People keep asking me if I’m on Instagram. Until now I’ve replied no.
For over five years I’ve posted tens of thousands of unique photographs here on Cool San Diego Sights, and to my other blog, Beautiful Balboa Park. So I figured it’s time to get in gear and start posting photos to Instagram, too!
This morning I added several dozen photographs that I took in the past month to my Instagram page. From this point forward, I’ll post select photos as I continue to walk about San Diego!
I’ve also added an Instagram icon to my website’s sidebar. Do you see it under the word FOLLOW? Click it if you’d like! (Those other icons help you to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr.)
Cool San Diego Sights will continue to be my main blog and center of activity. It’s where all of my photographs appear, and where readers can enjoy descriptions of random walks and discoveries.
If you do choose to follow my Instagram, thank you!
As I came to the pedestrian bridge over Harbor Drive, the late sunlight produced magic. The space through which I walked and the train tracks below appeared dreamlike.
My eyes were fascinated by light and shadow.
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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 few diehards hang out as the North County Corvette Club’s Plastic Fantastic car show comes to an end on a drizzly Sunday afternoon.
San Diego was a wee bit damp today. Light showers off and on. May has been unusually wet this year, not unlike our winter.
Early this afternoon I walked along the Embarcadero with my hood up and my camera protected from water and wind. We residents of San Diego are spoiled by our city’s near perfect weather. When a drop or two falls, many become discombobulated. But others relish the change.
During my walk what did I discover?
Dancing in the rain–or light showers–by the gazebo in Seaport Village.An umbrella is at the ready near the Marriott Marina.One last look at some remaining Corvettes.Cool cars under overcast skies.A few cars remain parked on the grass of Embarcadero Marina Park North.See you next year. Hopefully the weather is sunny.A big puddle awaits a good number of visitors at Seaport Village.But the nearby pier is almost empty.Some fishermen docked at the pier are busy working. A little rain is just a little more water.Someone near the USS Midway has taken shelter under a tarp.A scooter and its reflection in another puddle.The showers have torn purple jacaranda blooms from nearby trees.An interesting pattern in wet wood on the Broadway Pier.The wind was blowing pretty hard, and flags were flapping wildly.Few were walking or running along the wet, chilly Embarcadero.Some tourists take a look at downtown and San Diego Bay from the dry comfort of an Old Town Trolley.The Port of San Diego and Maritime Museum are hosting a big Festival of the Sea this coming Memorial Day weekend. Rain or shine, you can bet I’ll be there!Clouds and wind observed from the passenger deck of the Maritime Museum’s steam ferry Berkeley.My street musician and artist friend Carlos assured me the sun would soon come out . . . and he was right!
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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 couple days ago I noticed two hearts while walking through downtown.
One was lying on the hard sidewalk, protected with sharp barbs. The other was up on a rooftop, in a musician playing violin. The musician’s heart was precarious, vulnerable and free.
Do you protect your heart? Do you express it?
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To read thoughtful short stories about the complex human condition, click Short Stories by Richard.
An exhausted face looks out from the window of Via Pia restaurant.
This afternoon, feeling restless, I went on a random walk through downtown San Diego.
It’s Mother’s Day.
If this blog post seems vaguely philosophical, I’ll let you decide what it all means…
I spotted a City Ballet of San Diego poster in the lobby of the Spreckels Theater Building. Carmina Burana is coming soon.City Ballet of San Diego is looking for donations for their Pointe Shoe Fund.A glass container full of pointe shoes. Each provides an unknown number of dances.William Dorsett, a street artist who often hangs out near the USS Midway, created this cool painting of Wonder Woman.A couple walks along Embarcadero Marina Park North.Mexican dolls for sale on the boardwalk.A yellow sunflower at Alamo Flags in Seaport Village.Someone mediates on the wall near Rock Man, the amazing balancer.A fading flower at the foot of the Merchant Seamen Memorial.Strolling along by the water one afternoon.A duck disregards a sign by the Children’s Park fountain.A restored PCC streetcar of the Silver Line arrives at the Convention Center trolley station.Checking out a classic car in the Gaslamp.Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.Shoes with no walker.Carrying a bouquet of red roses.
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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!
This morning I took a short hike through the west part of Peñasquitos Canyon. I started at the developed trailhead on Sorrento Valley Boulevard, and walked down the dirt trail to the historic El Cuervo adobe ruin, which I will blog about shortly.
It’s springtime, the air is warming, and the hills all about San Diego are bright yellow with blooming mustard. Many beautiful parts of Peñasquitos Canyon seem to have painted with an artist’s brush.
Even though most of the mustard one sees in San Diego isn’t native, the cheerful appearance of yellow hillsides reminds those who live in our city that summer is just around the bend.
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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!
I discovered some colorful artwork last weekend during my walk around Mission Bay!
As I headed north along East Mission Bay Drive just past the entrance to Fiesta Island, approaching Tecolote Creek, I saw that images from nature had been painted on the low barrier that separates the small parking lot from the walking path. I spotted birds and fish and whales and flowers and all sorts of marine wildlife and native critters.
It appeared all of nature had gathered at my feet!
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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 few people walk down a dirt path next to SeaWorld. Coastal plants provide habitat for birds and wildlife.
There’s a quiet, seldom visited area adjacent to SeaWorld that provides valuable habitat for both local and migratory birds. You can find this narrow strip of land directly northeast of SeaWorld, on the edge of Mission Bay, just west of South Shores Park.
Walk down the dirt path by the water and you’ll discover native plants, beautiful views, a few park benches, and a sense of wonder. This bit of land was set aside as natural coastal habitat with the help of the Audubon Society, SeaWorld San Diego, and a several other organizations who care about protecting the environment.
I walked down the path during the weekend and read a number of interesting signs. Few other people were around. I shared the warm sunshine with birds that took flight over land and water.
Click the photos of signs if you’d like to read them.
One sign displays plants that provide food and shelter for the birds and insects of Mission Bay.Heading west down the rough path, along the south shore of Mission Bay.Looking north across the water at boats, kayaks and Fiesta Island.Audubon’s Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program identifies and conserves a network of sites essential for wild bird populations. Mission Bay is one of seven IBAs in San Diego County.A patch of what I believe is Ceanothus, or California Lilac. A bird perched on some dry yellow flowers is a blur in this photograph.Mission Bay sustains thousands of birds, as many species stop over in San Diego during their migration along the Pacific flyway.Looks like a heron flying overhead, scanning the water.Sign identifies birds that might be seen here. San Diego is home to nearly 500 bird species.Some shelter by the water for birds and other small animals.More natural habitat that contains much hidden life.Another sign with more California natives, including plants and birds.Someone walks on a path that winds near the entrance to this small park-like space.
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
As I walked through Little Italy this morning, local artists were busy setting up their booths for the big annual Mission Federal ArtWalk!
Finished canvases were carefully positioned for the public to admire and hopefully purchase. Artists stepped back to observe the effect of their arrangement. Asphalt streets were gradually transformed into bright corridors of imagination. Creativity swirled once again from hundreds of practiced hands.
The streets of Little Italy were being painted with dreams . . .
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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 cobblestone post at the entrance to Trolley Barn Park.
In University Heights, sunny Trolley Barn Park is a favorite place for neighbors to gather. Whenever I drive past I notice the grass field and playground are alive with activity.
Last weekend, as I walked through the park, I observed plaques and a winding path that remember the old trolley car barn that once occupied this beautiful spot overlooking Mission Valley.
In 1913 the Adams Avenue Trolley Barn was built near Mission Cliff Gardens. The popular botanical destination north of downtown was created by John D. Spreckels, who also owned the San Diego Electric Railway Company. The trolley barn was built directly adjacent to Harvey Bentley’s Ostrich Farm, where visitors could actually ride the exotic birds.
The large brick trolley barn serviced hundreds of cars until 1949. That’s when the streetcars, overtaken by city buses, finally ceased operation.
Many old cobblestone walls and posts from the days of Mission Cliff Gardens can still be seen around Trolley Barn Park and the surrounding neighborhood. Like the surprising images of ostriches, these cobblestone structures today are a symbol of the very unique history of University Heights.
To learn much more about the history of Trolley Barn Park and University Heights, you can visit a very informative page here.
Plaque at base of post reads: HISTORIC LANDMARK No. 369 – ADAMS AVENUE TROLLEY CARBARN SITE 1913 – 1949 . . . The Old Trolley Barn Park was dedicated on this site April 6, 1991.What appears to be a round table in the park contains an interesting plaque that recalls when trolleys ran through University Heights.Map of the old 1917 trolley line from downtown San Diego into University Heights in Old Trolley Barn Neighborhood Park.Dedicated to all of the members of the University Heights Community Association who helped make this park a reality.This scenic spot in Trolley Barn Park overlooks Mission Valley, which lies to the north.People jog along a shady path. Its “tracks” wind through the park like the old trolley line.Along the walkway are the street names once passed by the trolley line.Another sunny San Diego day as people recreate on the grass.An electrical box at the edge of the park is painted like a cobblestone post, one of the symbols of University Heights.Trolley Barn Park is a beautiful gathering place in University Heights that honors the community’s colorful history.
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
