I was startled this morning during my walk through the Gaslamp Quarter.
Something peculiar was moving directly toward me along the sidewalk. For a split second I thought it was a person.
Then I did a double take.
A bundle of heart-shaped balloons was heading my way!
The cluster of balloons moved slowly down the sidewalk, propelled by a gentle breeze. Occasionally they’d float upward a foot or two, then quietly float back to Earth.
The travelling hearts came to a street corner. They seemed to hesitate. They turned decisively and began steadily down another sidewalk!
After venturing into a patio space in front of one building, they lifted with apparent delight and settled down. They leaned against the rail.
Perhaps they wanted to watch people–other travelling hearts–go by.
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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!
To read a few honest-to-goodness short stories that I’ve written, click Short Stories by Richard.
A couple of heads are missing! I’ve discovered two strange, disembodied heads sitting on the ground by the sidewalk!
I observed that first rather fierce-looking head early this afternoon as I rode on a bus down Pacific Highway, just north of the Old Town Transit Center. (Why was I on the bus? I had several adventures this morning in North County! Stay tuned for more cool blog posts!)
The second head, which looks kind of like a painted Dia de los Muertos skull, was discovered beside a sidewalk about a week ago as I walked through Mission Valley on my way to work!
Has anyone out there lost their head? Or heads?
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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 (and have more fun) via Facebook or Twitter!
Cool mechanical shark on parking lot wall behind Undisputed Fitness Center in East Village.
It’s going to be a rainy day in San Diego . . . with even more heavy rain coming later in the week.
Instead of walking about in the cold, I plan to stay warm and dry under a roof!
Meanwhile, for your viewing pleasure, I’ve assembled the following links. They will take you to photos of awesome street art that I’ve spotted over the years! Unfortunately, some of these works, including truly amazing murals, have been damaged, defaced or no longer exist. Time marches on…
Cool San Diego Sights is now over five years old, so these links represent just a fraction of all the street art I’ve photographed. But I think you might like these!
This blog now features tens of 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 phone or 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.
The right half of one wall at University Avenue and Laverne Place has been painted by artist Matthew Perdoni.
On Sunday I enjoyed another walk through San Diego’s expanding “drive-through” art gallery in City Heights. And I spotted more murals!
The first time I checked out the murals of #theavenuemuralproject was four months ago. I was given a tour by members of Love City Heights, and learned about their ambitious plan to create an outdoor, drive-through art gallery along University Avenue from I-805 to I-15. To see those first murals and learn much more, you can read my original blog post here.
These murals provide proof that good people can make a huge positive difference in their community. Many wonderful artists, students and neighbors are coming together to make this amazing vision a reality!
The left half of the wall was painted by San Diego muralist Gloria Muriel.Students from an Experimental Processes in Art class at SDSU painted a mural on the wall of 7-Eleven. The design was inspired by the nonprofit United Women of East Africa Support Team.Left half of the colorful mural. which depicts female members of the East African community in San Diego.The right half of the mural. Joyful art created by students at San Diego State University adds life to City Heights.Fun artwork on the wall of Fruteria Disfrutalas at University Avenue and Cherokee Street.More fun artwork on another side of Fruteria Disfrutalas.All these happy images were created by Isaias Crow and his 14 year old apprentice Andrew Greyeyes, who designed the fun artwork.UPDATE! Here’s Andrew, the mural’s designer! (I met him and took this photo during a Love City Heights event almost a year later.)Silly, creative public art produces smiles in City Heights!A beautiful graphic on the wall of Sunset Kava in City Heights, by artist Zuzana Vass.On the same Sunset Kava wall a very cool abstract design was recently painted by artist Mary Jhun.
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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!
Paradise Trail marker PT10 rises near the National City Depot museum.
This morning I enjoyed an easy walk down a segment of the Paradise Creek Trail in National City.
I believe this urban trail is brand new. I find almost nothing about it on the internet. Several people I spoke to who work right next to the trail never heard of it. I had never seen the Paradise Trail markers during walks in past years.
The trail, from what I can gather, roughly follows Paradise Creek. My walk started just west of Interstate 5, on Bay Marina Drive, where I spotted markers for the Paradise Trail by the National City Depot museum and the National City Historic Railcar Plaza. I saw more markers as I walked south down Marina Way, just west of Paradise Marsh.
Paradise Creek eventually empties into the Sweetwater River. I believe the sidewalk trail ends at Pepper Park, but I spotted no markers after I passed the Pier 32 Marina and the nearby entrance to the Bayshore Bikeway. Perhaps I wasn’t looking carefully enough.
Want to see more? Years ago I visited an overlook of Paradise Marsh and photographed some informative signs. I also got a little closer to nature by walking down a short dirt trail. You can revisit that old blog post by clicking here.
In the past I also blogged about the National City Depot museum and its cool old streetcars here, the National City Historic Railcar Plaza here, and the Le Bateau Ivre sculpture here.
After I crossed Bay Marina Drive, I spotted an iconic El Camino Real bell near the National City Historic Railcar Plaza.I’m now walking south down Marina Way, looking back at the National City Historic Railcar Plaza.Old railroad tracks run along the west edge of Paradise Marsh.Sunlight illuminates some natural beauty beside the sidewalk trail.Looking back north along the Paradise Creek Trail, between Paradise Marsh and the National City Cement Terminal.Here’s another marker for the Paradise Trail, which I spotted as I headed down Marina Way.A banner on a street lamp says that in National City, Together We Can!As I turned onto West 32nd Street, a big group of bicyclists rode onto the Bayshore Bikeway.Le Bateau Ivre, by artist Alber De Matteis, at the Pier 32 Marina in National City.I spotted this high osprey nesting platform as I walked down Goesno Place, approaching Pepper Park.
Immediately to the west, right on San Diego Bay, the enormous imported car parking lot at the National City Marine Terminal has many of these platforms. I learned during a Port of San Diego harbor tour that ospreys provide effective pigeon control!
A sign describes ospreys, which can often be seen flying above San Diego Bay and our coastal estuaries.Looks like an osprey has collected all sort of odd materials for its huge nest!
And now I’ve turned around, and I’m heading back north along the trail on Marina Way, just west of the marsh… Guess what I saw?
An osprey flies high above Paradise Marsh on a beautiful late December day.Looking past prickly pear at Paradise Marsh from the Paradise Creek Trail in National City.
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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 phone or 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.
Arrows, by Brenda and Flojo, public art near the 24th Street trolley station in National City.
Some very cool public art adds color to a sidewalk near the 24th Street trolley station in National City. You can find it at the east edge of the trolley station’s parking lot, next to Wilson Avenue.
Two small but colorful sculptures have been created by Youth Artists. One, titled Peace, is by Michelle. The other, titled Arrows, is by Brenda and Flojo.
I’ve done some searching on the internet and can find nothing about these public sculptures. I don’t recall seeing them during past visits to the South Bay, so I believe they are relatively new.
All I know for certain is that this artwork is really cool!
Peace, by Michelle, public art near the 24th Street trolley station in National City.Photo of two cool sculptures in National City. A lavender peace sign is framed by two red arrows!
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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!
A colorful canvas in the window of James Watts’ studio on Seventh Avenue. I don’t recall seeing this artwork before.
This morning I walked south down Seventh Avenue, from the top of Cortez Hill to Petco Park.
I was happy to spot some new (and old) cool sights along this stretch of downtown San Diego. So I took photographs!
Some street art recently painted on a sidewalk utility box. I Love Downtown San Diego.Complex reflection in the windows of the building at 701 B Street, which has undergone some upgrades, including this west entrance.Looking north up Seventh Avenue through downtown San Diego’s Financial District.Crane swings a load above the Bosa Tower construction site, with the old Hotel Churchill sign in the background.Advertisements peeling from another construction site fence.A huge mural is now being painted on the rear of the Moxy San Diego Gaslamp Downtown! This cool new mural appears to depict part of the Gaslamp Quarter.Morning reflections on the shiny Sempra Energy building, with the historic old 1887 Clermont Hotel in the foreground.A new shirt with a West Coast State of Mind, in a window of the Padres Team Store, which is located in the Western Metal Supply Building.Palm trees reflected in the glassy, very modern Omni San Diego Hotel.
UPDATE!
I took a photo of the Moxy mural days later when it was finished…
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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!
Stand at the corner of India Street and A Street in downtown San Diego, turn north, and you’ll probably notice an old brick wall on the other side of a parking lot. Approach the wall and you’ll see a complex mosaic of paint and mortar. Like the brushstrokes of a painting, they tell a unique story.
I’m under the impression this building was once a soda bottling plant. I posted a couple photographs of the Hires Root Beer graphics five years ago here.
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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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 