In Balboa Park today the rain stopped shortly after noon. I happened to get off the bus right then, and I started my afternoon walk through the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden.
Beads of water gleamed on leaves, and on the flowers that were still in bloom as winter approaches. Many petals had already fallen to the soil.
Some of the roses, having grown taller than my head, mingled with the storm clouds that were passing to the east.
Here are a handful of photos…
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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 X.
The views this morning from the Imperial Beach Pier were dramatic!
Stormy weather brought a procession of very dark clouds, through which bright sunshine penetrated. The waves were pretty big, too, as you can see from these photographs!
Yes, some surfers were out. I saw a KEEP OUT OF WATER sign posted on the beach by the County of San Diego. For their sake, I hope those surfers don’t become sick from the rain’s runoff and all that raw sewage coming from the Tijuana River.
Anyway, the storm clouds, light and breaking surf resulted in great photos!
When I arrived on the Imperial Beach Pier, I saw a rainbow!
A few minutes after I left the pier, a big cell arrived and there was a long-lasting downpour. My final photo was taken from the shelter of a bus stop on Seacoast Drive.
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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.
A crew from The Weather Channel was in San Diego this morning, covering flooding in Mission Valley caused by the rain-swollen San Diego River. It rained much of last night.
The Weather Channel had arrived for live storm coverage, aiming their cameras at high water passing treacherously over Fashion Valley Road.
I had twenty minutes to wait for a bus at the nearby transit center, so I walked down toward the river to check things out for myself. I received some smiles!
I then took a photo from the pedestrian bridge across the river to Town and Country Park, and another from the elevated Fashion Valley trolley station platform.
I had a couple more minutes, so I checked out the flooded Fashion Valley parking structure. It was actually designed to flood, believe it or not! Fortunately, no cars were caught in the water on the lowest level.
In the middle of the day, two tornado warnings were sent out to phones around the city. Apparently no tornadoes actually formed, although someone on the radio said they saw a very dark, low, rotating cloud in Spring Valley..
Was there a rainbow warning? There should have been!
Late in the afternoon, I saw how Mission Center Road was really flooded by the San Diego River. It had rained off and on all day. That car was almost completely submerged.
Please stay safe! More rain to come!
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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)!
It rained very heavily in San Diego today. I heard that some coastal areas received up to four inches of rain. That’s a staggering amount of water in less than 24 hours for our naturally arid climate.
Not surprisingly, many parts of the city flooded. A couple of highways partially closed. All three trolley lines had service disruptions.
Severe flooding often occurs in Mission Valley as the San Diego River rapidly swells. As you can see in my photos, that happened again.
Late this afternoon I observed two cars half underwater where Mission Center Road crosses the San Diego River. I hope those drivers are okay.
Holding my umbrella, I then walked along the leaf-strewn pathway beside the swollen river.
The above sign west of Mission Center Road explains the San Diego River’s peculiarities, and why periodic flooding is actually helpful:
A River in Flood
Under historical conditions, the seasonal variation in San Diego’s rainfall creates strong fluctuation in the amount of water flowing within the San Diego River. The low rainfall and the geologic composition allowed for the river to run below ground during much of the year; this lead to the River’s nickname, the Upside Down River.
Habitats and vegetation adapted to flooding in the winter and subsurface flow in the summer. Flooding helped restore the natural river bottom, flushed out debris, created new sand bars and kept the river healthy.
Large flooding events were common and are natural along the river course. Over time, with the construction of regional reservoirs, El Capitan in 1934 and San Vicente in 1943, these large flooding event have been reduced and flows constrained.
Every year we’re reminded: Avoid driving in flooded areas!
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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)!
An unexpected K-pop dance party in San Diego’s always surprising Balboa Park?
Take a look!
This afternoon the PRISM4TIC’S Pajama Party had dozens of K-pop fans dancing in the Plaza de Panama. Visitors to Balboa Park who watched or wandered nearby were invited to join!
The dancing brought a community of local K-pop lovers together. Many immediately recognized the randomly played songs and jumped onto the outdoor dance floor.
PRISM4TIC is a San Diego-based Kpop Dance Cover Group.
Every walk through Balboa Park brings new surprises. Even on a drizzly January afternoon!
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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)!
It was a bit damp on the morning of New Year’s Eve in Balboa Park. It had rained overnight.
Big weekend crowds wouldn’t turn out until the afternoon, which made my early walk quiet and easy.
I wandered about randomly, turning right or left with no clear destination. The sky was overcast and the air was chilly.
Kids splashed in puddles. Artists were setting up along El Prado. Street musicians were already filling the air with music. Ambitious tourists pointed at new sights, as they explored San Diego’s crown jewel. The faces of friends were already smiling.
Even on a gray, damp, chilly morning, Balboa Park is very alive.
I’m sure in the coming year this special place will bring more joy to you and me.
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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)!
Visitors to Balboa Park during the winter might walk past the sunken Zoro Garden without seeing its enduring beauty.
On a cold, gray day late in the year, fallen leaves, puddles and a big patch of bare dirt might seem the main attraction of this stone grotto garden. But those who stroll down any of the winding pathways will discover small flowers, surprising color, and perhaps gleaming raindrops on bright green leaves.
Please enjoy these photographs. I took them today on a New Year’s Eve walk through Balboa Park. It had been drizzling earlier in the day.
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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)!
A little San Diego drizzle on an early September morning couldn’t stop 16 stickball teams from battling for The Jillie Championship Trophy!
Three days of competition during Labor Day weekend, on three asphalt “fields” in Little Italy, will determine the ultimate champion. Teams have traveled to San Diego from New York, Florida and Puerto Rico to have their name engraved as winners on The Jillie!
I walked down to Little Italy this morning to view several hard-fought games. Batters were concentrating, smashing the ball, sprinting, or sadly fouling or striking out. Fielders were making great catches and throws, occasionally flubbing or misfiring. Taunts and encouragement filled the air as a brotherhood of stickball players shook hands, win or lose.
Head down to Little Italy in downtown San Diego all this Labor Day weekend to watch the action for yourself! You’ll find the main field of battle in front of the San Diego Firehouse Museum at the intersection of Columbia Street and Cedar Street.
Enjoy these photographs…
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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)!
I took this series of photographs while walking on the David Kreitzer Lake Hodges Bicycle/Pedestrian Bridge. They show the beauty of nature in Spring after a winter that brought much needed rain to San Diego.
The trees in and around the lake were bright green with new spring leaves. This part of Lake Hodges had been dry for many years during a long drought, but as you can see water fed by the San Dieguito River now lingers below the bridge.
The 990 foot long bicycle and pedestrian bridge has some benches for sitting and is a great place for birdwatching. I observed egrets, crows and swallows during my short visit.
The bridge is also notable because it’s the longest stress ribbon bridge in the world! You can learn more about that here.
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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 Twitter!
In San Diego this afternoon, blue and yellow umbrellas sheltered a tight-knit gathering from the rain. Supporters of Ukraine met near the El Cid statue in Balboa Park’s Plaza de Panama, waving flags, giving heartfelt speeches, asking for help.
It’s now a year since Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine, and in San Diego many are appalled that dictatorship and murderous barbarism can rise again in the 21st century.
Powerful images and messages that concern one year of Defending Freedom surrounded the group.
As I stood in the crowd listening, a young person voiced her optimism that Freedom, in the end, would prevail.
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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 Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 