A few weeks ago, on a late summer San Diego day, I enjoyed a sunny walk around part of Mission Bay.
From a point near Riviera Beach at Moorland Drive, I proceeded counterclockwise along the Bayside Walk to San Rafael Place. This northwest part of Mission Bay is called Sail Bay, and you can see why.
Sailboats, bicycles, volleyball, families playing or lounging on the sand, joggers, people enjoying a beautiful, relaxing day… Even yoga on paddleboards!
This is San Diego at its best!
Enjoy photographs that I took as I walked along…
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Last Sunday, members of the House of Somalia in Balboa Park greeted visitors inside the Hall of Nations. They were pleased to showcase traditional crafts and artifacts that represent Somalia.
The House of Somalia is the first African house to join the International Cottages in Balboa Park. Like about a half dozen other nations, they don’t yet have a cottage, but perhaps they might at a future time.
The table in the Hall of Nations contained a variety of beautiful drums, cups, sandals, beads and other cultural objects. Both members were super nice when I asked if I could take photographs!
To see the Hall of Nations hosting schedule, click here. Next Sunday it will be the House of Lebanon.
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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.
Enjoy a few festive photographs that I took in Balboa Park today.
The House of Germany was having their lawn program at the International Cottages when I walked through the park, so I paused, grabbed a bratwurst on a roll with sauerkraut, ketchup and mustard, and sat down to listen. (At about two thirty the beer was already sold out!)
I’m not sure who these musicians were, but I saw on the House of Germany’s flyer pertaining to the program that four different groups would provide entertainment.
Before resuming my afternoon walk, I ventured into the House of Germany cottage and viewed interesting educational displays.
The summer lawn program season is approaching its end. Check out the HPR International Cottages website here to see fun events that remain!
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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.
Check out what arrived at the Maritime Museum of San Diego yesterday! This super cool “Deep Flight” submersible!
This electric, one-man submersible was developed about 15 years ago by Hawkes Ocean Technologies. It’s now on display in the museum’s steam ferry Berkeley, in a spot where many model ships can be viewed.
I’m reasonably sure this is DeepFlight I, a submersible that served as a technology testbed for DeepFlight II. You can see a photo and learn more about Hawkes Ocean Technologies on this website.
The exhibit is so brand new, the submersible is still on rollers and there’s no information sign in the museum yet. (I was told that to roll the submersible into the Berkeley, part of the museum’s front desk had to be removed!)
While I don’t know too much right now, I’ll endeavor to learn more tomorrow when the Maritime Museum of San Diego has a special member event. I’ll provide more info here in an update.
But look at how cool this thing is! Imagine lying prone, squeezed inside the narrow craft, down in the mysterious depths of the sea, flying along silently like an underwater aircraft, water and sea life all around!
UPDATE!
A few days later, I noticed two of the historic submersible’s wings had been reinstalled.
A sign also points visitors to a cool YouTube video concerning the DeepFlight I. Watch it here.
UPDATE!
A sign appeared later. I was surprised to learn DeepFlight I briefly appears in the introductory film sequence of Star Trek: Enterprise!
1955. Sixteen shade trees were planted at the Casa de Lopez, a San Diego landmark.
Did you know there’s a visitor information center in Old Town San Diego on the second floor of the La Paloma marketplace? In addition to useful tourist info, the center features a wall of interesting historical photographs.
Find the La Paloma marketplace near the intersection of Twiggs Street and San Diego Avenue. The building stands where Old Town Trolley Tours vehicles line up. Proceed through the front door, go up some stairs, and you’ve arrived at the Old Town San Diego Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center.
During my last visit, I gazed at the old photos, trying to imagine how early San Diego once appeared. As you can see, the small town was established in a scrubby place in the middle of nowhere.
The Whaley house, the oldest brick house in California. Built in 1854.About 1935. Casa de Lopez, located at Twiggs and Jefferson Streets. In the early days, the San Diego River flowed at its back where the Santa Fe Railroad track are now.Old Town…1898. From Fort Stockton, now the site of Presidio Park, looking south toward Point Loma.About 1880. Old Town Estudillo House, Ramona’s Marriage Place original condition.
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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.
Belmont Park has been a favorite destination for generations of fun lovers in San Diego.
In 1925 the beachside amusement park opened as the Mission Beach Amusement Center. Today, an exhibit under Belmont Park’s beloved Big Dipper wooden roller coaster celebrates one hundred years of history!
John D. Spreckels developed the Mission Beach Amusement Park, which he intended to be a “playground for the people of San Diego…” Spreckels expanded his streetcar line to connect Downtown, Ocean Beach and La Jolla to Mission Beach.
The first structure to open was the Mission Beach Roller Rink… The grand opening unveiled the Mission Beach Bath House (now Plunge Pool) and the Dance Hall…
The subsequent construction of the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster was completed in 45 days by a construction crew of 150 men…The Giant Dipper officially opened on July 4, 1925 and enjoyed immediate record-breaking success…
The amusement park was renamed Belmont Park and revitalized in the 1950s under the direction of John (Jack) C. Ray. The park’s footprint expanded further south to include a new main entrance and attractions like The Octopus, a Kiddie Boat Ride, the Wild Mouse coaster, and a double Ferris Wheel.
The largest installation…was “Enchanted Land,” an immersive 23,000-square-foot western ghost town filled with fun-house mazes, shifting staircases, and interactive optical illusions.
On February 2, 1955, a fire broke out at the Giant Dipper… Though the city pushed for demolition, Jack fought to restore the ride… Jack Ray was the coaster’s first savior and where much of Belmont’s modern story began.
Due to financial difficulties, Belmont Park closed in 1976. In 1981, the coaster was set on fire twice in 19 days. A demolition permit had been approved by the city in 1979 and the park’s demise seemed unavoidable.
Before the charred wood of the Giant Dipper had cooled, a local activist movement was already heating up. In October 1981, Carol Lindemulder founded the “Save The Coaster Committee…” Over the next nine years, the committee led an ambitious effort… On August 11, 1990, after a 14-year closure…the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster finally reopened…
The Plunge Pool, which in 1925 was the largest saltwater pool in the world, would reopen in 2019 after an extensive reconstruction effort.
Today just so happens to be Labor Day!
Why not head down to Mission Beach and wonderful Belmont Park? Be a part of history!
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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.
Would you like to see an outstanding exhibition concerning the Hotel del Coronado?
The Jewel in Coronado’s Crown: Over a Century of Historic Preservation at the Hotel del Coronado can now be enjoyed at the Coronado Historical Association museum.
Numerous displays in the free museum show how the iconic Del was built in the late 1800s and has periodically evolved and expanded. Through old photographs and descriptions, visitors can observe how, over the past 137 years, preservation of the hotel’s unique heritage and architecture have remained a priority.
If you enjoy learning about the history of San Diego and Coronado, this exhibition is a must see.
A little of what you’ll find, including a detailed timeline…
The Victorian beach resort was designed by architect James W. Reid and debuted as one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. With 399 rooms, it was the world’s largest hotel resort. The Del made history as the first hotel to have electric lighting.
The charming architecture’s complexity and asymmetry help make the Hotel del Coronado one of California’s most recognizable and cherished landmarks.
Luxury and elegance. Since 1888, presidents, world leaders and celebrities have enjoyed staying at the Del, along with tourists vacationing by the beach in our sunny, temperate Southern California climate.
Postcards, menus and more ephemera are displayed.
Many historical photographs in the exhibit document how the hotel has changed and expanded as time rolls on.
The beautiful Coronation Window was finally moved to a prominent position viewable from both inside and outside the hotel.
This exquisite fresco was revealed by workers removing a low ceiling in the Ocean Ballroom.
A recent lobby renovation has made the Victorian hotel’s interior entrance lighter and even more attractive.
In San Diego? Enjoy a walk through and around the Hotel del Coronado, and experience its magnificence yourself!
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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.
As I walked through the Lower Garden of the Japanese Friendship Garden today, I noticed a couple of guys creating this low wall by a footpath near the Inamori Pavilion.
Is it possible? This extraordinary garden in Balboa Park continues to become even more beautiful!
Over the years the Japanese Friendship Garden has added trails, waterfalls, streams, shady structures and more to the incredible Lower Garden. The trees and plants have become so lush in the canyon now that moving down the paths is like a stroll through paradise.
One friendly worker told me that after this wall is completed, there is another project to come. Work will begin along the path that leads in switchbacks up the nearby hillside.
This garden will become even more beautiful?
Wow!
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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.
Half a dozen lowriders exhibited at the San Diego Automotive Museum have begun their departure. The exhibition was called Low and Slow: A Celebration of Lowriders. But now room on the museum’s floor is being made for fast, shiny Ferraris!
The new exhibit, opening on August 30th, 2025, will concern the evolution of Ferraris–from street to track. I learned sports cars to be displayed include a Ferrari 360, 550, 430, 308 and more!
I love how the San Diego Automotive Museum frequently changes vehicles in their 17,000 square foot exhibit space. Every time I visit, I find something new!
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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.
An important exhibition of historical photographs is now on display at Liberty Station in Point Loma.
A new exhibit space, inside Liberty Station’s old Quarters D building, features photographs by famed World War II era photographer Edward Steichen and his colleagues. The free exhibition is titled Memories of the Greatest Generation.
The newly opened exhibit space operates as a satellite for the Maritime Museum of San Diego. The photographs are in the Maritime Museum’s collection.
Historical photographs portray military ships, airplanes and personnel operating at sea in the Pacific Theatre during World War II.
Renowned artist Edward Steichen and his team of eight photographers were commissioned by the U.S. Navy in 1942 to document the war. They were called the Naval Aviation Photographic Unit. Over the next four years, most of their work would be aboard aircraft carriers. They created about 15,000 photographs.
Many of these excellent photographs are emotionally powerful. In my opinion, the best images include sailors, submariners and aviators, ordinary people doing their best in difficult wartime circumstances.
Should you look for the old Quarters D building (location of the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s new exhibit space)–it’s at the corner of Rosecrans Street and Dewey Road. Watch for Maritime Museum signs. You can find parking down the hill a short distance away.
Also, watch for friendly museum volunteers! They are pleased to tell you all about this great historical exhibit!
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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.
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