ride down peaceful trails.Looking west at a meadow north of Peñasquitos Creek. I posted photos of those sycamores in the distance a few weeks ago.An artificial pond south of the ranch house was filled with water from the adjacent spring house for irrigation of a nearby citrus grove.The rock Spring House was constructed around an artesian spring. Water from the spring was used by the Native American Kumeyaay for as many as 12,000 years!The Mohnike Barn was constructed in 1912 of adobe and wood. Charles Mohnike, a rancher who purchased the property in 1910, was the builder.The Mohnike Barn is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places along with other ranch structures.An octagonal concrete reservoir to the north, uphill from the ranch house. Photographic evidence shows water might have been pumped up here by windmill.More ranch structures just west of the barn.These friendly Nubian goats like to greet hikers and those on bicycles.These chickens were wondering what I was up to.The southeast corner of the adobe ranch house.One last photo of the courtyard, a focal point of the ranch house, which has seen many lives, much history.
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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!
Fonzie’s motorcycle and leather jacket from Happy Days is on display at the San Diego Automotive Museum in Balboa Park!
There are lots of good reasons to visit the San Diego Automotive Museum in Balboa Park. They’ve got all sorts of one-of-a-kind cars that you won’t find anywhere else. They also have a very cool motorcycle that you might have seen on television. That is, if you’re an old-timer like me.
Remember the classic show Happy Days? Remember how The Fonz would appear on his motorcycle, wearing his 50s-style leather jacket? During the 1970s and early 1980s, Fonzie became one of America’s greatest cultural icons. Today, by visiting the San Diego Automotive Museum, you can see a motorcycle and leather jacket that actor Henry Winkler used while portraying The Fonz!
I visited the museum last weekend and took a few photos. Check it out!
This 1949 Triumph Trophy TR5 Scrambler is one of three motorcycles used by The Fonz in the classic television show Happy Days. You can see the motorcycle up close at the San Diego Automotive Museum.Photo of Fonzie’s cool 1949 Triumph Trophy TR5 Scrambler from a different angle.Leather jacket worn by Henry Winkler, who played cultural icon Arthur Fonzarelli–The Fonz–on the very popular American television show Happy Days!
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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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 