These two cool murals can be found close to the train station in Encinitas.
One mural, in my first two photographs, is painted on a wall at the Moonlight Marketplace flea market venue, which, when not in use, appears like a dirt lot west of the station platform. The butterfly and face artwork was created by Chloe Becky (@elsiethecowww).
The second mural is in the alley one block directly south of the Encinitas train station. It’s on the back of a building near the corner of Founders Drive and E Street. The smiley face in swirled colors was spray painted by DJ NEFF (@djn3ff) in 2024.
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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.
The rodeo has returned to Lakeside, and this morning the community celebrated their signature event with the 60th Annual Western Days Parade!
It was my very first time watching this parade. I was excited to see how it compared to other parades around San Diego County. And it was really great! The Western Days Parade provides a taste of both the Old West and contemporary life in rural America.
I saw local schools with their marching bands and cheer teams. I saw smiling queens, not only from Lakeside, but from Ramona and Julian, too! I saw floats with happy participants waving to everyone along the sidewalk. There were local community organizations, the usual politicians, law enforcement and young Scouts. And there were vintage cars, firetrucks, gigantic cranes, tractors…
Needless to say, horses and riders, and the nostalgic old-fashioned wagons and carriages were a highlight. It’s Lakeside! A true slice of Americana!
Enjoy these photographs…
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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.
Taiko groups from all around San Diego (and beyond!) came together in Balboa Park today for an epic taiko community performance and jam session! It was incredible!
Taiko is high-energy drumming, Japanese style, where drummers together shake the world all around with booming uninhibited joy!
The event was called Taiko 4.0. It celebrated the 40th birthday of Diana, founder of Naruwan Taiko.
Over the years I’ve been fortunate to experience a number of Naruwan Taiko performances, but today was something extraordinary. Dozens of members were joined by taiko drummers from groups (I hope I’m not missing anyone) San Diego Taiko, Buddhist Temple of San Diego Taiko, Asayake Taiko (UC San Diego students), Makoto Taiko from Pasadena, and even Rocky Mountain Taiko from Utah!
I counted about 50 taiko drums, many of them quite large. Now imagine the thunder!
The House of China of Balboa Park’s International Cottages helped to make this epic event possible. As the joyful, rhythmic drumming began, people from around the park heard and converged. By the time I departed mid-afternoon, a good crowd had gathered.
I hope my still photographs of this amazing event transmit the absolute joy. Taiko, like nothing else, can make one feel fully alive.
Before the start, getting ready…
Here’s Diana!
A group photo!
An introduction…
Drummers take their places…
Here we go!
Between pieces of music, the drums would be carefully lifted and reconfigured…
Here we go again!
A dancing percussive procession surprise!
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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.
The San Diego Padres are playing the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park this 2025 Opening Day. As I type these words, the score is 4-3.
Before the game, I walked around Petco Park and through East Village and the Gaslamp Quarter breathing in the exciting atmosphere.
Padres baseball jerseys, shirts and hats everywhere. The media on the scene. A huge crowd entering the ballpark. Many smiles and thumbs up. Just before the start of the big game, a flyover of military helicopters…
Enjoy a variety of photographs!
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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.
Look what I discovered today! The San Diego Square Dance Association is hosting their 75th annual Fiesta de la Cuadrilla in Balboa Park!
The lively “round dancing” was taking place inside the Balboa Park Club building’s huge ballroom. Not only was the energetic dancing fun to watch, and the dance calling with a Western twang fun to hear, but there were exhibits off to one side of the room that concerned the fascinating history and culture of square dance!
As you can see from my photographs, beautiful square dance dresses and a variety of interesting artifacts filled many tables.
Thanks to Wendy for inviting me into the big event for a peek! Everybody participating was definitely having a ton of fun!
If you’d like to learn more about square dancing in San Diego and this popular event in particular (which continues on Sunday, March 23, 2025), click here!
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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.
You can meet Erik Betts, a Hollywood legend, in San Diego this weekend!
Erik, a self-taught gymnast and martial artist, has acted and performed stunts in so many movies and television shows that it would take forever to list them all.
He’ll be hanging out at Black Comix Day in Balboa Park, inside the WorldBeat Cultural Center, signing collectibles, comics, posters, action figures, t-shirts and more on Sunday, February 16, 2025, from 10 am to 6 pm.
You’ve almost certainly seen Erik (without possibly knowing it) all over entertainment. He was the Red Power Ranger! He has acted, been a crew member and performed amazing stunts in countless Hollywood movies, including Avatar, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Batman Begins, Mission: Impossible III, and Ant-Man. He has worked in dozens of television shows, such as Westworld, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Heroes, CSI: Miami, even the Young and the Restless, and many, many more! He has also contributed to video games!
Here’s his IMDb page with all of his credits and a full biography. Here’s his Instagram page.
Want to know the coolest thing about Erik? His huge smile and infectious enthusiasm. I was so excited just meeting him, absorbing his incredible energy. At Erik’s table you can watch a video of him creating jaw-dropping action in many of Hollywood’s most popular movies!
Make sure to swing by Black Comix Day on Sunday, February 16, 2025. It’s absolutely overflowing with talented creators–writers, artists, animators, publishers… Here’s the event website!
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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.
Last year, when I visited The Walkway of the Stars in La Mesa, two of eight murals had yet to be painted. I checked out the alley-like pocket park again yesterday and discovered that the final murals, which honor community volunteers, have been finished!
If you’d like to see all of the amazing murals with your own eyes, you can find The Walkway of the Stars in downtown La Mesa between the Allison Avenue municipal parking lot and La Mesa Boulevard.
“Thanks for Your Help!” by Channin Fulton (@channinfulton)“Jewel of the Hills” by Nolan Lee (@nolanleeart)
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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.
Looking for some holiday season fun in downtown San Diego?
Look what I discovered today during my walk along San Diego’s sunny Embarcadero. The first ever Downtown Skate roller skating rink at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina!
The 6000 square foot rink has a beautiful view of the Marriott Marina and sailboats passing on San Diego Bay, and features festive decorations that light up in the evening after dark. There are also tasty treats to enjoy like hot chocolate (and that yummy chocolate chip cookie that I devoured)!
Some of the folks working at Downtown Skate smiled for my camera.
Would you love to “roller dance” under bright, sparkling lights?
Looks like loads of fun!
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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.
Have you visited the downtown studio of San Diego artist James Watts (@jewattso)? The experience will blow your mind!
I’m personally inspired by James Watts. Like a perpetual motion machine, he happily creates, creates and creates. His studio is so jam-packed with creative genius that you don’t know in which direction to turn your eyes.
That’s going to be more true than ever, because he’s now in the middle of a new project. He’s creating 100 Paintings!
James showed me his work yesterday when I happened to walk by the open door of his magical studio. He has finished 18 of the 100 paintings so far.
His paintings are in groups of five; each group includes a still life, a nude, a portrait, a cityscape, and a symbolic or literary painting. He intentionally emulates the styles of different famous painters.
Gazing about his studio, you’ll notice that many works of art–paintings and sculptures–depict characters from classic novels, history or mythology. When he was a kid, James loved to sit in the library and read comic books and magazines. Today, as an accomplished visual artist, he brings the written word to life in new, fantastic ways.
For some reason, James reminds me of science fiction and fantasy author Ray Bradbury. His energetic love of life. His love of everything–from pop culture to the classics. His smile and enthusiasm.
Up next is a painting showing James Watts’ studio. Do you recognize it? Look for the art-filled windows (and his cats) in downtown San Diego on 7th Avenue between C Street and Broadway.
A couple of photos of new paintings inside the studio…
The next photo shows a painting inspired by Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis! (Lying next to it is a lamppost just outside the studio.)
James loves to use wood and other materials for his myriad projects. The next photo shows wood block finger puppets painted with images from the Epic of Gilgamesh!
Endless wonders fill the downtown studio of San Diego artist James Watts!
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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.
Cool San Diego Sights! 