It must be breeding season already, because hundreds of Brandt’s cormorants are showing their blue throat patches and building nests on the cliffs above La Jolla Cove!
Today I stood and watched peculiar bird behaviors from the roadside above the cliffs. I saw amorous flirtations and angry squabbles and seaweed tug-of-wars. Cormorants in nests would occasionally angle their heads and wings way back, staring straight up. I’m not sure if that’s a natural behavior, or if they were merely gaping at all the tourists above them!
I tried to select my best photographs. In some the cormorants appear very beautiful; in others a bit strange and primitive–almost monstrous.
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A perfect combination for some dramatic photographs at the La Jolla Tide Pools!
Many others had gathered at viewpoints above the tidepools and at Cuvier Park to watch distant surfers catch some amazing waves, and to gasp as huge geysers of foaming water crashed against the offshore rocks and rugged sandstone cliffs!
La Jolla is indeed one of the most beautiful places anywhere.
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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!
There’s a mysterious bronze plaque in National City near Paradise Valley Hospital.
You can see it on Euclid Avenue, north of 8th Street, right next to a bus stop and hospital sign. The archway to long-vanished Paradise Valley Sanitarium also stands nearby.
There’s no visible indication of who placed the plaque, or when. Just these words in bronze:
SITE OF ORIGINAL WELL
FAITH AND PRAYER WERE REWARDED IN NOVEMBER 1904, FOR AT THIS SITE GOD GAVE OUR PIONEERS WATER. MRS. ELLEN G. WHITE IN REVEALING WHAT GOD HAD SHOWN HER SAID, “IT MAY NOT BE AT THIS SPOT, IT MAY BE SOMEWHERE ELSE ON THIS ESTATE, BUT THERE IS PLENTY OF WATER SOMEWHERE.” TO THIS DAY, THE SUPPLY HAS NOT FAILED. OUR PRESENT WELL TAPS THE SAME CHANNEL, BUT BECAUSE OF DRAINAGE PROBLEMS IT IS ON A HIGHER LEVEL APPROXIMATELY 700 YARDS EAST.
A little research indicates that the Ellen G. White mentioned was one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
According to Wikipedia: In 1883, Dr. Anna L. Potts started construction of Mount Paradise Sanitarium seven miles from San Diego. The thirty room sanitarium was finished in 1887. But in 1895, lacking water and patients, Dr. Potts closed Potts Sanitarium…in 1900, Ellen G. White…repeatedly received strong impressions from God that the region was a good location for a sanitarium and hospital. During Mrs. White’s visit to San Diego in 1902, Paradise Sanitarium was for sale for $11,000. Real estate prices slowly declined as the drought continued…later Mrs. White and a wealthy friend, Mrs. Josephine Gotzain, bought it for $4,000. There still was no water, so Ellen White hired a well digger and water was found at 98 feet…“
More history concerning Paradise Valley Sanitarium–which became a world-famous health resort, and which was eventually replaced by Paradise Valley Hospital–can be found on this page!
(As you can see in my above photograph, somebody tried to cover up the plaque’s text with black paint or ink.)
No copyright image of Paradise Valley Sanitarium from adventistdigitallibrary.org
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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!
This morning, after walking down from the top of Cortez Hill, I headed west along Beech Street to catch the trolley at the Little Italy station.
Early sunlight was reflecting brightly from downtown’s many buildings. Surrounded by fascinating forms, shadows and reflections, I took this series of photographs…
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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 love this super colorful mural. It’s jam-packed with elaborate Aztec imagery!
I saw it as I walked down Main Street at the intersection of Vesta Street. The artwork adds life to a corrugated steel wall outside G & A Automotive. I believe it was painted fairly recently, but I don’t know the artist.
Additional artwork can be seen inside the auto repair shop’s small yard, but there was a No Photography sign. You’ll have to swing by to see it all for yourself!
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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!
I discovered this small mural during my most recent walk through Barrio Logan. You can find it on Main Street near 32nd Street, directly north of the entrance to Naval Base San Diego, home to numerous ships of the United States Navy’s Pacific Fleet.
The street art is simple, yet in a quiet way it’s very personal and emotionally stirring. A sailor gazes out across a landscape of flowers, at a pickup truck and Navy ship coming into San Diego Bay near Point Loma.
It appears this painted scene is signed Shannon.
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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!
I saw this old mural on a Barrio Logan building during a recent walk along Main Street. I don’t know anything definite about it.
After a little internet searching, I believe the mural was painted when this building across Main Street from the 32nd Street Naval Station was occupied by the Barrio Logan Winery. I also believe it might have been created with help from the Urban Corps. That’s my best guess.
What I do know is that education is celebrated, and the positive images aim to inspire youth to stay in school to pursue a brighter future!
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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!
This afternoon I wandered a little around Santee–mostly through Town Center Community Park.
During the walk I crossed three bridges. The first two you’ll see are the pedestrian bridges that pass over Woodglen Vista Creek, providing access to several sports fields. The third bridge I crossed is where Cuyamaca Street passes over the San Diego River.
By looking straight down from the bridges I could see stagnant pools of leaf-covered water. It’s still early winter. We’ve only experienced one storm so far–and that was weeks ago.
And, yes, leaves are falling. The most prominent river trees here seem to be willows, and they now appear to be mainly yellow, a burnt orange, or brown. I saw many cottonwoods turning yellow and gray, too.
The late bright sunshine passing through the foliage made for beautiful scenery, as you can see.
Here come two more photos from the first bridge…
After crossing the first pedestrian bridge, I read an informative sign showing local insects and birds, plus a map.
You can see where Woodglen Vista Creek joins with the San Diego River…
I headed west down the pathway near those four sports fields to the next pedestrian bridge…
As I came to the second bridge, my eyes were greeted by another sign!
This one explains a little about Woodglen Vista Creek. People who live nearby can be treated to sightings of all sorts of native wildlife, from coyotes to caterpillars, red-tailed hawks to California ground squirrels…
Then I found myself walking west along River Park Drive toward Cuyamaca Street, with lots of baseball fields nearby.
Many families and kids were out playing and practicing!
As I walked, the bright orange of a California poppy caught my attention!
When I reached Cuyamaca Street, I turned back east to see a line of trees following the nearby San Diego River.
Turning south, I crossed over the San Diego River and couldn’t help taking many more photographs…
Having crossed the San Diego River, I turned my gaze back northeast.
There, in the distance, stood prominent El Cajon Mountain!
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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 took these photographs this afternoon during a long, slow walk along the Embarcadero.
It’s early winter. On such a pleasant January day, during an ordinary year, one would expect to see more people about. But the COVID-19 pandemic has altered life on San Diego Bay.
Closed attractions. Fewer tourists. Few boats on the water. A quiet boardwalk and sleepy Seaport Village. An almost empty fishing pier…
A lone sailboat passes the presently closed Maritime Museum of San Diego.From the boardwalk I took a photo of Star of India’s cathead. This sturdy beam, used to raise and lower the ship’s anchor, has a cat’s head!Walking past a mostly closed Portside Pier.Many empty benches and tables can now be found along the Embarcadero.Light sparkles from the wake of a turning Coronado Ferry.Play of light on rippled water, reflected onto the hull of the USS Midway.Hanging out on the grass, gazing across the bay.I raised my camera to take this photo of the USS Midway aircraft carrier’s island. The USS Midway Museum is also closed now.Long shadows cast by the two figures in Seward Johnson’s sculpture Unconditional Surrender, which is now more often called Embracing Peace.Walking by the water.Cool photo taken of Tuna Harbor.Bright floats on a rusty fishing boat.A family walks along near Seaport Village. Few people are about this sunny January afternoon.A kite zips around making fast aerial circles, to the delight of both young and old.Quietly reading on the grass at Embarcadero Marina Park North.A fine day for riding bicycles!Marriott Marquis tower reflects bright sunlight into the hotel’s marina.I’m still getting used to Seaport Village’s new color scheme. It’s growing on me.Looking skyward.A snowy egret searches for dinner in shallow water at the edge of the Marriott Marina.More walkers, and a runner.Light makes for an interesting photo at the Marriott Marina.The San Diego Symphony’s new outdoor concert venue, The Shell, seems nearly complete. I believe you’ll walk up here to buy tickets.Beyond the ticket office you can see the acoustically designed structure where the musicians will play.Walking out on the pier at Embarcadero Marina Park South. Not much fishing activity today.From one end of the pier I took this photo of The Shell. A grassy slope descends toward the concert stage. Structures for lighting and speakers have also been erected.Turning on the almost empty pier, facing the Coronado Bay Bridge.Another guy quietly walking along. A perfect day for that.But this pelican will have to wait a long time if it’s expecting a free morsel!
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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! 