The Maritime Museum of San Diego recently acquired DeepFlight I, a unique “flying” underwater submersible developed in the late 1990s. You can read more about this amazing, advanced submersible here.
Visitors to the San Diego museum might be astonished to learn that this one-of-a-kind prototype appears in every episode of Star Trek: Enterprise!
DeepFlight I can be seen momentarily in the Star Trek: Enterprise introductory sequence, which begins every episode. The sequence depicts the evolution of human technology and exploration. DeepFlight I appears at the 34 second mark here!
Super cool!
…
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.
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.
…
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.
Last night I was rereading H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, when suddenly I wondered… What crazy images would the AI Drawing Assist function of my Samsung Galaxy smartphone create, should I use the text prompt: “Martians arrive in San Diego” and tap Generate.
I had my phone create the images in Pop Art style. That explains why words are sometimes splashed as if in a comic book. In many instances, the AI misspelled San Diego or produced absurd words.
I selected the best, most diverse images out of many that were produced.
Most had boats in a bay and flying saucers descending above a city that resembles San Diego. Certain skyscrapers like those of the Manchester Grand Hyatt are recognizable, even if oddly drawn or positioned.
A few surprising images had the green Martians themselves!
This is the third time I’ve experimented with the AI Drawing Assist on my phone. Would you like to see some more bizarre results?
Strange images of “Balboa Park at sunset” are here.
Eye-popping images of “San Diego 100 years in the future” are here!
…
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.
An amazing free event that attracted creative talent from around our region was held in Chula Vista today. FilAm CreatorCon 2025 brought together lots of Filipino-American artists and their fans!
I was surprised by the huge popularity of this annual convention. It was my first time.
The interior of the Chula Vista Library was filled with artist tables overflowing with fantastic artwork: posters, prints, comic books, graphic novels, stickers, jewelry–you name it!
Several community rooms hosted panels or screenings; a fundraising art auction was open to all; and outside, on the library patio, there was plenty of food and even musical entertainment. Neighborhood families came out to the fun event, kids were active and exploring, and smiling artists were busy showcasing and selling their artwork.
What a great experience!
I loved the positive creative energy! I even recognized some of the artists or their great work!
I started out on the patio…
I saw the following information poster.
Bridge the Gap is a nonprofit organization based in San Diego dedicated to celebrating and preserving Filipino-American representation and heritage.
In the spring they have a Creative Summit which supports the next generation of Filipino creatives.
Now I’m inside the main Chula Vista Library.
Look! It’s super nice artist Mary Jhun!
You’ve seen many examples of her distinctive art on Cool San Diego Sights. Click here and here and here and here.
Some of her work:
Here’s another cool artist and illustrator: Robert Rodriguez (@robz_drawings).
Some of his great stuff…
Watch out! Godzilla is energizing his dorsal spines!
This is Raina Ramos (@thrillustrated). She likes to create dog portraits and other cool stuff, like Star Wars art!
Ron Rubio (@rubiobroscartoonstudio), Director, Animator, and producer of smiles!
He has worked on King of the Hill and The Cleveland Show! His brother who has worked on Avatar: The Last Airbender, and for Pixar and others was present, too.
Little Yellow Jeepney author Jocelyn Francisco, Ph.D. was at the con, too! Literacy is more important than ever.
The FilAm CreatorCon panel From Roots to Resonance: Crafting Filipino Stories with Universal Appeal was fully attended.
Look at all the people at FilAm CreatorCon in Chula Vista!
Big respect!
…
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.
Looking for a great pizza place in downtown San Diego? Do you like to have good time? Would you like to eat tasty pizza, have fun, AND at the same time help homeless youth?
Yes, of course!
Swing by Timmy’s Place at 1404 Fifth Avenue, or check out their website here and place an order for take out or delivery!
So, how does Timmy’s Place help homeless youth?
Let me transcribe a description printed on their menu:
Timmy’s Place is the product of an incredible partnership between Urban Street Angels & UPAC & made possible through the Lucky Duck Foundation, the Rolf Benirschke Legacy Foundation, & Inspiration of Rolf and Mary Benirschke. It is a unique social enterprise that offers training, employment, mentorship, and opportunity for homeless youth towards success and self-sustanability.
So what’s on the menu at Timmy’s Place? A wide variety of signature, classic and traditional pizzas, sandwiches, salads, desserts, slushies, coffee and tea. There is free delivery with a $40 minimum in a 4 block radius.
Place your order and not only will you enjoy great food, but you’ll be helping young people’s lives in a very real and meaningful way.
They do catering, too.
I bought a very yummy and reasonably priced Italian salad chock full of good stuff at Timmy’s Place today. It was actually better than a fancy Italian restaurant I occasionally visit.
As I waited for friendly young people to prepare my order, I enjoyed looking around Timmy’s Place. As you can see from my photographs, all sorts of fun pop culture graphics have been put up to celebrate San Diego’s association with Comic-Con!
Yes, that’s Superman and Krypto flying on the front window!
Hey, I know there are hungry, good-hearted people who live or work in downtown San Diego reading this. Please check out Timmy’s Place website by clicking here.
Eat with a smile!
A picture of Timmy on one wall is accompanied by his inspirational message.
“…living in an orphanage was a tough start… In my early 20s I developed dangerous addictions, pushed my family away, ended homeless for more than five years… Because of my past bad choices…it was difficult to get a job… There are so many people out there who care, who want to help, and who are willing to give us the second chance we need.”
Timmy’s Place provides that second chance. And good eats and fun, too!
…
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.
When I was a kid, one of the best things about Sunday morning was opening up the newspaper to find the funny pages. Lying there on the carpet, going through the comic strips, was like falling through two-dimensional doors into so many magical universes.
I must admit that as a boy I often skipped over the comic strip Luann. But now I have a new appreciation for the Luanniverse, because yesterday I enjoyed an exhibit at San Diego’s Comic-Con Museum: Growing Up Luann.
I hadn’t realized Luann’s universe was so vast and complex. Luann herself, and the strip’s large cast of characters, experience evolving relationships, lifelike troubles and humorous situations that stimulate in the reader a range of emotions. But Luann’s essential happiness is never far away.
The award-winning strip was launched in 1985 and continues to this very day. That’s forty years of living. Fortunately, time in Luann’s universe unfolds very slowly!
What interests me most about the comic strip is its evolution–both the art and Luann’s story. By reading the displays, one can follow the creative process undertaken by Luann’s creator, writer and artist Greg Evans.
Visitors to the exhibit learn how fleshing out a beloved character and her universe took years of dreaming, experimentation and work. And how the effort has resulted in worldwide popularity and the National Cartoonist Society’s ultimate award, a Reuben.
Are you fascinated by the creative process? Do you love art? Do you love Luann?
Pay this exhibit a visit!
A bit of what you’ll discover…
…
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.
Super cool! These great comic book paintings at the Comic-Con Museum were created by students from Westview High School!
Students of Westview art teacher Keith Opstad produced these speed paintings during the San Diego Comic-Con Museum’s First Annual Educator’s Night in 2024.
These really are speed paintings? Made while teachers from around San Diego watched? Wow–that’s truly amazing!
Iron Man, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn and Batman make a splash on a wall inside the museum’s second floor Makerspace.
I noticed that today, in the Makerspace, guests could use beads to create a starry sky and constellation, then tell a story about it! The activity is called Constellations Across the WHOniverse. Why? An epic Doctor Who exhibition is now showing at the Comic-Con Museum!
UPDATE!
During my next visit to the Comic-Con Museum, I noticed Superman had appeared, too!
…
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.
Years ago, McDonald’s gave a special treat to San Diego. The fast food restaurant donated two of their McDonaldland television commercial puppets to the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater in Balboa Park. The two puppets are now perched up near the ceiling of the puppet theater, in shadow behind the audience seating. I happened to spy them yesterday!
I learned that over ten years ago McDonald’s donated their old McDonaldland puppets to various established puppet theaters around the country. The Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater received the famous, lovable Bernice, plus the horned pink creature in my first two photos. The theater affectionately calls the latter their “Pink Monster,” but little seems known about this particular puppet’s history.
Both of these McDonald’s puppets are quite worn after many years, so they now sit quietly, themselves watching puppet performances on the Marie Hitchcock stage.
Okay, here’s the mystery! Do you recognize the big “Pink Monster” puppet with horns? Was it in fact ever used in McDonald’s commercials? What was it called? If you do know anything about it, please leave a comment!
And now, meet Bernice! You quite possibly recognize her!
Bernice (performed by Tim Blaney and Tony Urbano) – A strange creature that was introduced in 1992 and that ate inedible things like the script in the three-part “Ronald McDonald Makin’ Movies” commercial.
You can find a great photograph of Bernice with Ronald McDonald on the RestaurantClicks website by clicking here!
As that website explains: The lovable Bernice appeared in TV commercials with Ronald McDonald for a decade, from 1992 to 2001… The main personality characteristic of Bernice remains her ability to eat anything. In one memorable commercial, Bernice eats the script and throws everyone into chaos.
…
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.
A group of San Diego Ghostbusters entered downtown’s historic Balboa Theatre this afternoon in order to capture a Class 5 Full Roaming Vapor.
Fortunately, the ghost-catching mission ended in a success. After trapping the rambunctious spirit, the ghostbusting experts departed from the Balboa Theatre’s stage so a gathered audience could watch a classic movie: the original Ghostbusters!
Those in attendance, before entering the theatre, had the opportunity to meet some of the San Diego Ghostbusters, who arrived in Ecto-1 and Ecto-RR1 ready for action with their proton packs.
Yes, this unique event was a lot of fun! The showing of 1980s comedy Ghostbusters was part of the Balboa Theatre’s Retro Rewind programming.
The Real San Diego Ghostbusters group takes part in parades, festivals and other special events around San Diego. Perhaps you’ve seen them. Visit their website here.
With their appearance, these friendly Ghostbusters were raising money for the Starlight Children’s Foundation. If you’d like to help out the charitable organization via Ghostbusters Give Back, click here!
…
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.
Enjoy another collection of cool photographs. I took these while walking around downtown San Diego on Sunday morning, the final day of Comic-Con 2025.
Yes, Comic-Con on a Sunday begins to wind down. I noticed this year that an offsite activation or two had already disappeared overnight. The remaining offsites close earlier on Sunday. Time for many out-of-towners to call it a Con and start heading home.
The cool thing is, local San Diego families love to come out on Sunday to enjoy the fun sights, cosplay and remaining offsites. It’s like a free visit to a sprawling amusement park. There’s still is a whole bunch of excitement!
Anyone at all can participate. That makes Comic-Con very special. It’s one big reason why so many in San Diego love Comic-Con.
You might notice from my photos I circled the San Diego Convention Center a couple times. As always, I’m reluctant to see another Comic-Con vanish. It goes by much too quickly. But there’s always next year to look forward to, right?
To everyone I met, you were awesome! Perhaps I’ll see you next year!
Now it’s time for a few days rest–then onward to more Cool San Diego Sights! Stay tuned!
…
If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
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.
Cool San Diego Sights! 