Loving, intelligent guide dogs and their trainers attend a special event in San Diego.
During my walk today I came across a special event taking place at Embarcadero Marina Park North. A local group representing Guide Dogs for the Blind was having a gathering by San Diego Bay!
I was impressed at how loving and intelligent the guide dogs all were. I asked where people could go to learn more about possibly raising a guide dog, and was told to check out this website!
According to a handout I received, Guide Dogs for the Blind was created in 1942 to aid servicemen blinded in World War II. I also learned their services are offered free to people throughout the United States and Canada.
If you know someone who is blind or visually impaired, tell them about Guide Dogs for the Blind! Or check out their puppy raising program!
Guide Dogs for the Blind had a special gathering today at Embarcadero Marina Park North.You see a puppy, a person who is blind sees the world.This best friend can make a difficult life much better.Guide Dogs for the Blind. Raise a puppy. Change a life.
Some smiling Friends of Tweet Street Park sign up volunteers during the Jacaranda Spring Thing on Cortez Hill.
After a very long walk today, I ended up on Cortez Hill in downtown San Diego. The Jacaranda Spring Thing festival was taking place just outside my door, right next to Tweet Street Park, and I lingered to check things out.
And look what I discovered!
A community group called Friends of Tweet Street Park was organized about a year and a half ago, and they’ve been working on a volunteer basis to clean, improve and beautify our neighborhood park! If you live in or near Cortez Hill and love the Tweet Street bird-friendly park, please consider joining the group, or adding yourself to their email list, or at least following their Facebook page, which is here!
Recently I noticed some flowering succulents had been planted in a couple bare spots in the park. It turns out that was the work of these good folks!
Thank you!
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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!
A self-guided tour of the USS Midway Museum often includes aircraft that are undergoing maintenance or restoration. Three helicopter rotors are being reconstructed here.
I love visiting the USS Midway Museum because there’s always something new to see. During my visit today I was intrigued by some of the aircraft restoration work that I observed.
The many different airplane and helicopter exhibits, representing different eras of naval aviation history, are already in pretty good condition when they are lifted aboard the aircraft carrier museum, but there’s always work to do. Time and the elements take their toll.
The USS Midway Museum is fortunate to have a small army (or should I say fleet) of skilled and knowledgeable volunteers. Many are retired Navy, with first-hand experience of the history and technical aspects of these aircraft. All are very friendly and welcome questions from museum visitors!
Sign on hangar deck of USS Midway describes the HO3S-1 Dragonfly’s original rotor blade restoration, which is in progress.A closer look at the spruce plywood ribs, which are spaced on the tubular steel spar.This rotor is a bit further along. It appears part of the rotor’s new surface is being cemented in place.Here’s the HO3S-1 Dragonfly helicopter up on the flight deck of USS Midway. Notice three of four rotors are missing.The aptly named Dragonfly began service in 1946. You might recognize the design if you’ve seen the film The Bridges at Toko-Ri.Part of the Dragonfly’s engine is exposed beneath the rotors.This USS Midway volunteer is grinding away rust from the museum’s A-6 Intruder bomber. He said it’s the type of work that is done between larger projects.The tail of the A-6 Intruder is being restored to look like new, too.Many skilled volunteers at the USS Midway Museum work continuously to keep the many aircraft exhibits in great condition!
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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!
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Generous young ladies have a bake sale in Point Loma to collect donations for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
During my walk around Liberty Station on Sunday I passed some young ladies with a table set up at an intersection near The Rock Church. They had baked lots of treats and were trying to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
If you enjoy my photographic treats, perhaps you’ll consider visiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s website, which shows ways you can help beat cancer!
More than 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living with, or are in remission from, a blood cancer. You can help!
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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!
Volunteers in downtown San Diego add a coat of paint to a metal post. A wonderful community project put together by the Downtown San Diego Partnership.
A busy morning! I’ve got lots of fun photos coming! First, check out something really fantastic. The Downtown San Diego Partnership arranged for a bunch of generous volunteers to help beautify the city! The resident volunteers converged this morning at Eighth Avenue and B Street, were given paint and brushes, and were then shown lampposts in the area that need a coat of paint!
Thank you Downtown San Diego Partnership for working to keep the heart of our city in tip top shape! I was told this sort of event might occur in the future on a regular basis. Hopefully this blog post helps to raise awareness a bit!
Around 150 volunteers had signed up to paint lamp posts. Many had gathered at Eighth Avenue and B Street just after nine o’clock when I walked through the area.Getting the paint ready at the center of the parking lot where all the volunteers gathered in downtown’s Core district.The base of a downtown lamppost has been primed and is ready to be painted by volunteers. Hundreds of posts would be painted today!A worker for the Clean and Safe program beautifies downtown San Diego. As a resident, I thank you all.These nice volunteers were painting their third lamppost as I walked back through the area later in the day!
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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!
It’s a rainy, gloomy morning. Young and old walk through Mission Valley to school and to work.
Be someone’s sunshine! You can make a big difference!
During my walk to work, I saw some unselfish people at a busy San Diego intersection collecting donations for Rady Children’s Hospital. They were trying to fill their bucket with love! The rain couldn’t stop them! I saw nothing but smiles!
Rady Children’s Hospital has saved thousands upon thousands of young lives. It’s where kids with the most serious, life-threatening diseases go for a good chance at a full life. It’s one of the top children’s hospitals in the nation.
Out in the middle of a busy intersection, in the rain, one of several unselfish volunteers collects donations for a good cause.A smile in the rain. Please support Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, where very sick kids get better. Everyone should have a full life.
The generous people of WE EMPOWER HER offered free food today to anyone passing by. Their mission is to help create a compassionate world.
Please give these good people a moment of your time. I learned about the WE EMPOWER HER effort during my walk this morning along San Diego’s Embarcadero. The organization fights domestic violence and sex trafficking by planting seeds of kindness and compassion in the world. They also offer free mentoring and counseling. As their literature states: You have the Right to be treated with Respect.
Unfortunately, San Diego has a very big human trafficking problem. I suppose it’s our proximity to the world’s busiest border crossing.
The modest event today near Seaport Village had the theme of feeding the hungry. Their Facebook event description states: Let us inspire each other and create a compassionate world.
Sounds wise to me!
Please check out the WE EMPOWER HER Facebook page, and possibly help these people in your own way to do good and help others!
Together we can create a world full of love–a world without violence.Human generosity, inspiring courage and confidence. The good people of WE EMPOWER HER, setting a wonderful example for us all.
Many ordinary people came out today to help clean up the San Diego River Estuary.
Lots of good people volunteered to clean up the San Diego River Estuary today. Some took to kayaks, others walked along the shoreline, filling bags with nasty litter and debris. The river estuary, emptying into the Pacific Ocean between Mission Bay and Ocean Beach, is a very important wetland in this region, and millions of birds rely on it during their migrations. Small bits of trash ingested by birds and other wildlife can be fatal.
The estuary cleanup was organized by The San Diego River Park Foundation. Kayakers are permitted to enter the San Diego River Estuary only one time every year–during this special event. I walked along the river and saw what ordinary people can achieve when working unselfishly for the good of our world.
A sign directs people to the river cleanup.Beautiful white clouds are reflected in the calm water of the San Diego River as it approaches the ocean.Many birds make the river and its mud flats their home, including ducks, herons and egrets.A photographer captures images of waterfowl swimming through grass down the river.My camera isn’t quite so fancy, but I did get an okay photo of this snowy egret!As I walked west along the San Diego River, I noticed a number of kayaks out on the water.A sign by the river describes the problem of stormwater pollution. During rains, a good deal of runoff enters the estuary, carrying all sorts of pollutants and trash. (I had to really alter this photograph so we could make out what the old sign says. Click the image to enlarge it.)A cleanup volunteer with a kayak is arriving!Plastic bags in these kayaks have been filled with garbage found in the river. I learned much of it was snagged in the grass.Dozens of caring people were on the rocky river shore, looking for trash.San Diego is fortunate to have many thoughtful people, concerned about our environment.Volunteering is often a family affair, teaching the next generation about generosity and responsibility.This guy was carrying his kayak back to his car.Another guy showed me the trash he collected. He said he found a variety of garbage. Some flows downstream. Some of it is windblown. Some comes from Interstate 5 and other bridges which cross the river nearby.A tent where people can sign up to volunteer and learn more about The San Diego River Park Foundation.From the mountains to the ocean, we care for the San Diego River!Sadly, the river isn’t healthy. A grade is assigned each year based upon trash, water quality and the extent of invasive plants.Sign shows volunteering possibilities. (Click these sign images to read–they will enlarge.)Picking up garbage and readying kayaks underneath the West Mission Bay Bridge.Collected trash was placed in a nearby dumpster.Smiles in the San Diego sunlight. A perfect day to make our world cleaner, healthier and more beautiful.Kayakers launch into the San Diego River during a special event to clean the estuary.
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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!
Thanks to donations, volunteers and hard work, the Star of India’s wood deck replacement is approaching completion! The starboard side looks shiny and new!
Yesterday I took advantage of my Maritime Museum of San Diego membership to freely step aboard the Star of India, with the intention of seeing how the main deck’s replacement is progressing. Wow! The beautiful, shiny new deck appears to be almost finished! According to a friendly guy in the ticket booth, the deck improvement project should be completed in a matter of days! I can hardly wait to see the finished work!
The poop deck has been beautifully refurbished, using modern materials and construction methods.One side of the Star of India’s main deck now appears as it did when the ship was brand new, 153 years ago!A temporary bridge was erected so that visitors boarding the historic tall ship could cross the port side where deck reconstruction is underway.Crossing a temporary bridge above the main deck of the Star of India, the world’s oldest active sailing ship!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! Occasionally I make cool discoveries! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You could be the cure! Smiling ladies in Balboa Park register potential bone marrow donors. And there are other ways that you can fight cancer, too!
During my walk today, I was reminded of an important fact. There’s a heroic decision that many of us can make to possibly save another person’s life.
I’m sure many of you have heard about how certain types of blood cancers can be successfully treated with a bone marrow transplant. And you’ve probably heard about the National Marrow Donor Program, a registry where cancer patients can be matched with an appropriate donor.
Have you thought about becoming a potential donor? You might save somebody’s life!
If you walk through Balboa Park and notice a sign concerning a Marrow Donor Registry Drive, take a moment to check it out! Or simply click the Be The Match website now to learn of several things you can do to help save a life!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 