Enjoy these photographs, taken early this morning around sunrise.
I walked through downtown San Diego along Harbor Drive, then on down Martin Luther King, Jr. Promenade, which parallels Harbor Drive. The sun would rise almost directly in front of me behind thin clouds.
You can see how dramatic the blazing sunrise was!
These photographs taken by my old camera are unaltered, except for some cropping. (I’m feeling lazy. Yes, I could’ve sharpened a few of them.)
What a beautiful day! What a beautiful city!
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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.
San Diego’s first Smart City touchscreen kiosk was installed last month in downtown, on the corner of Fourth Avenue and B Street. I encountered it for the first time several days ago during a walk!
The big, bright, digital touchscreen kiosk provides information in a way that might remind you of your smartphone. All sorts of great up-to-date information is available for tourists, residents, those who work or play downtown, and even those who are homeless.
The kiosk I observed is the first of 50 that are planned for downtown San Diego! The project is made possible by a partnership between the City of San Diego, IKE Smart City, and the Downtown San Diego Partnership.
Not only do these high-tech kiosks provide passersby with transit updates, event information, city attractions, maps, services and more, they provide free Wi-Fi!
I spent a few minutes goofing around with this first downtown kiosk and was really impressed! It’s a brilliant resource that anyone can freely and easily use!
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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.
Two walks through downtown San Diego. Yesterday, and early this morning before sunrise.
Another helping of colorful and tasty holiday photographs!
San Diego’s famous U.S. Grant Hotel is brightly lit Christmas green and red for the 2024 holiday season.Advertisement on a downtown San Diego bus stop shelter promotes the Holiday Bowl, which is coming up on Friday, December 27.The plaza in front of 550 West C Street has become a magical holiday wonderland.A beautifully lit wreath in the same plaza.Last year’s illuminated “Christmas crane” is back in the sky above downtown San Diego!Santa has landed at a building under construction!Someone from Italy also took photos of this Christmas spectacle while standing on the sidewalk beside me. She commented this is a sight you’d only see in America. I’ll take that as a good thing!If you want to feel good, drop into the Donut Bar and say Hi to my friends.Hungry for a super scrumptious chocolate yule log? Call the Donut Bar and they’ll make one for you!
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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.
Those walking through or waiting for a bus at the Boulevard Transit Plaza in City Heights might feel inclined to pause for a moment. This landmark bus station on El Cajon Boulevard over Interstate 15 features colorful public art and a collection of historical photographs.
The large transit plaza is split in two, divided by El Cajon Boulevard. Opposite sides serve east and west bound buses. Stairs and elevators also descend to Interstate 15 below where passengers can catch Route 235 rapid buses.
Public art and photographs are found on both sides of the split plaza. On either end of each platform, a post is decorated with colorful mosaics and dedicated to an adjacent community. The four communities served by the Boulevard Transit Center are Normal Heights, Kensington, Corridor and Teralta West.
I recently got off a Route 215 rapid bus at this stop to walk around the plaza. The artwork I’ve photographed here was installed in the past year or two–if you know more about the project, please leave a comment!
(There’s additional public art on the freeway level platforms–both here and at the nearby City Heights Transit Center–that I’ll document at some future time.)
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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 seems every time I walk through downtown Escondido, I discover more street art! That includes last weekend!
I believe that some of the art in these photographs is fairly new. The above electrical box, for example.
The box in my last photo I’ve noticed in the past, but I walked right past it as I hurried down Valley Parkway to or from the Escondido Transit Center.
Enjoy!
This great street art is by Shirish Villaseñor. If you’ve walked around during Comic-Con and seen fun window graphics painted at Sweet Things Frozen Yogurt near the San Diego Convention Center–that’s her art, too!I believe this agricultural artwork is by Zane Kingcade. His amazing murals can be found all over Escondido.Passion Flower was painted for the City of Escondido by Cedar Covington in 2023.More beautiful flowers painted in Escondido, by artist Brenda Gunderson Townsend.
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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.
Did one of the Planet of the Apes movies have a Santa Claus? He seems to have turned up in Oceanside, California!
It’s the holiday season! Have fun checking out some photographs that I took during a walk around downtown Oceanside today!
The above Santa gone ape was in a window at Goblin Shark Emporium.
Next, a couple festive photos taken on the Amtrak train platform at the Oceanside Transit Center…
A fun Happy Holidays street banner I noticed while walking up Coast Highway…
Shelves full of Season’s Greetings, gnomes and lighthouses inside Jane & Evie’s Used Book Store…
Merry Christmas decorations by a street corner…
Now I’ve entered the Oceanside Civic Center Library, where, as you’ll see, dinosaurs and the holidays seem to go very well together…
Window graphics include ornaments at the entrance to the Oceanside Museum of Art…
Need some artsy presents for Christmas? You definitely should check out the gift shop at the Oceanside Museum of Art. They’ve got lots of beautiful handmade gifts for sale…
Back outside, in the nearby Artist Alley, local Oceanside businesses were selling holiday crafts and wares. Today is Small Business Saturday! Santa would arrive later in the afternoon…
Do you plan to spend some time in Oceanside this holiday season? Read the following sign for special events. Or visit this website!
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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.
For a small adventure, hike down into Swan Canyon from the streets of City Heights.
The long, narrow canyon is one of several in this San Diego neighborhood. Like other nearby canyons, it features trails for nature walks in a mostly urban environment.
I enjoyed a short, easy hike last weekend in Swan Canyon. My aim was to photograph a newly painted mural on an old concrete foundation down in the canyon. If you’d like to see those photographs, click here.
There are several ways to enter the canyon. The trailhead I used is at the intersection of Olive Street and Highland Avenue, a couple blocks east of Fairmount Avenue. I headed east down the Olive Street Trail to the bottom of the canyon. You can see several trails on Google Maps if you perform a search.
At the bottom of the canyon, there’s a sign showing where the Olive Street Trail and Quince Street Trail cross. From the Olive Street Trail, I turned left and headed north up the Quince Street trail.
After a short distance of upward climbing, I noticed a definite but unmarked trail to the left. It led to the mural.
It’s hard to get lost in the narrow canyon. Just keep looking around.
Once I reached the mural, I easily retraced my steps. You could venture down another trail or in a different direction if you’d like to conduct your own voyage of discovery!
The trails I walked down were fairly well maintained, but wear good shoes and bring water on a warm day. You can see a few hollows in the shrubbery where homeless people might live, and graffiti in places, particularly near the mural–so be aware of that.
The above sign stands at the trailhead.
The sign contains information about wildlife and plants in our city’s canyons, and is provided by the organization San Diego Canyonlands. See their website here. You’ll find loads of useful information!
Did I come across any wildlife during my walk? The canyon did smell fresh and wild. I observed no coyotes, raccoons or red-tailed hawks, but I did spot a squirrel, and a few small birds in some trees.
Looking down from the trailhead…
Here we go! Watch your step…
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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.
Hundreds of smiling people participated in the Walk4ALZ 2024 walk this morning in Balboa Park. The annual event is a fundraiser for Alzheimer’s San Diego, a local nonprofit organization that helps many of the approximately 100,000 San Diegans living with dementia. Every dollar that was raised will stay in San Diego County.
I took these photographs as I walked near the group. I saw teams holding signs, many families in support of loved ones who have Alzheimer’s, folks along the route cheering on the walkers, and some fun costumes, too!
If you’d like to learn more about Alzheimer’s San Diego and perhaps support their efforts, or if you know someone with dementia and would like assistance, check out their website by clicking here.
The Rancho Bernardo Veterans Memorial is located in Webb Park. During a recent walk around small Webb Lake, I paused at the memorial to read plaques honoring military veterans who’ve sacrificed to defend our country and freedoms.
You can learn more about the Rancho Bernardo Veterans Memorial by visiting the Mission page of its website. You’ll read how the Veterans Memorial was designed and installed at a central location in Rancho Bernardo – Webb Park – and dedicated on 4 July 1994.
Engraved plaques along the sidewalk define the Patriots Walk. This feature, honoring veterans, was dedicated in 2022.
If you know of someone who ought to be included in the Patriots Walk, and you’d like to make a donation that goes toward maintaining the memorial, you can find a printable nomination form here.
These photos were taken on an overcast day.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
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.
Cool San Diego Sights! 