Rob Hutsel, President and CEO of the San Diego River Park Foundation, provided a guided walking tour this morning that I and several others thoroughly enjoyed. He explained how in the next 6 to 8 weeks the River Center will really be taking shape, with many of its features finally completed.
He explained how the center will be an active outdoor classroom for thousands of San Diego school children–particularly Title 1 schools within a 15 minute drive, serving urban, less affluent communities.
The River Center is designed to welcome city kids who might have no real experience out in nature. They will be eased into the experience from the moment school buses arrive, enjoying presentations in a 100-seat amphitheater by the entry courtyard. I learned there will be animal encounters hosted by Joan Embery!
Kids will then walk past a waterfall, separate into smaller groups, and walk down nature trails, where they will learn about the environment and the San Diego River: its geology, history, flora and fauna.
If you’d like to go on one of these preview tours, you have the chance tomorrow–Sunday, May 19–between 9:30 am and 11:30 am. Check out the San Diego River Days website for more information here!
In September there will be a big Grand Opening celebration! Stay tuned!
Construction gate at the future entrance to the River Center at Grant Park in Mission Valley. The area beyond used to be an abandoned sand mining site.Early visitors have arrived for the first tour that would preview the new River Center.The public can support the project by buying personalized pavers at the River Center’s entrance.Kids stepping off school buses will encounter wild animal tracks in a concrete walkway.Almost time to start our early Saturday morning tour!A rendering of the entry courtyard, showing The Den pavilion structure with restrooms and a sheltered sitting area that faces a stage and river trees. Famous animal educator Joan Embery is partnering with the River Center and will provide animal presentations (perhaps a hawk) for young students!This is where the 100-seat outdoor amphitheater with stage will be built.Much of the dirt area in the 17-acre River Center will soon be transformed into a beautiful park space. A gateway garden and expanse of grass (Grant Park) will be open to the public! Just beyond Rob will be an artificial waterfall!A walkway will wind toward the south side of the San Diego River. There will be lighting along the path. The environmentally friendly River Center will be powered mostly by solar.Where the walkway turns there will be a beautiful arbor–an acoustic shade structure.Just beyond the arbor, a dirt trail will lead into nature. Kids in small groups will be led by trained educators into the native river environment.Here we go! The irrigation pipes you see will eventually be removed.Kids can learn about how buckwheat seeds spread, and learn about plants and trees like prickly pear and lemonade berry, and willows and oaks.Gazing down toward the San Diego River in mid-May, when water levels are low. That’s Interstate 805 in the distance. I saw birds flitting about in the lush greenery.Now we’re back on the curving concrete walkway, looking at the visionary River Center at Grant Park project. Some big boulders were donated, adding beauty to the park space.Rendering shows families enjoying the grass of Grant Park when it’s finally completed.Master gardeners will be adding their expertise to the public park. The California Garden Clubs will also be contributing. The River Center and park will be alive with birds. As our tour concluded, a swallow flew overhead.Join the effort to open the River Center at Grant Park! Donations for this amazing (but expensive) project are appreciated!
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The amazing tall ship Cuauhtémoc is visiting San Diego and you are invited to step aboard her!
Those who walk along San Diego’s Embarcadero during the next few days will undoubtedly see the three high masts and many furled sails of Mexican Navy training vessel Cuauhtémoc.
ARM Cuauhtémoc, built in Spain in 1982, is extraordinarily beautiful. It’s now docked at the B Street Pier, across from the Cruise Ship Terminal, and the public is welcome to walk down the pier and come aboard. I was told by a friendly officer that the ship will be open to the public from 8 am to 8 pm through next Monday.
If you love tall ships (who doesn’t?) you’ve got to take advantage of this rare opportunity. (It’s been ten years since I last saw her in San Diego.)
The following photographs that I took this evening provide an idea of what you’ll find, but they really don’t do justice to the experience of being on the deck of an immense, truly spectacular tall ship!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
Today is Bike Anywhere Day in San Diego! The event, promoted by SANDAG, occurs smack dab in the middle of May, which is National Bike Month.
The sun broke through the “May gray” this afternoon, and more than a few people took advantage of the mild weather as they rode bicycles around the city. Bike Anywhere Day encourages people to enjoy the outdoors on two wheels–whether they are going to work or simply having some healthy fun.
Early in the morning I walked around downtown to visit some of the many Bike Anywhere Day pit stops. The one I found, at the foot of the Broadway Pier, was just getting set up. Some bikes were already present, and I received a big smile from a friendly gentleman representing the Port of San Diego!
In the late afternoon, as I walked home from work, I spotted more bicycles on the move!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
In the last couple weeks, several street lamps in the form of traditional Chinese lanterns have been replaced along Third Avenue in downtown San Diego. Third Avenue, between Market Street and J Street, is the heart of the Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District.
The original Chinese lanterns were installed in the 1980s, back when the historic district was first designated. Those lamps, however, had deteriorated over time and were badly in need of replacement.
Sadly, these beautiful Chinese lantern street lamps no longer run the entire distance to Market Street. I was told the City of San Diego disposed of several of the old lanterns that might have been given to the museum and also refurbished.
The San Diego Chinese Historical Museum has retained one of the newly refurbished lanterns for safe keeping as you can see from my next photograph. It will be used as a model for future lanterns, if money can be raised to produce them. Recreating them from scratch will be, unfortunately, fairly expensive for the nonprofit museum. (Would you like to help?)
The museum would also love to create an Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District gateway on Market Street. Chinatowns in other cities feature such gateways.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
Today volunteers and crew members at the Maritime Museum of San Diego undertook a complicated operation. Very carefully, they slowly removed and lowered a spar on the Star of India called the mizzen gaff.
The mizzen gaff of the historic, 161-year-old tall ship hadn’t been inspected for 15 years, and it was time for another look. The United States Coast Guard is tasked with ensuring that working ships like the Star of India remain in safe sailing condition.
I stood and watched for a long while. You can see why special care must be taken when lowering this long, heavy spar. Imagine what might happen if somehow it slipped! Many lines held by steady hands were supporting and maneuvering it, making sure a calamity could not happen.
I watched for probably half an hour, and it seemed to my eyes that little progress was made in that time. That’s how carefully the operation was conducted!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
The colors of life in Balboa Park become even more vivid in Spring. New flowers, bright greenery, San Diego’s sunlight on amazing architecture, sunshine on smiling people…
Here’s another collection of colorful photographs. I took these today while walking in one of the world’s most amazing parks.
Read the photo captions to learn a little more about each image!
New friends meet in Balboa Park.A tour of Balboa Park stops on El Prado to learn some San Diego history. In the background, Garden Stewards tend to flowers near the reflecting pool, and beyond them rises the Botanical Building, which is being renovated.’Spring flowers and the incredible wood lath Botanical Building, which is being rebuilt.A closer photo of the Botanical Building’s major restoration.Spring colors at the San Diego Epiphyllum Society’s big Plant Sale outside the Casa del Prado.Spring flowers around the fountain at the center of Balboa Park’s Plaza de Panama.Bicycles and spring colors outside the House of Hospitality.Spring into Summer at the Prado Perk!A peaceful bench near flowers and grass at the edge of the Casa del Rey Moro Garden.A perfect day for a bike ride through the park.Beautiful roses at the International Cottages.A garland of flowers inside the House of Sweden’s cottage.The Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration will take place next Saturday at the International Cottages in Balboa Park.The Spreckels Organ Pavilion is a favorite spot for elegant photography.Models wearing handmade Oaxacan fashions smile in Balboa Park. They represent Floresita Customs & Imports!A painting class in the park. There is inspiration around every corner.A painter in the Plaza de Panama interprets scenery in Balboa Park.Chet play his guitar beautifully as usual.Mitchell pauses with his didgeridoo to talk to a passerby.The weekend Glass Show and Sale fills the Spanish Village Art Center with many colors.Stunning glasswork for sale is displayed on many tables.A sale!Glass artist Melissa Heaney has created some truly extraordinary pieces.What’s a Spring day without a ride on the fun Balboa Park Carousel?A family rides over green grass on the Balboa Park Miniature Railroad.Nearby flowers are super abundant!The very colorful Balboa Park Pow Wow is held every year around Mother’s Day.Native American culture comes to life in Balboa Park. It’s another beautiful, soulful Spring weekend.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
Members of the San Diego Astronomy Association participated today in the San Diego Air & Space Museum’s 19th Annual Space Day!
The local amateur astronomers gathered on the grass of Pan American Plaza in Balboa Park, in front of the museum, and observed our sun through a variety of telescopes.
As I walked nearby in the late morning, I spied telescopes of every size pointed skyward toward the sun, which was still hiding behind “May gray” clouds.
I paused and spoke to several of these friendly astronomy hobbyists. Solar observation was their activity on this Space Day, and telescopes fitted with special filters could provide magnified images of sunspots, the sun’s corona and solar flares!
I was told how there are thousands of amateur astronomers around the country and world, and how their efforts often help to further scientific knowledge. When distant stars are seen to slightly wobble over time, or when their light’s intensity as seen from Earth periodically changes, it can be an indication that they are orbited by planets–exoplanets very far from our own solar system!
The members of the San Diego Astronomy Association possess an enthusiasm that is infectious. I could have spent half the morning absorbing fascinating information.
How can you not be excited, peering out into the awe-inspiring Universe–a vast, vast, incredibly vast Universe that includes the nearest star: our Sun!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
Seven positively enormous books stand along a sidewalk in Escondido as if they were filed on a library shelf. All concern the history of Escondido and nearby places.
It you’d like to have a look at these giant books, head to the corner of Kalmia Street and Grand Avenue!
These books, as you can see, are realistically painted in a big mural. The fun artwork was created earlier this year by local artist Zane Kingcade, whose murals can be found all over Escondido.
The titles of these books (which actually exist–and will fit in your hand) are: Yesterday in Escondido, Grape Day Festival 1908-1950, The History of the Hotel Charlotta, San Pasqual A Crack in the Hills, The Royal Highway, Palomar From Teepee to Telescope, and Early Escondido.
If you’re interested in reading any of these books, simply google the title.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
Should you walk down the alley that runs just south of Grand Avenue in Escondido, you might notice many of the murals that once graced the blocks between Maple and Broadway have vanished. These works of local artists, from the inaugural 2021 season of Esco Alley Art, had to be removed.
I explored Escondido’s cultural center last weekend and discovered familiar works of art mounted to several outdoor walls…
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
In recent years, locals artists, many of whom belong to the Escondido Art Association, have been working diligently to beautify Escondido. Some of these artists were on hand yesterday during the Cinco de Mayo event in Grape Day Park!
A variety of community projects have been undertaken by these inspired artists. You might recall a blog post in 2020 during the COVID pandemic. Concrete barriers along Grand Avenue were colorfully painted by Beautify Escondido. Later, an alley south of Grand Avenue would turn into an amazing outdoor gallery, featuring the murals of Esco Alley Art.
Suzanne Nicolaisen (aka Zanniki), one of the leaders of these efforts, was present at the Cinco de Mayo festival. She and others were showcasing their artwork, painting live, and promoting the beautification of Escondido.
Not only does creativity flow from these generous artists, but expanding ripples of happiness and positivity. They are true community heroes!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
Cool San Diego Sights! 