Have you heard of the Yellow Ribbon Fund? I hadn’t, until I met some friendly people in Escondido during todays’ Veterans Day Parade.
The Yellow Ribbon Fund, as the above sign indicates, provides free events and programs to eligible disabled post-9/11 veterans and their families. I had to check out their website, which you can also do by clicking here.
I learned the organization enhances the lives of military families facing medical crisis.
As they explain: Yellow Ribbon Fund was one of the first veteran service organizations to recognize the importance of keeping the family together during the critical recuperation phase. Through the creation of our key programs: Crossroads and Keystone, we are able to make an impact on veterans and their families nationwide.
If you’d like to help these good people out, go to their website and explore the possibilities!
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The 6th Annual Veterans Day Parade was held today in downtown Escondido. Residents of various neighboring cities came together to enjoy what has been renamed the North County VetFest and Veterans Day Parade.
In the mid-morning I stood with spectators along North Broadway at the edge of Grape Day Park. A group assembled on the street in front of Review Stand 1 sang the National Anthem. Then a minute or two later…here came the parade!
Over fifty units would pass by to cheers and applause. There were community organizations, clubs, schools with marching bands, church groups, politicians, scouts, cadets, pageant and rodeo queens, firefighters, equestrian groups, local businesses… But most importantly, there were the honored Veterans.
Veterans from many generations and wars, who’ve sacrificed for all of us, waved from passing classic cars, vintage ambulances, trailers and other vehicles. They received the greatest applause.
I photographed many of the passing units. I’m now going to share a fraction of my shots from the parade. Some of the best ones.
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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 X.
A Veterans Day ceremony was held today in Escondido at the Wall of Courage, in Grape Day Park. The annual event, honoring the courage and sacrifice of veterans, is organized by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 1513.
The beautiful ceremony included the National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance and an Invocation, before a few speeches were given. Themes I noted included dedication, resilience, gratitude and friendship.
God Bless America was sung powerfully by a young gentleman. Escondido Mayor Dane White was present in the audience and was summoned to the podium to give a few words.
Remarks by a past VFW Commander encouraged everyone to support others, not just veterans. There’s a lot of loneliness in the world. Reaching out to others with a few kind words is true service. If you know a vet, or anyone who might need it, from time to time call up or text and provide a friendly hello.
At the end of the ceremony, Thank You cards were handed out to all of the veterans present.
The cards were hand made by students at nearby Classical Academy. Hundreds of cards were made.
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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.
It’s November 9th. It’s still considered early November, right? In any event, I enjoyed a fun and very unique walk through Balboa Park today.
I found evidence Veterans Day is almost here–now just two days.
Before we know it, Thanksgiving and the Holiday Season will be here, too!
Enjoy some photos of interesting sights…
First up, the San Diego Potters’ Guild was having their Semiannual Patio Show in Spanish Village Art Center this weekend. While people watched, one guild artist was demonstrating the use of a potter’s wheel.
Next, some photos of the badly deteriorated Convair Sea Dart mounted in front of the San Diego Air and Space Museum.
Time is running out to see this very rare, experimental supersonic seaplane. It’s going to be replaced in front of the museum by an F-14A Tomcat fighter jet, as soon as the latter is restored at the museum’s annex near Gillespie Field.
The replacement won’t be just any ordinary F-14A, either. It will be the very plane used in the filming of Top Gun: Maverick!
Next, the free two o’clock Sunday concert at the Spreckel’s Organ Pavilion was a Veterans Day Celebration.
San Diego Civic Organist Raúl Prieto Ramírez played Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, various rousing John Philip Sousa marches, the United States Armed Forces Medley, and, yes, some good old Bach.
Toward the end of my walk, I stumbled upon something rather unique! A row of chess boards was set up in the Plaza de Panama, and a Chess Grandmaster, Two-Time National Champion was competing against multiple random people at one time!
I learned the Chess Grandmaster is also candidate Patrick Wolff, who is running for California Insurance Commissioner. His people were filming the proceedings for their campaign’s social media.
This is something you don’t see every day!
Chet, who plays guitar in Balboa Park, was causing the Grandmaster to pause and think a long while!
Lastly, I saw the Old Globe’s Dr. Seuss Christmas tree was getting ready for its annual lighting this evening. I didn’t have a reservation for the free event, however. Maybe next year…
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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.
Many public Fleet Week events have been cancelled in San Diego for 2025 because of the ongoing federal government shutdown. Fleet Week activities were scheduled to begin in earnest this weekend.
Unfortunately, the usual, very popular events at the Broadway Pier have been cancelled, including U.S. Navy demonstrations, STEM exhibits and public tours of ships.
Over the years, I’ve taken photographs at a variety of public Fleet Week events. I thought I share a few of them. Those events have included the Sea and Air Parade, a Veterans Art Exhibit, the Fleet Week Innovation Zone in the Port Pavilion, and a Military & Veteran Appreciation Concert in Balboa Park. That first photo above, taken near the USS Midway, is of cool cars promoting the Fleet Week Coronado Speed Festival at Naval Air Station North Island.
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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.
The 69th Annual Massing of the Colors and Service of Remembrance will be held this coming Saturday, October 11, 2025 in Balboa Park. Everyone is invited!
Dozens of color guards from all around San Diego County will come together for an amazing patriotic event at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. The event will take place between 10:30 and 11:30 in the morning. It’s free and open to the public.
If you’ve never witnessed the Massing of the Colors, you’re missing out on a very stirring spectacle. Representatives from the military, Junior ROTC, Scouts, and patriotic organizations around San Diego will honor those who’ve served and sacrificed by filling the Spreckels Organ Pavilion with a sea of flags.
The Massing of the Colors is presented each year by the San Diego Chapter of the Military Order of the World Wars, a patriotic organization that was founded in 1926. Their motto is: It Is Nobler To Serve Than To Be Served.
Here’s the flyer concerning Saturday’s event:
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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.
More than 500 heroes were assisted this weekend during the 37th Annual Stand Down event, organized by the Veterans Village of San Diego.
Unhoused and at-risk veterans, their families, and active-duty service members could receive all sorts of free assistance at Stand Down. The event this year was held at Liberty Station in Point Loma.
Free services were offered by a wide variety of organizations, including housing assistance, medical, dental and vision care, legal services, food and clothing, and educational workshops. There was plenty of love and support from San Diego’s military and civilian communities.
I wandered about the event, feeling inspired by all that I saw. Perhaps this blog post provides a little help in its own way.
If you happen to be a Veteran in need, first, thank you for your service. I deeply appreciate the liberty you have helped to defend.
I encourage people to check out the Veterans Village of San Diego website by clicking here. We all need a little help now and then. I know that from my own personal experience.
Veterans Village of San Diego supports America’s Veterans and their families in overcoming homelessness, addiction, unemployment, barriers to health and mental healthcare, and related challenges.
Their vision: A future where no one is left behind.
A smile at the Adjoin Veterans table in the above photograph. Adjoin has a housing-first strategy that secures permanent housing for every Veteran family they proudly serve.
Another smile at the San Diego Rescue Mission table. They provide meals, shelter, clothing, education and job-skills training for men, women, and single parents with children experiencing homelessness.
And here we have three smiles! Reading Legacies, located in San Diego, teaches families the importance of reading with children.
There are several beautiful rose gardens around Liberty Station in Point Loma. One that visitors might miss is located along the path that follows the edge of the nearby boat channel. It’s called the Hugh Story Memorial Rose Garden.
This garden is situated not far from the 52 Boats Memorial, which honors the ultimate sacrifice made by men aboard U.S. Navy submarines that were lost at sea during World War II.
Those who read the Hugh Story Memorial Rose Garden’s marker can understand why.
Hugh Story Memorial Rose Garden
Dedicated To The Memory Of HUGH GOODMAN STORY, SR. 1920 – 2006 Creative Leader – Motivator
Hugh served his country within the submarine service during World War II, making 5 war patrols in the Pacific and earning a Bronze Star and Combat V Unit Citation.
After the war, he remained in the Naval Reserve, attaining the rank of Commander. In civilian life, he spent thirty years building and managing refineries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Hugh is revered by this community for his twenty-four years of full-time volunteer service to Point Loma and San Diego. He is especially loved for the hundreds of trees that he and his fellow volunteers planted, and for the streetscape improvements they brought to the sidewalks, streets and boulevards of Point Loma. As past president of the Point Loma Association and its Beautification Committee, he formed the “Mean Green Team” to care for the Committee’s many undertakings. He inspired people of all ages, from Boy and Girl Scouts to retirees, to create, install, and maintain the urban projects that enliven Point Loma.
Hugh was equally unflagging in the time and effort he devoted to the Navy League, the Submarine Veterans of WWII, the San Diego Maritime Museum and Friends of the Point Loma Library.
Hugh Story made a difference. He did so in many ways, but always by improving life for those he touched through his selfless service to the community.
Friends and family of High Story provided funds for this garden which was dedicated March 19, 2010.
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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.
A special Flag Day Celebration was held today in San Diego. People gathered on the grounds of the Mormon Battalion Historic Site to observe both Flag Day and the 250th Anniversary of the United States Army.
There was an Invocation, March On the Colors, a greeting, remarks, patriotic music, and a stirring recitation of “Old Glory.” But the most important part of the ceremony paid recognition to four honored Veterans, three of whom served in the Army.
Those attending the Flag Day event heard of the sacrifices made by SGT Danny Lee Foster, U.S. Army; SFC Carlos Jesse Taitano, U.S. Army, Ret.; LT Robert “Bob” W. Conger, Jr, U.S. Navy; and Brigadier General Dean J. Mallires, U.S. Army, Ret.
All four received standing ovations.
Then there was a ceremonial cake cutting up near the stage.
After the ceremony ended, guests were invited inside the Mormon Battalion Historic Site to partake of the cake, and view displays concerning the four honored heroes.
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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.
Heroes were remembered today in Coronado’s Star Park.
The Coronado Memorial Day Service brought out many families in a close-knit community, and renewed memories of great sacrifice. The ceremony honored members of the United States Armed Forces who lost their lives while defending our Nation and its fundamental Freedoms.
Many of these heroes have a connection to Coronado and San Diego. Perhaps they once served here, or their survivors now live here. The placement of memorials, after words from the guest speaker, brought out much emotion. Gold Star Families carried flowers, as did others, young and old.
After the Call to Order, Presentation of Colors, National Anthem and Invocation, General Logan’s historic 11th General Order was read, which in effect created this national day of remembrance.
Soon thereafter, guest speaker Major General Thomas B. Savage, USMC reminded us of certain important things. That Memorial Day isn’t a celebration, or about barbeques, or the beach, or a fun day off from work. It’s about reflection. It’s about remembering and honoring the sacrifices made by heroes to secure the Freedoms that you and I enjoy–and might sometimes take for granted.
The ceremony concluded with a Rifle Salute and Taps.
We must not forget.
I took these photogrphs…
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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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