Skateboarder at end of G Street Pier looks out at Red Bull Air Race course about an hour before the cool event begins on Saturday in San Diego.
Have fun checking out these photos! I took them during a long walk up and down the Embarcadero, before and during today’s Red Bull Air Race.
What did I see? Read the captions!
And if you happen to be in San Diego, the event continues tomorrow! There’s lots of cool sights to see!
Smart people grabbed seats on the Seaport Village wall by the water before the air race began. The guys on the boat are there to rescue pilots should they crash into the water.Some aerial entertainment starts early! It appeared several pilots were practicing the course before the official time trials would begin.The little airplanes are awfully fast and super maneuverable. The pilots had to steer a twisty course between those inflatable pylons and avoid losing points.A crowd is gathering by my friend Mitchell’s spot–he plays didgeridoo. I held the fort while he bought a pretzel. That ice cream passing by looks pretty good.Near one paid entrance, at Embarcadero Marina Park North, a sign shows the event schedule and provided info about the Red Bull race planes and pilots.The public could purchase all sorts of Red Bull merchandise and souvenirs at a trailer by the boardwalk.And at nearby Seaport Village, kids could visit the Easter Bunny!These poor guys had to work during the big event. Superyachts docked behind the convention center need constant maintenance!I saw this below in the water and had to take a photo. Love the color.Then I had to climb to the top of the San Diego Convention Center……where I discovered a great view of the Marriott Marina and a good portion of the Red Bull Air Race course out on beautiful San Diego Bay!As I walked south toward the Hilton, more pilots were practicing out on the bay. Zoom! I see the Coronado Ferry Landing across the water.Lots of people were finding spots along the water to watch the action.Another guy who had to work today. But one couldn’t find a better workplace!A Red Bull pilot rolls in the blue sky high above marina masts!Meanwhile, this guy was testing out a water jetpack. A bunch of these daredevils entertained the crowd later, as you’ll see.Almost time to start the official racing! Lots of people got free seats on the grass. The Embarcadero was jammed with spectators!This line contained folks who paid to get an up close view. The paid area also featured videoboards, exhibits and special refreshments.Here’s that sign again. I’ve been walking my way back north.The San Diego course map for the Red Bull Air Race.The racing has officially begun! Those pilots are fast and super skilled! They probably drank some Red Bull, too! Because you need to be on edge!Planes make multiple passes through the difficult course.Just cleared that pylon!Uh, oh. One pylon deflated for some reason. Sometimes pilots would clip them and lose points. Anyway, now it’s being refilled with air.All of San Diego seems present for the big international race!Look at them go.This pair of pylons at the north end seemed the most difficult to clear. Pilots had to make a hairpin turn through them.Made it!Young flying enthusiast has pins from many aviation events and air shows.These kids simply like ice cream.Now I’m out on the pier just north of Seaport Village. A great view of the race can be enjoyed here, and for free!A big wake made this fishing vessel bob by the pier like crazy, causing a moment of excitement!During a lull in the aerial action, which allowed ships and boats to pass through the course, the paying crowd was entertained by a bunch of water jetpack guys.Coast Guard guys check with pilot rescue guys during a break in the action. The rescue guys had wetsuits and fins on, ready to be on the scene of a crash in seconds.The dog was enjoying the sunny San Diego day as much as the humans.The Red Bull Air Race has resumed! A pilot descends toward the starting pylons!Here he goes!Now to bank rapidly around a couple of single pylons…That’s pretty darn fast!
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An amazing drawing of a human eye. Window to the soul.
A professional henna tattoo artist was set up near Seaport Village, and as I walked by I was struck by a drawing that she was patiently working on. You can see it in my second photograph.
Jaya Tulasi is a super nice person who let me see some of her artwork. Her drawings are so elegant and precise that they truly are stunning. It’s like looking at small pieces of perfection. She likes to draw while waiting for henna customers. All I can say is, keep on drawing! Wow!
Jaya is based out of San Diego and Los Angeles. Please check out her website!
This elegant drawing of a sunflower stopped me in my tracks. Patience combined with great talent.
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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!
Worker inside the processing window at Chesapeake Fish Company packages fresh fish. Their seafood products are used by nearby restaurants and shipped around the world.
Millons of pounds of fish are processed at San Diego’s Chesapeake Fish Company every year. The dock where local fishermen unload their fresh catch is just steps away.
Most visitors to San Diego’s Embarcadero don’t realize they can actually watch freshly caught fish being processed. Just north of Seaport Village, a window invites tourists and passersby to watch the fish cleaning and packaging operation. The friendly workers will even hold up the fish for photographs and sometimes wave!
The processing room is refrigerated, but this morning I still managed to get some decent photos through the thick, fogged, drippy glass window…
If you see this sign just north of Seaport Village, take a look into the big window. Workers inside might be cleaning fish caught in the ocean off San Diego!Near the processing window of Chesapeake Fish Co. is the small dock where fishermen unload their catch. Beyond is Tuna Harbor, full of commercial fishing boats.A worker holds up a de-boned fish for my camera!I believe these are the bones, heads and inedible parts that are removed from the fish during the cleaning operation.Two workers get dinner ready for seafood lovers!
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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!
A seagull stands atop a pile of nets and floats on San Diego’s picturesque G Street Pier.
You won’t believe all the birds I identified today during my walk along the Embarcadero. You really will not believe it!
Check out these fun flighty photos taken beside beautiful San Diego Bay!
American coots (also called mud hens) stand on rocks near the Marriott Marina.A Canada goose on San Diego’s Embarcadero! Now that’s a very unusual sight! This bird seems to have joined a local flock of American coots. Maybe it was blown off course during the recent windy storm.Another strange bird near the sparkling water about to take flight! Oops. My mistake.A female black-crowned night heron among rocks near the Embarcadero Marina Park South pier.A gathering of pigeons on the grass at Embarcadero Marina Park North.Rare exotic birds photographed in flight! Oops. Those are actually colorful kites. Fooled me again!I’ve arrived at Seaport Village. Okay, I’m certain these are real birds–maybe. Looks like a parrot, flamingo and some egrets.Gulls, pelicans and sea lions await handouts of leftover fish parts. Early Saturday afternoon, and the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market is wrapping up.Two sneaky gulls with hungry, watchful eyes.There’s gotta be some yummy fish scraps here somewhere!Commercial fishermen unload on the small dock behind this gate at Tuna Harbor. Birds wait eternally here, too!A bird in the sky above broad-winged sailboats flying across San Diego Bay.Seabirds love hanging out around the fishing vessels at Tuna Harbor.A snowy egret near the net of a live bait catching seiner.A double-crested cormorant flaps its wings in the water of San Diego Bay near the USS Midway.Birds above an ocean wave, painted on a ceramic tile by a young person. Many fun tile benches along the Embarcadero were created for a project called Celebrating the Big Bay in 2004.Many birds in flight.
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This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of fun stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Monster Energy Supercross is in San Diego next weekend. Some trucks have already arrived for the event at Petco Park.
What a day! I walked like crazy! In the morning I headed down to the historic center of National City in San Diego’s South Bay. I have five blog posts coming this week about National City, featuring public art, some really cool street art, and a handsome collection of historic buildings. After my walk around National City, I took the trolley back to the 12th and Imperial station, and commenced a slow walk up the Embarcadero. I took my sweet time because the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade would be held farther up the Embarcadero later in the afternoon. Yes–I’m going to blog about the parade, too!
But first, here are some photos from my relaxing walk. During the winter months fewer people are about, and few boats are out on the bay. The air is a bit cooler, but the sun still likes to peek through. It’s San Diego.
The new Park 12 luxury apartment building is taking shape just east of Petco Park.Gazing down from the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge at a long freight train and the edge of the trolley yard.If you live on the West Coast and eat bananas, they probably arrived on a Dole cargo ship at San Diego’s Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal.Engine powered articulating boom lifts in a row behind the San Diego Convention Center.The high masts of super yachts rise behind the convention center into the sky.People and birds can enjoy a view of the San Diego Bay from atop the convention center.Two basketball players and a bicyclist. It’s a fairly quiet day at Embarcadero Marina Park South.Railing creates patterns at the park’s gazebo. Picnic benches are empty this quiet winter Sunday.Pigeons on the pier are taking it easy.A fine day to bat at a ball.Or to catch a wayward ball.Or to just walk along.Or dangle.Visitors to San Diego check out a map of the Embarcadero.These guys must own a boat docked at the Marriott Marina.A couple enjoys outdoor conversation at Seaport Village’s San Pasqual Wine Tasting Room.Member of the Cat-illacs band chats with folks at Seaport Village’s East Plaza Gazebo.Colorful but weathered picnic table at Embarcadero Marina Park North is the remnant of public art from years ago.Several years ago–I forget how long exactly–the picnic benches near the water at Embarcadero Marina Park North were all decorated with colorful tile artwork. This is all that now remains.A quiet day on the bay. A good time to meditate, relax.Just kicking back.
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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!
The sleepy face of Morning, a sculpture by renowned San Diego artist Donal Hord.
Many who walk along the waterfront pause to enjoy a beautiful sculpture near Seaport Village. Morning, sculpted from black diorite by internationally renowned San Diego artist Donal Hord, stands atop a low grassy hill at the edge of Embarcadero Marina Park North. Should curious eyes watching the colorful, sunlit kites flying high above the park descend to Earth, they will fall upon Morning.
Donal Hord sculpted Morning between 1951 and 1956. His works around San Diego include Woman of Tehuantepec, at Balboa Park’s House of Hospitality; Aztec, at San Diego State University; Guardian of Water, in front of the San Diego County Administration Center; and Literature West and Literature East, at the old, now vacant San Diego Central Library on E Street.
As a young man Hord was influenced by what he saw at Balboa Park’s 1915 Panama-California Exposition, particularly the architecture of Bertram Goodhue and the sculptural work of the Piccirilli Brothers. Later in life he was influenced by Scottish sculptor, Archibald Dawson, and Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera.
Morning. Donal Hord, 1902-1966. Presented to the citizens of the State of California by the San Diego Unified Port District. August 1983.The Morning sculpture by Donal Hord stands on the grass at Embarcadero Marina Park North. Thousands of people pass it every day as they walk near Seaport Village.Morning, sometimes referred to as Morning Statue, shows a man waking, stretching, preparing for another day. At the base are various symbols, including representations of the sun and the moon.Morning was acquired by the Port of San Diego in 1983 and installed on the waterfront. Until then, the sculpture was located at Donal Hord’s residence.A gull and its sculpted human perch together greet a sunny morning beside San Diego Bay.
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This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Christmas angels peer out of a window at Silver Crossing in Seaport Village.
Radical changes are coming to nearly 40-year-old Seaport Village. A redevelopment plan that was recently approved will transform the quaint collection of shops and restaurants on downtown’s waterfront into a massive complex called Seaport San Diego. The new development will contain even more shopping and dining options, several hotels, a 480-foot observation tower, a public beach, aquarium, Smithsonian attraction, and more.
Many of the shops that people have come to know over the years will vanish. Admittedly, Seaport Village today is a touristy hodgepodge. One wouldn’t really expect to see a New England lighthouse in Southern California. But no matter. I still enjoy meandering through on a sunny weekend! There are buskers aplenty and live music and people-watching and the nearby grassy park with kites flying in the breeze. And onion rings and pretzels and ice cream!
And there are the windows. Kaleidoscope windows. Windows winking with color. Windows painted with unexpected images. Windows full of gaudy trinkets, the typical souvenirs, whimsical novelties, and even a rare treasure or two you’ll find nowhere else.
Here are a few of the windows.
A lady holding a colorful bouquet in the window of Seaport Deli and Salad Bar.Beach, clouds, muffin and coffee in a window of the Seaport Cookie Company.Exotic masks for a masquerade in one window of Upstart Crow Bookstore and Coffeehouse.Floral designs around one window of the Seaport Fudge Factory.Window mural painted by San Diego artist Joel Sharp in 1996. You can find it in Seaport Village at Margaritas Kitchen and Cantina.Christopher M., known as The Painter of Chefs, has samples of his work displayed in one window of Exclusive Collections Gallery in Seaport Village.Delightful characters fill the window at The Mugger in Seaport Village.A window full of irresistible treats at the Seaport Cookie Company.There are several smiling faces in this Upstart Crow window. Can you spot all three?Zoltar the fortune teller will read your future from his own small window.Coral and other beautiful objects in a window of Seaport Village Shell Co. Limited.Tourists might take home a glittery San Diego sombrero once they glimpse these in the window of Mexican Fiesta.Sunflowers and blue window frames at Frost Me Gourmet Cupcakes in Seaport Village.
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This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Almost any day in San Diego is a fine day. A fine day to open eyes and experience life.
When I walk about, I often take photos of everything and anything. Photography helps one to see the surrounding world: a fascinating world in constant motion.
Here are some photos that I’ve taken on different walks around San Diego. Every walk is a fine walk. There is so much to see.
Saturday morning on the pier near the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market.A bicyclist with a daring spirit at the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge.A standup paddleboarder off Coronado, with sailboats and the San Diego skyline in the background.Bagpipes and a smile outside Petco Park.Early morning produce is ready to deliver in East Village.A boy and a kite at Embarcadero Marina Park North.Someone seeks attention in Seaport Village.Pigeons on Broadway.A smiling face.Rolling down the Gaslamp.A big wheel in Balboa Park.A handstand on a bench. Just another fine day in San Diego.A scene of ordinary city life near the Fifth Avenue trolley station.Entertainer wears a horse head at the Little Italy Farmers’ Market.A slow Sunday in downtown San Diego.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Help us Save the Vaquita display at the east gazebo of Seaport Village in San Diego. The band Insect Surfers was providing some music!
The Vaquita is the world’s most endangered marine mammal. It is thought that about 60 of the animals exist in the ocean today. This small species of porpoise (Phocoena sinus) lives in the warm waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean–specifically in the northern Gulf of California, in a small region east of Baja California not too distant from San Diego. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the Vaquita is classified as Critically Endangered.
International Save the Vaquita Day was observed today in San Diego and many other cities around the world. I swung by Seaport Village to see what efforts are underway to save Mexico’s “Panda of the Sea” and to learn a little about the Vaquita.
I learned that the Vaquita, thankfully, enjoys clean waters. Their big threat is being entangled in the gillnets of fishermen. A major effort is underway to eliminate these nets from the Vaquita’s natural habitat. But some fishermen, seeking to provide a living for themselves, use them anyway.
I learned there’s also an effort to inform consumers that some shrimp and fish that one finds in the grocery store is caught with gillnets. It is hoped enlightened shoppers will seek out and purchase seafood that isn’t caught with this type of net.
I learned that Vaquitas have never been held in aquariums, and has only been known to science since 1958.
If this species goes extinct, it will be gone forever.
These nice ladies are working hard to save the Vaquita. It is hoped many others will join the effort, in any way possible. Time is very limited–perhaps a year or two–before the species might go extinct.Kids make art and learn about the critically endangered Vaquita, a marine mammal that clings to a tenuous existence not far from San Diego.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Visitors and members of the Maritime Museum of San Diego enjoy a spring Sunday aboard HMS Surprise. The Star of India’s masts rise in the background.
A sunny spring Sunday. So I just walked along the Embarcadero. To no place in particular. I started late this morning at the Maritime Museum of San Diego, where Earth Day on the Bay was taking place. I checked out the exhibits for a few minutes, talked to a few cool people, then walked around outside. And I just kept on walking. Life is good on San Diego Bay.
Today was Earth Day on the Bay at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. Exhibitors on the passenger deck of the steam ferry Berkeley demonstrated the work they’re undertaking to protect the environment.It’s Sunday, which is volunteer work day at the Maritime Museum. If I heard correctly, these guys near the San Salvador were applying tar to some steel cables that will be used on the HMS Surprise.Two parrots on the Pearl Harbor memorial plaque near the USS Midway.
In the above photo you can see the rear of the Navy Bicentennial Commemorative Plaque. As you might recall, that plaque’s mysterious origin was revealed in detail by a few of its creators here!
Some folks out fishing on the Tuna Harbor pier were catching spotted seabass! This one was too small and was quickly returned to San Diego Bay.This sneaky gull perched atop a docked bait boat seemed to be watching those folks fishing nearby!Someone zooms by riding a bucking water scooter over the sparkling blue water.Close-up photo of a colorful float inside a lobster trap. I just walked along the pier, looking out at boats, water and the beautiful San Diego skyline.Skaters take a break in the sunshine near Tuna Harbor.Someone relaxes on a spring Sunday by maneuvering a remote control model sailboat in Tuna Harbor. Another cool sight along San Diego’s always lively Embarcadero.Fun marine artwork depicts a pod of dolphins in the ocean. A window of the Wyland Galleries in Seaport Village.Colorful banner fluttering in the sea breeze proclaims Life is Good. I always enjoy walking past Alamo Flags in Seaport Village.Just some bright yellow flowers.A street magician, cyclists, and the Californian tall ship out on San Diego Bay.Papa Alex is a very friendly, happy, soulful psychic. He often hangs out between Seaport Village and Embarcadero Marina Park North. His motto is: “Peace and love. No drama.” Sounds wise to me!Wow! Look at those massive bubbles flying through the air! This fun could be found on the grass at Embarcadero Marina Park North.And high above those bubbles was this kite. I love San Diego.Tourists rent some wheels near the Marriott Marquis and Marina.I rested for a bit on the fishing pier at Embarcadero Marina Park South. Here comes the Stars and Stripes racing yacht, carrying passengers enjoying a unique adventure on the Big Bay.And there goes the Silvergate, ferrying people over to Coronado Island. What a glorious spring day!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can enjoy even more Cool San Diego Sights by following me on Facebook or Twitter!
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