Tag: toys

Pigs, duck and hamburger at old Navy base!

At old Naval Training Center San Diego, you might not expect to see pigs, a duck and a hamburger placed on a fountain. Well, that’s what you’ll find at Liberty Station in Point Loma!

The old Navy base is now home to many artist studios and tons of public art. I found this rather unusual public art while walking around the other day!

The fountain is titled Fuente Fantasma. It was created last year by Ensenada artist Beliz Iristay.

According to a nearby sign, the fantastic fountain showcases the complex layering of the region that is Tijuana and San Diego with the juxtaposition of the traditional border craft industry in rich layering along with an architectural element, the fountain, a fitting symbol for San Diego’s Spanish heritage.

Well, that may be, but I simply like the fun, whimsical quality of the thing!

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LEGO brick train exhibit coming to San Diego!

In November a cool new exhibit is coming to the San Diego Model Railroad Museum in Balboa Park!

The exhibit will be celebrating 60 years of powered LEGO trains!

I learned about the upcoming exhibit today during my visit to the museum. Michael was demonstrating a portion of what will be an operating train layout, built mostly of LEGO bricks!

Members of the San Diego LEGO User Group will be working on the layout, which will open just in time for the holidays. You know it’s going to be awesome!

Check out what Michael showed me!

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Fun art outside Replay Toys in North Park!

How can you not love this? Enjoy photos of super fun art outside Replay Toys Boutique in North Park!

In addition to a colorful mural, there’s a column plastered with little plastic toys and figures just outside the front door.

Replay Toys is a paradise for shoppers seeking new and pre-owned quality toys and rare collectibles.

During my last walk through North Park, I paused for a moment to take these pictures…

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Adopt a Snoopy sibling at Comic-Con!

Peanuts is back for another San Diego Comic-Con. As before, their offsite in 2026 is on MLK Promenade across from the San Diego Convention Center. With its big Snoopy graphics, you can’t miss it!

Lovers of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang will enjoy photo ops, but more importantly, exclusive merchandise.

You can “adopt” one or all of Snoopy’s siblings: Spike, Belle, Olaf, Marbles and Andy! The plush dogs for purchase even come with adoption papers, I was told!

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

Godzilla trolley wrap for Comic-Con 2026!

The first San Diego trolley wrap for Comic-Con 2026 is now running! It debuted yesterday and I saw it this morning while walking downtown. It features Godzilla!

An article on the sdccblog describes how this wrap promotes Godzilla figures and toys.

There will be a whopping 45 trolley wraps this year, with 15 unique designs. Yes, it appears Comic-Con is going to be epic in 2026, with Marvel in Hall H, a big Star Trek reveal, and more!

Stay tuned as I discover more fun stuff in the days and weeks ahead!

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

Farm to Craft exhibit opens at the Mingei.

A surprising new exhibit opened yesterday at the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park. Farm to Craft: Grains in Global Folk Art is now on display in the museum’s first floor Entry Level, where admission is free to all visitors.

The beautiful handmade crafts from around the world are a treat for the eyes. These artistic works come from farms–from grown material like straw, rice, wheat or corn.

Crafts include dolls and toys. Some of the creations are made to be worn. Others were designed to be useful farming tools or containers. Excessive plant material that might otherwise be discarded is made useful!

I took a few photographs.

These exquisite crafts from the museum’s collection will be on view through January 10, 2027.

Perhaps, after viewing the exhibit, you’ll be inspired to fold your own corn husk creation–such as those roses made by street performers. Here’s a short video on how to craft a simple, easy corn husk flower!

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Tokidoki trading event at Comic-Con Museum!

Have you seen the tokidoki exhibition at San Diego’s amazing Comic-Con Museum? If your answer is no, you have several weeks until the exhibition closes. TOKIDOKI: Twenty Years of Kawaii & Chaos goes away at the end of January.

Meanwhile, people who love tokidoki collectibles have the opportunity to attend a free trading event at the museum! The “kid-organized meetup” will be held on Saturday, January 24th, 2026 inside the Comic-Con Museum’s café! Everyone is welcome. Bring any tokidoki figures or merch you’d like to possibly trade!

I visited the museum today and saw the event announcement. As I wandered about the tokidoki exhibition, I “collected” a handful of cool photos…

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New model train fun at the La Mesa Depot!

Look what has arrived at the old La Mesa Depot. A super cool model train layout!

During my last visit to the La Mesa Depot several years ago, Station Master Timothy was building a new layout in the historic depot’s baggage room. It has been replaced by a detailed, fully functioning HO scale layout with small town charm and mountain scenery!

Will kids love it?

Yes!

The La Mesa Depot, which can’t be missed at the corner of Spring Street and La Mesa Boulevard, is free to the public. Its doors open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm, and on Saturdays from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.

There’s plenty to explore inside the depot, including an old telegraph, ticket window and the passenger waiting room. Outside, visitors can walk around the depot’s steam locomotive, refrigerator (reefer) car and caboose at any time.

Many years ago I walked around the La Mesa Depot and took photographs. Apart from the cool new model train layout, it appears little has changed. You can see my past photos of the depot here.

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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.

Feel free to share!

Island of Misfit Toys appears on Silver Strand!

The Island of Misfit Toys has magically appeared at Silver Strand State Beach!

The sandy “island,” where beach toys await boys and girls, is open to all comers near the State Beach’s lifeguard building!

The delightful toy chest you see in my photos was built about a month ago by Silver Strand State Beach maintenance personnel. It was painted beautifully with local and related natural scenes by talented artist Victoria.

The open chest is is full of lost toys that have been found on the beach, like shovels and pails used to build sandcastles. Families visiting the beach can borrow the toys which might otherwise have been discarded.

A wonderful idea!

By the way, everyone I spoke with at Silver Strand State Beach today was super friendly! You all are awesome!

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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.

Feel free to share!

Fun (and edible) Labubus in San Diego!

Instead of snuggling with a Labubu plush toy monster, why not devour one? (Yes, a fuzzy toy would be difficult to swallow–I mean eat a Labubu donut!)

I’m told Labubus right now are one of the hottest collectibles around. If you’d like to collect one in your stomach, head over to the Donut Bar in downtown San Diego!

That’s my smiling friend in the above photo! (The human-eared, non-purple face to the right.)

The Donut Bar has other fun Labubu merchandise, too, and I can see it’s selling fast!

I’m told that during Comic-Con, their world-famous donuts will be adding a Fantastic Four design for 2025. I can’t wait!

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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.

Feel free to share!