Tag: sports

Cool photo memories from February 2017.

It’s a brand new month! Time to look back five years!

In February 2017, Cool San Diego Sights featured a variety of interesting photographs. Looking back, I see that my first old (now retired) PowerShot camera was particularly busy at several sports related events.

There was the 2nd Annual Ocean Beach Pier Surf Classic, the big Celebrate San Diego event at Petco Park that promoted many of our city’s sports teams, and the Celebration of Champions at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista.

I’ve assembled the following blog posts from February 2017. Some of my photography wasn’t the greatest years ago, but you still might enjoy traveling back in time!

To enjoy photographs from five years ago, click the following links…

Photos of 2nd Annual Ocean Beach Pier Surf Classic!

Volunteers paint lampposts in downtown San Diego!

Fans celebrate local sports teams in San Diego!

Fun, artistic birdhouses restored at Tweet Street!

Fun fungus fair! A mushroom show in Balboa Park!

Celebration of Champions at Elite Athlete Training Center!

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Trevor Time at Hansen Surfboards in Encinitas!

Have you seen the cool Trevor Hoffman mural painted on the rear wall of Hansen Surfboards in Encinitas?

I finally did!

Ground Floor Murals painted this San Diego Padres mural last November.

So far, I’ve photographed their Tony Gwynn, Fernando Tatis, Jr., Manny Machado and Yu Darvish murals. Click the links to see the photos and learn more about these talented artists. Their awesome Padres baseball player murals are located all around San Diego!

For many years, Trevor Hoffman held the all-time pitching saves record in Major League Baseball. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018.

Go Pads!

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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!

Score a field goal at first base!

Very strangely, football goal posts rise in Petco Park near first base. (So reaching first must now mean three points!)

As I walked through Gallagher Square this morning, I saw this peculiar remnant from a football game that was never played. When UCLA backed out of the 2021 Holiday Bowl a few hours before the game, many were shocked and extremely disappointed.

I suppose we’ll soon see Petco Park back in its usual configuration.

An interesting experiment–playing a football game in this baseball ballpark–will now most likely never occur. SnapDragon Stadium in Mission Valley should be completed and ready for football by next holiday season.

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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!

Mural at Escondido Boys and Girls Clubs building.

Does anybody know the history of this old mural in Escondido? It decorates the east side of the Conrad Prebys Escondido Branch of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego.

During a walk through Escondido last weekend, I photographed this colorful mural from the distant sidewalk. It appears to be a mosaic made of small tiles. Youth are depicted reading, playing basketball, and engaged in other activity. The artwork is dated 1976. Tiles spell out two clear signatures: A. Dluhos and T. Pardue.

After some internet searching, I believe the first artist is Andre Dluhos, and the second is Terry Pardue. I’m pretty sure about the second name, because I read this article.

Andre Dluhos was born in 1940 in eastern Czechoslovakia and moved to the United States in 1969.

If anyone out there knows anything about this nearly half century old mural, please leave a comment.

It would be fascinating to learn more about it, and the artists, too!

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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!

Three painted Breeders’ Cup horses in Del Mar!

The 2021 Breeders’ Cup World Championships was held yesterday and today at the Del Mar Racetrack. So I decided to enjoy a walk through Del Mar Village on this beautiful, sunny Saturday!

What did I see?

I spotted three colorfully painted horse sculptures that were created in 2017 when the Breeders’ Cup was last held in Del Mar! That past public art project was called Art of the Horse.

The three horses now on display stand near the intersection of Camino Del Mar and 15th Street.

Two of the three life-size horses I hadn’t seen previously. To view past photographs of several more painted horses, you can click here and here and here!

(Thank you to two friendly members of the Rotary Club of Del Mar for their kindness in helping me solve a mystery. They were stationed by the sidewalk at Del Mar Plaza, offering information to out-of-towners visiting Del Mar during the Breeders’ Cup.)

Sea Horse. Created by artist Wyland.
Hang On To Your Hats! Created by artist Daphne Gaylord.
Triton’s Steed. Created by artist Chase Martin.

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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!

Photos of Rock ‘n Roll Marathon in downtown!

The 2021 Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon is taking place today!

This morning I walked through downtown San Diego to check out the action as a seemingly endless stream of marathon runners approached the finish line.

Many lined the sidewalks cheering on family, friends and complete strangers. Signs filled with encouraging words could be seen everywhere. Bands played music at stations along the race course.

I looked at the faces of the runners and saw dedication, grit, determination. I saw many arms fly upward in triumph when the finish line was only a few strides away.

Enjoy these photos, which show what it’s like to run in and watch the always extremely popular Rock ‘n Roll Marathon!

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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!

Murals at Archie Moore’s Any Body Can Youth Foundation.

Archie Moore will forever be a boxing legend. He is considered one of the top boxers of all time. After his retirement he helped to train Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and James Tillis. Perhaps more importantly, he helped youth in San Diego overcome difficult circumstances and lead positive lives. He showed young people how to become champions in life.

In his adopted hometown of San Diego, Archie Moore established the ABC (Any Body Can) Youth Foundation. He used boxing to “instill discipline, respect and other positive values into the lives of youth to prevent them from falling into dangerous lifestyles.”

The ABC Youth Foundation today is led by his son, Billy Moore. It’s located in San Diego’s Stockton neighborhood, at 3131 Market Street. Peer through the front door and you’ll see young people training, preparing for life.

I walked past the building several days ago and took these quick photos. (I didn’t linger or venture inside because I was in a hurry to attend a nearby event where I would preview amazing new public art that is being created for Balboa Park.)

You know what? Those faded murals look like they could use a touch up. I know there are good people reading this who could help!

I saw roses on the sidewalk nearby…

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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!

Imperial Beach plaques remember slough surfers.

Bronze plaques near the foot of the Imperial Beach Pier recall the legendary slough surfers who once trekked from far and wide to the Tijuana Sloughs, where the Tijuana River meets the Pacific Ocean, just north of the Mexican border.

During much of the 20th century, the Tijuana Sloughs was considered the preeminent big surf break in California. There’s a great article concerning the history and geology of the Sloughs here.

If you walk around Portwood Pier Plaza at the foot of the IB Pier, you’ll see a bunch of colorful surfboard benches where you can rest and gaze out across the beach. Look down and you’ll discover plaques next to each bench.

The plaques recall those who rode the big waves at the Tijuana Sloughs and honor bits of Imperial Beach surfing history.

Surfhenge public art welcomes people to the Imperial Beach Pier and Portwood Pier Plaza. The plaza is located next to the beach between Surfhenge and the lifeguard tower to the south.
Visiting slough surfers 1940’s.
Regular slough surfers 1940’s and 1950’s.
Most of California’s finest surfers were lifeguards at some stage in their careers…
Dean of the Sloughs. In 1937 the Sloughs were first surfed by the legendary waterman Dempsey Holder. Over the years surfers from all over California showed up at Dempsey’s lifeguard station at the end of Palm Avenue.
Visiting slough surfers 1950’s.
Father of the Modern Surfboard. In the 1940’s Bob Simmons applied the principles of hydrodynamics to surfboard design and forever changed the sport of surfing. In 1950 he moved to Imperial Beach.
…From 1930 to 1950 the total number of California surfers grew from under 70 to over 1500.
In the 1940’s surfers from all over Southern California made the journey to what is now Imperial Beach to surf the then-known biggest waves off the continental United States.
The Tijuana Sloughs became the testing ground for mainlanders going to Hawai’i. Before Malibu, San Onofre and Windansea groups surfed Makaha and the North Shore of O’ahu, they experienced the thrill and fear of big waves at the Sloughs.

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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!

Rose Creek Bikeway near Mission Bay.

Have you ever wondered what the Rose Creek Bikeway is like just north of Mission Bay?

I did, so I walked along the bike and pedestrian path a few weekends ago. I started at a point near the In-N-Out Burger at Damon Avenue (just east of Mission Bay Drive) and headed south under Garnet and Grand Avenue to North Mission Bay Drive. I then walked west over the Mike Gotch Memorial Bridge spanning the Rose Creek Inlet to the entrance of Campland on the Bay.

As you’ll see in the upcoming photographs, the path along Rose Creek features natural beauty but can be trashy in places. It cuts behind businesses, passes the ends of residential streets, and winds along the edge of several sporting facilities. I also saw evidence that homeless people use the path and camp near it.

The Rose Creek Bikeway is part of the much longer 44 mile Coastal Rail Trail which, when completed, will connect downtown San Diego with Oceanside, California. (Had I walked north up the path instead, I would have followed Interstate 5 toward La Jolla and Sorrento Valley, next to the tracks of the soon-to-open Mid-Coast Trolley extension.)

Looking north for a moment as I get started south.
About to pass under Mission Bay Drive.
Approaching Garnet Avenue.
Approaching Grand Avenue.
A couple walks dog under Grand Avenue.
It appears someone lives under the bridge.
Passing a basketball court.
Walking between Rose Creek and the Mission Bay Youth Baseball field.
Someone practices pitching.
To the right beyond the fence is the San Diego Mission Bay Boat and Ski Club.
Passing the Mission Bay Golf Course and Practice Center.
Turning for a moment to look back north. Sign at North Mission Bay Drive, just east of the Mike Gotch Memorial Bridge, reads: Welcome To… The Rose Creek Bike Path.
Now walking west, near a plaque at the east end of the Mike Gotch Memorial Bridge.
Mike Gotch Memorial Bridge. October 4, 1947 – May 18, 2008. In memory of Mike’s commitment to creating the people’s playground, not just for today, but all generations to come. Dedicated April 20, 2012.
Looking south toward Mission Bay. I see Fiesta Island in the distance.
Passing behind Mission Bay High School’s sports fields.
Approaching Pacific Beach Drive, where the dedicated bike and pedestrian path ends.
Bicyclists start east along the path, near the entrance to Campland on the Bay.

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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!

Bayfair racing action viewed from a bridge!

One of the best places to watch super high speed boats racing in Mission Bay during San Diego Bayfair is from a bridge!

The Ingraham Street bridge on the south side of Vacation Isle provides a view of the race “docks” located south of Ski Beach, the tower near the Bill Muncey Memorial, and the entire oval race course. The farthest end of the course is in the distance, but the height provides a great panorama of all the action! And it’s free!

Today during a walk around Mission Bay I paused for a good hour on the Ingraham Street bridge to watch several classes of boats compete, including the H1 Unlimited hydroplanes, which are the fastest racing boats in the world. Mission Bay, which was originally designed for thunderboat racing, is said to be the fastest such course in the world.

As the super fast boats turned corners, huge plumes of white spray would rise up behind them!

I and a small crowd of pedestrians and bicyclists who were watching from on high gave a conciliatory shout out to one racer below who had to be towed in to the docks when his engine conked out. He must’ve heard us, because with good humor he threw up an arm in acknowledgement.

It was fascinating to see how boats would be placed into the docks with three large cranes, then removed from the water and hosed off at the end of each race. During the racing, other boats would be prepared, testing their engines. Everywhere I looked there was interesting activity.

I guess next year I’ll have to get a ticket and check out the action up close!

Here are my photos from various spots on the bridge…

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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!