A library card is more valuable than you might realize! You can use your San Diego Public Library card to check out a free vehicle day-use pass for over 200 California State Parks!
I noticed this valuable information last weekend during my visit to the Rancho Bernardo Library. To receive a free pass, head over to your nearest San Diego Public Library branch and speak to the library staff.
The free pass will admit you into so many amazing State Parks, including beautiful Torrey Pines State Nature Preserve, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Silver Strand State Beach…
You don’t have a library card? Get one at your local library! Then grab a free State Parks pass!
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A great event was held today in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. Mexico’s Independence Day was celebrated with a fun, cultural Fiestas Patrias!
California State Park employees and volunteers teamed up with the Boosters of Old Town San Diego and the Old Town San Diego Chamber of Commerce to bring an assortment of free activities.
It all began with a late morning kick-off parade circling the historic park’s Plaza de las Armas. The very colorful Fiestas Patrias parade was led by Old Town’s beloved rescue donkey Dulce. Then there were two wonderful performances of ballet folklorico by beautifully costumed young people, representing Gift of Dance.
On the perimeter of the grassy plaza, living history activities could be freely enjoyed by anyone, young or old. There was a calligraphy learning table, tortilla making and traditional crafts. Kids were excited to make corn husk dolls and Mexican cascarones.
What’s more, there was a Guac’ Off Competition! For five bucks the public was invited to try samples of guacamole and judge which was best!
For those who wanted a good look at San Diego’s early history, Historic Adobe Tours were also available to the public, with groups setting off from the Robinson-Rose House Visitor Center.
I walked around the event late this morning and took some photos…
Everyone could get a small Mexican flag to wave during the fun, cultural event.Here comes the Fiestas Patrias parade!Dulce the Old Town donkey leads the Fiestas Patrias parade.Smiles and period attire on parade!The parade included volunteers of Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.Many traditional Mexican folk dances would follow the parade.Young dancers from San Diego ballet folklorico school Gift of Dance.Pure joy.Fiestas Patrias activities for families in Old Town’s historic central plaza.A smile from Strenger Studio, which provides calligraphy workshops and supplies in Old Town.A young Fiestas Patrias visitor learns calligraphy.Kids were learning how to make confetti-filled cascarones here.Traditional tortilla-making demonstration.Friendly Boosters of Old Town work the Guac’ Off Competition tent.Which guacamole is best? Winner gets bragging rights for a year!
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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.
A colorful parade moved through Old Town San Diego State Historic Park late this morning. At eleven o’clock, to kick off a big, family-friendly Fiestas Patrias celebration, the parade gathered near the Cosmopolitan Hotel then proceeded around the State Park’s grassy plaza!
The parade, celebrating Mexico’s Independence Day, was led by Old Town’s rescue donkey Dulce. It was her first parade in years. Sadly, Dulce was not joined by her old companion donkey Don, who passed away earlier this year. (I’m told Dulce is now doing well.)
Included in the parade were Old Town San Diego State Historic Park volunteers in period attire and young ballet folklorico dancers from Gift of Dance. The procession moved past restored buildings from San Diego’s early history. The park interprets a fascinating period of time, back when the newborn city was a part of Spain, then Mexico, then the United States.
After circling the plaza, the costumed dancers filed onto the grass in front of the stage, where they would entertain the gathered crowd. (Later today I’ll post photographs of the dancing!)
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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.
Independence Day was celebrated today, the Fourth of July, in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park!
A festival atmosphere drew families to the central plaza, where the public could freely enjoy live music, crafts, old-fashioned outdoor games like sack races and tug of war, and even a simulated telegraph office! The Boosters of Old Town San Diego, raising funds for the park, raffled off a valuable quilt and offered fun handmade gifts for those passing by.
California State Park employees and volunteers wore 19th century attire. With a little imagination, strolling through the grassy plaza would feel like stepping back in time. Lovers of Americana, nostalgia and San Diego’s early history were all smiles.
Red, white and blue could be seen throughout the State Park. The various museums were open and welcoming. Spinners and quilters were demonstrating their craft at Threads of the Past, while several blacksmiths were hammering red hot iron at the Blacksmith Shop. Curious visitors could listen to explanations as they looked on.
It was a special day in a very special place.
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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.
You can win a valuable and historic handmade quilt in Old Town San Diego this coming Fourth of July!
The beautiful quilt has an antique Churn Dash top that was probably made in the 1890s or early 20th century. It was purchased in 2015 and finished by volunteers at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, while sitting on the front porch of the Threads of the Past building. Perhaps you saw these ladies dressed in old fashioned garb during a visit. While talking to passersby and explaining their stitching, they carefully applied cotton batting and a reproduction blue cotton backing.
The quilt’s mostly red, white and blue pattern has other fun names: Monkey Wrench, Hole in the Barn Door, and Hens and Chickens! The quilt can presently be seen inside the State Park’s Robinson-Rose House Visitor Center. That’s where you can purchase your opportunity drawing tickets, too!
One dollar purchases one ticket for the Fourth of July quilt raffle; five dollars will get you six tickets. The big jar containing tickets wasn’t terribly full when I saw it today, so your chances might be fairly good at winning!
The proceeds from the raffle will help fund Living History programs at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. You need not be present to win!
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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.
A couple of fun, free, family-friendly events are coming up this summer in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park!
On Thursday, June 13, 2024, from 10 am to 4 pm, everyone can enjoy the Pastimes of Old Town San Diego. There will be wheelbarrow races, tug of war, sack races and more 19th century games on the grassy plaza at the center of the park. If you’ve ever been to Old Town State Park and seen these games, you know how fun they are! This particular event is part of California State Parks Week.
Then there’s the Fourth of July! The annual Independence Day event starts at 11 am with a flag raising ceremony in the plaza, and patriotic fun will continue until 3 pm. Visitors can enjoy live music, crafts, and more historical games.
If you love history, Americana or nostalgia, you’ll almost certainly love these events. You might think you’ve stepped back in time to the days of early San Diego.
Here are a few photographs that I took in past years…
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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.
Employees and volunteers at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park have posed for old-fashioned tintype photographs, while dressed in period attire!
I spotted this display recently in front of the Robinson-Rose House Visitors Center. The “nineteenth century reproduction clothing” in these photographs reflects Old Town’s interpretive period, which is between 1821 and 1872.
If you want to see more photos of California State Park folks in period attire, click here. Or head over to Old Town San Diego State Historic Park and simply walk around. You’ll likely meet staff and volunteers who appear to have emerged from our city’s early history!
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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)!
Old Town San Diego became even more beautiful today because of the work of about 60 volunteers during the 2024 Community Clean Up!
As I walked today, I noticed dozens of orange trash bags near a parking lot in Old Town. The bags were filled with litter, weeds and trimmed tree branches. I had stumbled upon an annual clean up organized by the Old Town San Diego Chamber of Commerce. Volunteers from Caltrans District 11 and the Mormon Battalion were pitching in, too!
A huge area was beautified–the entire Old Town community–from the entrance of Presidio Park, through the State Park, and all through the business district.
Thank you to everyone!
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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)!
Don, a male donkey at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, passed away two weeks ago. The beloved animal is believed to have had a stroke. He leaves a second donkey, Dulce, by herself in the corral beside Seeley Stable.
I was very saddened to hear the news today during my walk through Old Town.
Don and Dulce have been loved by kids and families for many years in this California State Park. I first blogged about Don and Dulce almost nine years ago here. I took the above photograph of Don back then.
Don is believed to have been in his mid to late 30s. Dulce is a couple years younger. Both were rescued from the wild many years ago.
I was told Dulce cried and wouldn’t eat for some time after Don’s death. She was quietly eating when I came by today. The following three photographs are from today’s walk.
I asked several State Park employees: What will become of Dulce now that her companion is gone? From what I could gather, her future is presently undecided–she might go to an animal rescue organization, or might get a new companion donkey.
If I learn more in the future, I’ll be sure to blog it.
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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-seen plaque in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park marks the original site of the San Diego Peace Memorial. The bronze plaque is located near the corner of San Diego Avenue and Twiggs Street, in an unobtrusive spot behind the Old Town Trolley Tours ticket booth.
The plaque reads: Honoring San Diego’s sons and daughters who lost their lives in the Vietnam War, and remembering those who remain missing. 1964-1975. First dedicated on this site in 1969. Relocated to the Veterans Memorial Center, Balboa Park, 2115 Park Boulevard, San Diego, in 1996.
Back in 1969, volunteers created two concrete monuments on Roman Catholic Diocese land here in Old Town. Plaques listed those from San Diego County who were killed or designated missing in action during the Vietnam War. Two more plaques full of names were added to the San Diego Peace Memorial in 1974. It was one of the first Vietnam War memorials in the United States.
In 1994 the diocese sold the property and the memorial was moved to the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center in Balboa Park.
In 2014, on New Year’s Eve, I visited the the renamed Vietnam Veterans Peace Memorial in Balboa Park.
You can revisit that old blog post by clicking 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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
Cool San Diego Sights! 