*sniff* *sniff*, do you smell barbeque?

The meerkats at the Zoo are always entertaining. This photo is ripe for a funny caption. Post a comment and give us all a laugh with your funny caption!

The Rules

Posted outside a happening bar and restaurant called Hamburger Mary's along the Pride parade route in Hillcrest. This place will be packed this weekend, so do behave and obey the rules!

San Diego Pride

I've heard that San Diego has the 3rd largest gay pride parade in the US (San Francisco is #1 and New York City is #2). The parade route had these banners up since the beginning of the month. I'm on vacation right now, so I'm sorry that I'll miss the parade. Next year I'll be there! Have a great weekend!

Saguaro's

A great long wall advertising for Saguaro's (this is the name of the type of cactus shown on the wall). It really stands out to people passing by on 30th Street in North Park. The cactus at the top in the picture to the right are neon signs further inviting hungry people in for a burrito or carne asada fries or rolled tacos. Heck, they have a full menu!

A free ride

Take a seat on one of the outside rows of the carousel and as it goes around, try to grab a ring from the dispenser. The outer row of the carousel gets up to speeds of 15 mph, so hold on tight! Got the brass ring? You won a free ride!

Balboa Park Carousel

This carousel was built in 1910 by the Herschell-Spillman Company. Most of the hand-carved animals are original and some have real horsehair used for the tails. Stop by tomorrow to see how to win a free ride!

Learning to swim

Can you tell that the poor thing is learning to swim? How did you learn to swim - lessons, getting thrown in, parents taught you, grew up near the water? I grew up near the water so it is hard for me to pinpoint how and when I actually learned to swim. A side note: when I was younger I was rescued from rip currents in the ocean twice - yikes!
I'm gone on vacation for the next few weeks. You will be seeing my photos as usual, but I won't be able to respond to comments or visit your sites. Hope you all are having a great summer!

Little mermaid

Lots of people were inspired by the awesome sand sculptures at yesterday's competition. A cute but shy mermaid was ready to get back into the water.

Buddha of the sand

Today was the finale to 3 days of sandcastle celebration at the 26th annual US Open Sandcastle Competition in Imperial Beach. Lots of great castles, animals, a tribute to the Italian soccer team, and poker themed sculptures. This one was my favorite.

Windansea beach

I know I've shown a lot of Ocean Beach, so thought I'd show a different beach today. Windansea is a popular surf spot in La Jolla. This is one of those beaches where you have to watch out for the hard breaking surf right at the shoreline. Check out Honolulu Daily Photo for a very nice photo of a body boarder on a wave that is breaking close to the shore.

Taco Rey taco

Report on Taco Rey: Steven recommended the bean & cheese burrito and I ate that immediately. It was very tasty. I saved the chicken taco to eat at home. Heated it up in the toaster oven and it didn't seem to suffer from not being eaten right away. This taco wasn't greasy, just light and delicious. Return trip for pollo asada is planned. Check out more Friday food at Seattle Daily Photo and Alexandria, Virginia Daily Photo.
Only in San Diego this weekend:
July 20-23 - Comic Con, an international comic book convention in its 37th year, for fans of comic books, movie memorabilia, toys, action figures, video games, and pop-culture.
July 22 & 23 - Quarter finals of Over-the-Line Tournament. Over-the-line is a game invented in San Diego and is kinda like baseball or softball but only with 3 players.

Ocean Beach sunset

All eyes are turned to the sunset. Anyone ever see the Green Flash or the Green Ray?

Newport Avenue

Heading down Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach to watch the sunset.

Cactus for sale

Remember the prickly pear cactus in bloom I showed in this photo? You can buy the "leaves", called nopalitos at the mercado (Mexican supermarket) and make a salad.

Little Sacré Coeur

Eric in Paris and Edwin in Kuala Lumpur inspired me to try more night shots. My "tripod" for this photo was a mailbox across the street from Sacred Heart Catholic church in Ocean Beach.

Wildfires

An exhibit at our Natural History Museum shows artifacts from the San Diego Wildfires of October 2003 where over 2500 homes burned down. I lived far enough away from these fires to not have to evacuate, but I stayed inside for several days because of the smoke and ash in the air. During the summer and autumn it is usually hot and dry here in San Diego. Unfortunately, these conditions along with what we call Santa Ana winds are perfect for the spread of wildfires. Over the last few days, two huge wildfires east of Los Angeles merged into one fire. We hope for rain.

Sea World Skytower

Day or night, the Skytower is a highly visible landmark. It is an aerial ride at Sea World that goes up (265 feet) and turns around so you will have a panoramic view of the area. Certain times of the year it is decorated in lights, here they illuminate the US flag and in December it looks like a big tree.

Taco Rey

My friend Steven and I had an in-depth conversation comparing one local taco shop over another. Out of this discussion came his recommendation of Taco Rey at Fir & 4th near downtown. You can't see it so well in this photo, but the logo on their sign is a cute little taco, holding a taco, and giving a thumbs up. Hmmm, what do you think I should get, maybe a taco? Have a great weekend and Happy Bastille Day!

Torrey Pines Golf Course

For Mark, our Daily Photo guy in Sainte Maxime, France who is a golf instructor. Torrey Pines Golf Course is the site for the city's annual PGA Tour called the Buick Invitational and is known for its beautiful ocean views.
This week the golf course is hosting the Junior World Championships and the putting green was decorated accordingly.Incidentally, I've spent a lot of time on the golf courses of San Diego. When I was a kid my brother played competitively and at his best went into a sudden-death playoff in a tournament against the now famous San Diegan Phil Mickelson.

Tunaman's Memorial

From yesterday's photo, Stu commented on the tuna fishing and canning industry here in San Diego, so I thought this would be a nice follow-up to his comment. At one point, San Diego was known as the tuna capital of the world (read more history here). This is Tunaman's Memorial located on Shelter Island in Point Loma. The memorial honors those who worked in the San Diego tuna fishing industry.

Shell castles

A decorative front yard in the Point Loma area. There was also a statue of the Virgin Mary surrounded by shells, but that photo didn't come out so well. I felt like any minute the occupants were going to come out of their house and tell me to get lost.

Gate

This side gate to an apartment complex reminds me of the old TV show "Melrose Place". Check out Nicola's door collection in Wiesbaden, Germany.

SDSU - Hepner Hall

Step out of the trolley station onto the San Diego State University campus. SDSU is the largest and oldest university in the area, with over 33,000 students attending. Not many students hanging around in the summertime though. This is a photo of Hepner Hall which has become a symbol of the campus.

SDSU Trolley Station

This weekend marks the 1 year anniversary of the opening of the San Diego Trolley's Green Line and the opening of a station on the San Diego State University campus. I can't say enough about how important this station/line is in creating access as well as helping relieve traffic. I love public transportation!

Combo plate

It is hard to tell what is under all that sauce, but it doesn't really matter to know what you are eating when it tastes soooo good. For the record, this was combination plate #6 from Ponce's Mexican Restaurant (right across the street from the Ken): one beef taco, one cheese enchilada, one chile relleno, rice and beans, about $8.00. And one beer from Tijuana, $3.00. I'm full!

The Ken cinema

The Ken is a single screen movie theatre featuring foreign, avant-garde, and independent films. This night, the movie The King was being shown. Movies change nightly and sometimes there is a double-feature. They also host the gay and lesbian film festival and used to be a venue for the Rocky Horror Picture Show. An interesting fact: the Ken is the only theater in San Diego which still uses reel-to-reel projectors. Visit the Ken at 4061 Adams Avenue in the neighborhood of Kensington.

For the birds

I think these birds are looking for a meal or maybe they are just an old married couple. To see birds in love, visit Tanty in Stavanger, Norway.

Patriotic spirit

Today is a holiday, celebrating the independence of the US from British rule and the signing of our Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Some things we do to celebrate: display the flag (oh and don't forget your matching hat!), watch fireworks, go to a parade or have a BBQ.

Train ride

Adjacent to the Spanish Village Art Center is the Balboa Park Miniature Railroad. The train holds 48 passengers and as you can see some very large stuffed animals ride along as your companions. As a passenger, it is customary to wave and smile to the people outside of the train. The train is a one-fifth scale model of a General Motors Model F-3 diesel locomotive. The 3 minute ride costs $1.75 per person.

Spanish Village Art Center

Located in Balboa Park, this little village of Spanish style cottages are used as art studios. A weekend sale of ceramics, oils, photographs, gourd art, jewelry, watercolors, and mixed media. Link here to their website and see more close-up photos (click on Studios).

Supermarket - theme day

Here we have several local supermarkets, every one has something unique to offer - organic fruits and vegetables, gourmet foods, health foods, vitamins, bulk foods, a deli, or everyday items. Some of the larger stores even have Starbucks or a fast food restaurant inside. Here is a photo from Henry's Marketplace where they have good fruits, vegetables and bulk foods.
The Daily Photo theme for today is local supermarkets. Click on a number to see a local supermarket in another city: 1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 -11 -12 -13 -14 -15 -16 -17 -18 -19 -20 -21 -22 -23 -24 -25