Tag: photography

House of Scotland celebration in Balboa Park!

Nothing stirs the blood like a performance by the House of Scotland Pipe Band. I loved listening to their piercing bagpipes and booming drums yesterday during a lawn program in Balboa Park.

The House of Scotland’s lawn program at the International Cottages roughly coincided with Samhain, a Celtic festival that marks the end of the harvest season. Scottish culture was enjoyed by park visitors who might have wandered by. There was traditional Scottish music, food and demonstrations of craft. Yesterday’s program also celebrated 75 years in Balboa Park!

Inside the House of Scotland cottage visitors could purchase Scottish shortbread; at their outdoor canopy meat pies caught my attention. I think I’ve become addicted!

On the lawn there was a spinning demonstration. A short distance away a young lady was making lace.

If you plan to visit Balboa Park on a weekend, check the schedule on this page for cultural programs at the International Cottages! Then enjoy!

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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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Photos of Day of the Dead in City Heights!

A beautiful Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) event was held today in San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood. Everyone gathered at Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park to remember loved ones who’ve passed on from this world.

The highlight of the event was the many traditional altars (ofrendas) that honored family and ancestors.

After an introduction to the event and a blessing with the fragrant smoke of white sage, Mariachi Cardenal of Hoover High School took the stage and provided live entertainment.

There were creative activities for kids. Many lowriders were lined up to one side of the festival, and there was a Best Catrina Outfit Contest. Good old Fern Street Circus was there, as was the San Diego Guild of Puppetry. Community organizations present included the San Diego Library, San Diego Youth Services, City Heights Music School…

The sun was out and hearts were full.

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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!

Howl-o-Weenie dog costume parade in Balboa Park!

San Diego Dachshund Club and Friends held their Howl-o-Weenie Parade and Costume Contest in Balboa Park today!

A big group of cleverly costumed dogs and happy humans gathered near the Fleet Science Center and Bea Evenson Fountain, then proceeded down El Prado to the delight of everyone watching!

Some fun photos!

(Yes, there were more than a few hot dog weenie dogs!)

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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!

Monsters welcomed to Balboa Park stage!

Very scary monsters were welcomed to Balboa Park today. The terrifying creatures were kindly helped onto the stage of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.

Vampire, spiders, skeleton, spooky ghost–all will be entertaining a big crowd this evening.

The fearless humans who take the stage with these monsters will provide a Phantom of the Opera concert at 6:30 pm! (If you read this in time–today is Saturday, October 25th–perhaps you’ll have time to make the concert.)

Just some fun photos that I took during my afternoon walk through Balboa Park.

Enjoy!

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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!

Surfing celebrated at Oceanside Museum of Art!

A love of surfing and its lifestyle deeply influences Southern California culture. That love is often expressed in exuberant, very colorful surf art.

Surf Art: Exploring California’s Coastal Culture is an eye-popping exhibition that can now be experienced at the Oceanside Museum of Art. Works by dozens of local artists have been assembled in partnership with Oceanside’s California Surf Museum.

I paid a visit yesterday and look what I found. Stunning pieces in a variety of media created by actual surfers!

I saw bold colors inspired by curling water, warm sand and brilliant sunsets. Powerful images that convey the essence of surfing–a feeling of wild freedom, spirituality or rebellion. Images that can be splashy or surreal, often like psychedelic or pop art.

Turn a corner in the gallery and you’re dazzled once again! Check out the surfboards that have become mind-blowing works of art!

This has got to be one of my favorite exhibitions ever at the Oceanside Museum of Art. The cool thing is, once you finish here you can walk several city blocks over to the California Surf Museum and see even more surf art in an extraordinary dual exhibition!

The surf art exhibition at both museums will continue through February 1, 2026.

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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!

Painting wildlife at Oceanside Transit Center!

Wow! WOW!!!

Look what I discovered today!

Amazing wildlife murals are now being painted at the Oceanside Transit Center! Passengers walking under the tracks to catch a train are in for a big, wonderful surprise!

These photos were taken from the steps descending to either side of the train tracks, and inside the tunnel that connects platforms.

I see the artists are JustJon Art (@just_jon1), Ground Floor Murals (@groundfloormurals), Victor Rodriguez (@tone_dog), Maxx Moses (@maxxmoses777), and Signe Montefalcon Ditona (@signeditona).

Unfortunately, none of the artists were working on the mural when I happened by.

It appears as if this fantastic project is approaching completion. One guy who works at the Oceanside Transit Center told me the artists have been at it for a couple months.

Feast your eyes on this!

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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!

Two new murals in El Cajon’s Arts Alley!

I found two new murals in El Cajon’s very cool Arts Alley!

The Arts Alley is located in downtown El Cajon north of Main Street, between Magnolia Avenue and Sulzfeld Way. I visited the colorful alley in 2020 and 2022. See those photographs here and here.

Look what I discovered during yesterday’s walk!

ART HEALS

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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!

Nikola Tesla, two planets, and El Cajon!

Whenever I walk through downtown El Cajon, I make sure to pass by the Unarius Academy of Science. I peer through the front windows, wondering what weird new thing I might see.

Yesterday, I did find something new.

Yes, there were still displays concerning lost Atlantis, the future arrival of the Space Brothers, a Map of the Interplanetary Confederation, and students engaging in psychodrama as they reenact past-life experiences. But, lo and behold, there’s now a display that celebrates Nikola Tesla!

It’s titled The Unobstructed Universe of Nikola Tesla.

Taking photos through the windows of the building is very difficult due to strong reflections from the street. But here we go.

One sign calls Nikola Tesla a cosmic visionary and a dweller on two planets, and “If you wish to find the secrets of the universe, think of energy, frequency and vibration.”

This display seems apropos, as their website states how Unarius offers “…a course in self-mastery, based on the interdimensional understanding of energy–the joining of science and spirit.“

I don’t get the dweller on two planets, however. Tesla actually journeyed to Mars?

One of the Unarius webpages explains how Tesla thought we could communicate with beings from other planets. In 1899, he believed he had received a message likely from Mars.

Yesterday I also noticed the parking lot near the Unarius Academy of Science has a new mural. Here it is:

Have you seen their cool flying saucer car? I spotted it once during a walk through Coronado.

Just for fun, here it is again!

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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!

Today’s Children Rise mural in El Cajon!

This big mural in El Cajon might be a bit faded, but it’s still awesome. Today’s Children Rise is the message spray painted on the east-facing exterior of Collision Masters Auto Body Shop!

The distinctive artwork was completed years ago by graffiti artists DyseOne, Hasler, Brave and Shark. I’m not sure exactly when.

I got a glimpse of the mural today for the first time. I was walking down West Main Street. A friendly guy at the body shop guided me through the busy facility so I could get unobstructed photographs. Thanks!

By the way, I found other cool murals during my walk in El Cajon, so stay tuned for more!

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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!

Walking through Shhh Pavilion: The Hopekeeper.

Yesterday I walked through Shhh Pavilion: The Hopekeeper.

What’s that?

Shhh Pavilion: The Hopekeeper is the unusual name of a very cool sculpture that rises in recently opened Progress Park. Progress Park is located in downtown San Diego near the waterfront, at the corner of Broadway and Harbor Drive.

The beautiful new park is part of the Research and Development District (RaDD) complex. The sculpture is part of the RaDD Artwalk. It was commissioned by IQHQ, through the City of San Diego Art in Private Development program.

The creator of this very unique public art is gt2P (Great things to People), a Santiago de Chile based collaborative studio collective.

This unusual sculpture is a geometric structure that utilizes something called Voronoi tessellation. The mathematical concept is nicely described on this webpage.

Until recently, the new park was surrounded by a construction fence. But yesterday I noticed the fence was down. So I had to walk under and through the sculpture with my camera!

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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!