During my Sunday walk along the Embarcadero today, I paused at the Maritime Museum of San Diego to watch some fascinating activity. Crew members and museum volunteers were carefully raising one of HMS Surprise’s very heavy mizzenmast yards. They hauled ropes, checked critical knots, hauled some more, swung the yard up and across the quarterdeck, then lifted it straight into the sky.
The strenuous, methodical work aboard a tall ship is a complex dance.
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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!
Krypto the Superdog has entered South Park during 2019 Comic-Con.
It’s Sunday, the final day of 2019 San Diego Comic-Con.
This morning I took a leisurely walk around downtown, the Gaslamp Quarter and the convention center.
No suffocating crowds, and more relaxed…but less cosplay.
I saw lots of families out enjoying a fun day!
It’s Sunday morning at Comic-Con, and pop culture fans are heading toward the San Diego Convention Center.As I walked up MLK Promenade, these nice Amazon Prime Video ladies handed me literature concerning upcoming shows.I got into the Amazon activation with ease, but then discovered the attractions within had waits of up to two hours!I watched a mock fight up on the colorful central structure.People could don fairy wings and take flight for a Carnival Row photo.This structure contains the Carnival Row attraction. In an earlier blog post I surmised it was for The Boys.A cool area at the Amazon offsite where people can relax. I enjoyed my free water and churros.As I walked back down MLK Promenade, however, I politely turned down these peculiar jelly-filled donuts.I saw Dumbledore last year, too. I guess rumors of his demise are exaggerated.Wonder Woman cosplayer strikes a heroic pose.Everyone was photographing Batgirl up on the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge!What we do in the shadows…or on our phones.Sunday morning 2019 Comic-Con. Walking behind the San Diego Convention Center.The Hot Wheels truck!Awesome Wonder Woman and Hawkman cosplay!Taking photos in the Dragon Ball Z activation.I observed examples of cosplay on Sunday, but not nearly as much as Saturday.Joker gives me an evil look.Here come some snacks.They were doing some sort of filming in the FX Fearless Forum.A banana posed for a photo.A fanatic demonstrates their unquestioned FAITH IN GODZILLA.Jack Skellington cosplay, from The Nightmare Before Christmas.Does this mean I’m NOT supposed to believe The Twilight Zone?These guys at the 91X radio table in the Interactive Zone smiled for some strange guy taking pictures.I spied Popeye nearby.This guy was singing his heart out doing Carpool Karaoke.Is this knight from Game of Thrones?An artist had spray paint art creations on the grass by a walkway.Lots of criminals are lining up at Brooklyn Nine-Nine.This fellow collects dolls it would seem.New employees of the Superstore get photographed.This particular Darth Maul doesn’t look so tough. Just saying.A relatively tranquil Sunday morning outside Comic-Con. Another beautiful San Diego day!Basketballs were flying madly at the FOX Fan Fair.As I headed up Fifth Avenue for home, I was lucky to get this cool cosplay shot.And some Ghostbusters, too.And this Angry Bird!
Tomorrow it’s back to normal, everyday, ordinary life.
Now it’s time for a nap!
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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!
I enjoyed a slow, easy walk down Sixth Avenue around noontime today. As a rule, the quietest day in downtown is Sunday, but there’s still plenty in the city to discover.
If you’re familiar with San Diego, you might recognize some of the locations in these photos!
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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!
An exhausted face looks out from the window of Via Pia restaurant.
This afternoon, feeling restless, I went on a random walk through downtown San Diego.
It’s Mother’s Day.
If this blog post seems vaguely philosophical, I’ll let you decide what it all means…
I spotted a City Ballet of San Diego poster in the lobby of the Spreckels Theater Building. Carmina Burana is coming soon.City Ballet of San Diego is looking for donations for their Pointe Shoe Fund.A glass container full of pointe shoes. Each provides an unknown number of dances.William Dorsett, a street artist who often hangs out near the USS Midway, created this cool painting of Wonder Woman.A couple walks along Embarcadero Marina Park North.Mexican dolls for sale on the boardwalk.A yellow sunflower at Alamo Flags in Seaport Village.Someone mediates on the wall near Rock Man, the amazing balancer.A fading flower at the foot of the Merchant Seamen Memorial.Strolling along by the water one afternoon.A duck disregards a sign by the Children’s Park fountain.A restored PCC streetcar of the Silver Line arrives at the Convention Center trolley station.Checking out a classic car in the Gaslamp.Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.Shoes with no walker.Carrying a bouquet of red roses.
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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!
Sunday afternoon I took the trolley to East County to enjoy a quiet walk near Gillespie Field. I knew that along Marshall Avenue there’d be no traffic.
As I walked down the long, empty sidewalk I turned my eyes toward sleepy hangars across the street, burgeoning spring flowers at my feet and a large construction site abandoned for the day. All I heard was the whisper of the breeze, birds flitting here or there and small planes rising into the sky.
The time and place was perfect for a stretch of thinking. I’m struggling with a short story that is particularly difficult. It’s a story about the complexity of people and the small actions that help to define a life. I keep changing the words.
As I walked along in a state of abstraction I slowly became aware of surprising shapes and contrasts in the world all around me. Exactly like the complexity we find in ourselves.
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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 amazing Spreckels Organ, largest outdoor musical instrument in the world and the joyful lungs of Balboa Park, made its triumphant return today!
After six weeks of silence because of a broken motor on the main blower, the Spreckels Organ is once again producing fantastic music, with a little help from San Diego’s world-famous Civic Organist, Raúl Prieto Ramírez!
Raul began today’s concert with Johann Sebastian Bach’s powerful Toccata and Fugue in D minor. The talented San Diego Children’s Choir then took the stage to perform a variety of classical songs, including Franz Schubert’s moving Ave Maria.
To honor Veterans Day, Raul concluded the program by playing three John Philip Sousa compositions: Semper Fidelis, In Memoriam, and Stars and Stripes Forever.
In a troubled world where the flag often flies at half-staff, this Sunday we were reminded that human good can prevail. With a little dedication any broken instrument in this world–even the mighty Spreckels Organ–can be repaired.
I saw many smiles in the sunshine.
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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 baseball windglyphs of local artist Lisa Schirmer fly above diners under umbrellas at Lane Field Park.
I was walking along the Embarcadero today when I saw a whole bunch of activity over at Lane Field Park. I soon discovered that today was the debut of a weekly “artisanal showcase of the creative food, drink, art and craft scene in San Diego”, otherwise known as Lane Field Park Markets.
Every Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm, look for the tents and happy people inside Lane Field Park at the corner of Broadway and Harbor Drive!
Lane Field Park Markets debuted in downtown San Diego near the waterfront today.Lots of people were enjoying the sunny, grassy, outdoor farmers’ market-like setting.I saw tasty food to eat and lots of crafts and other good stuff.Kids liked checking out the Dang Brother Pizza fire engine.Those look pretty yummy!A guitarist provided live music, 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!
Every Sunday afternoon, on a large area of grass in Balboa Park’s Morley Field Sports Complex, medieval knights come together and engage in mock combat! These brave knights hail from the Realm of Andor. They are a part of the international Belegarth Medieval Combat Society.
Wielding foam weapons like swords, maces and battle axes, these guys get a super fun athletic workout. I was told by a friendly member of the Realm of Andor that the sport is like a mixture of fencing and rugby, with fairly simple rules. When a combatant receives a strike to a critical area, they fall down as if dead. A hit on a limb results in a loss of its use. Two limbs gone, you’re a goner. The last one standing wins!
I watched as the combatants veered all over the place, swinging a variety of formidable ancient weapons. Two or three knights would gang up on another; others would be struck by a sneaky knight from behind. Some of the members, in their cool costumes and bearing shields, appeared to be rampaging extras in the filming of Lord of the Rings. Many make their own weapons. It’s all about fantasy and high energy fun!
If you’d like to learn more, or perhaps join, check out their website!
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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!
On Sunday afternoons I seem to be spending more and more time in the grand Ballroom of the Balboa Park Club. Cushioned chairs line the walls, and I can sit peacefully as I read or write, listening to gentle, sprightly folk music, occasionally looking up at happy people dancing.
I don’t do much in the way of dancing–not with my feet. But I’m sure some of you do! And I bet some of you’d like to learn all sorts of different folk dances!
I spoke to a nice lady who is a member of one of Balboa Park’s dance clubs, and she told me they are looking to grow their membership. There’s an opportunity for ordinary people with varying levels of experience to learn folk dances from many different cultures. And each lesson costs only a couple bucks!
As you can see from one of my photos, kids and parents can also learn how to dance the third Sunday of every month, from 3:30 – 4:30 pm. Sounds like fun!
Interested? Visit the International Dance Association of San Diego County website by clicking here!
If you can walk, you can dance!
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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!
People walk through Balboa Park’s sunlit Alcazar Garden on a beautiful spring Sunday afternoon.
I blog about Balboa Park frequently. I hope you’re not getting tired of it. I’m not.
I live downtown, very close to San Diego’s crown jewel, so I walk up to Balboa Park most Sundays. That’s what I did this afternoon.
It truly felt like spring today. The sun was out, the air was warm, flowers were blooming, fountains were splashing, and Balboa Park sparkled in its full glory.
I took so many photos, I’ll be posting many of them on my other website, Beautiful Balboa Park. Those upcoming posts will concern the amazing art collection of the San Diego History Center, and loads of fun artwork that I spotted in Spanish Village. Look for those photos in the next couple days.
Have a great week ahead!
The Southern California Plumeria Society was having their annual cutting sale inside the Casa del Prado. I learned they’ll have many more cuttings at the May 26th Fiesta Botanica event in Balboa Park.Someone plays with a hula hoop in the Casa del Prado’s outer courtyard.Bright yellow sunflowers in hand blown glass vases in Spanish Village Art Center.A park squirrel seemed fascinated by this shiny dragonfly sculpture at the edge of a rooftop in Spanish Village.Playing sprightly music for passersby near the House of Hospitality.A clay female figure on display in one glass case outside the entrance to the Mingei International Museum.A family walks toward the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. It’s a perfect spring day to be outside in San Diego.A bicyclist has arrived for the two o’clock Sunday organ concert in Balboa Park, which is always free.A gorgeous spring bloom in the Japanese Friendship Garden.Some people emerge from a walk through green Palm Canyon.I watched a bit of folk dancing by the Cabrillo Dancers inside the Balboa Park Club.This year’s youthful House of Pacific Relations queens stand on stage during a program at the International Cottages.It seems there is now limited time to save the historic Starlight Bowl. If you want to help, please take action and visit savestarlight.org today!I’m a big supporter of restoring the Palisades section of Balboa Park. Learn more at the Committee of One Hundred’s c100.org website.Looking down at the fountain inside the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden.Thousands of beautiful spring roses are in bloom.Walking over the Park Boulevard pedestrian bridge from the rose and desert gardens, back toward the San Diego Natural History Museum and Plaza de Balboa.A guitarist plays in some shade near the Bea Evenson Fountain in the Plaza de Balboa.
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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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 