Ve are goink to pump... (clap) ...YOU UP!

I sit on my butt in front of the computer most of the time. I can't do any pull ups, very few push ups or sit ups, and I have no idea how half of the machines at the gym work. If I had to, I could probably lift 50 lbs. I CAN see my feet and bend over to touch my toes. How about you, do you workout?

Frying tonight

The frying pan reads "burn out". An urban legend/covert message/art piece description and photo from Expat:
I've always been told that a pair of sneakers hung on overhead wires signifies a drug house nearby. If that's true, what do you think this exhibit, at the East end of Hotel Circle, means? Our brains are totally fried, maaaannn....

Anthony's

I've been on a fish kick lately. At Anthony's Fish Grotto downtown they have a full service restaurant and a walk-up window called the Fishette. While we were there a boat docked and the sailors walked right up the yellow ramp you see in the photo above and into the patio area. We got fish tacos ($3.75 each), kids fish and chips ($6.50) and the "mixed treasures" ($8.95). The "mixed treasures" of fried fish, shrimp, scallops, and calamari were the best pick.

U.S.S. Recruit

The U.S.S. Recruit was the Navy's first non-ship. This vessel, not quite a building, and not quite a ship, was built to teach new sailors about what they could expect when they were aboard a real ship. It was completed in 1949, and was affectionately known as The U.S.S. Neversail.

The area has been renovated over the last few years and now the 'ship' sits at the corner of a lovely knew shopping center called Liberty Station, instead of being surrounded by drab yellow & grey military buildings of what was the Naval Training Center. The U.S.S. Recruit was declared a historical landmark on Aug. 13th, 2005.

More background on it here: click

Midway - the view

Here is the view from the port side of the Midway Museum. This looks toward Seaport Village and the Coronado Bridge. The sculpture is based on the famous photograph of a sailor kissing a nurse on V-J Day in Times Square by Alfred Eisenstaedt and is called "Unconditional Surrender". Although critics think the sculpture is tacky (read more here), visitors seem to like it. What do you think?

Midway - replenishment helicopter

More facts from the Midway Museum map/brochure. There were approximately 4,500 sailors: 600 in engineering, 225 cooks, 200 pilots, 40 corpsmen, 2 physicians and 1 dentist. They ate 10,000 tons of food daily - 3,000 potatoes, 1,000 loaves of bread daily, 4,500 pounds of beef when served, 500 pies when served. Can see why this replenishment helicopter was busy?!

Midway - the city at sea

The Midway Museum offers an extensive audio tour (included w/admission - the complete tour takes about 3.5 hours), but with 2 small kids we decided to skip it and go straight to the flight deck. The plane in the photo is the A-7 Corsair II. Here's some amazing facts about the ship from the map/brochure: $90M to build in 1945; 212,000 horsepower; 69,000 tons total weight; 20-ton anchors; 2,000 feet of anchor chain; 1,500 telephones; 258 feet wide; 18 decks; 4.02-acre flight deck.

USS Midway Museum

The USS Midway is an aircraft carrier that is now a museum. After 47 years of service for the Navy, the ship was converted to a museum and opened in 2004. The ship is 972 feet in length and can carry more than 100 aircraft. Over the next few days I'll show you a few more pictures I took at the museum.

Little Italy mural

I've always wanted to get a photo of this mural at the entrance of the 5 South freeway at State & Grape. I've taken photos while driving before, but it would be pretty dangerous at this freeway entrance. So finally, I was a passenger and got this photo. The mural is one of several art pieces sponsored by the Little Italy Association.

Point Loma Seafoods

Point Loma Seafoods is a popular stop for locals, tourists, and celebrities (Rudy Giuliani recently visited and Rachael Ray featured the place on her $40 a Day show). PLSF has been selling and serving up seafood on the docks since 1963 and their motto is "the freshest thing in town". Lots of deep fried and fresh fish choices as well as salads and sushi or take home a fresh catch for dinner. My only suggestion is they start a number system, because after finding parking then you have to elbow your way to the counter to place your order - it can be a madhouse in there sometimes!

Night Synagogue

This church is located in Heritage Park, Old Town.

I love night photography, although I rarely (these days) get to play with it. I love the way the colors shift, and everything starts looking like it's part of a different dimension...

Beer

This is a photo I took in the Gaslamp Quarter. Why does man get credit for inventing beer - after all, back then, wasn't "women's work" in the kitchen?! No matter who invented beer, thousands of years later it is still a good thing. I asked this question before, but maybe your answer has changed since then...What is your favorite beer?

Missing Eyes

I learn something new about this city almost every day. I was looking for information about the tall blue Icon Condos building seen in the photo above and found out that it began as a dairy factory. Later it was used for a plumber's warehouse and then converted to an artist community/loft apartments called the ReinCarnation Project. During the days of the Reincarnation Project, a mural called "The Eyes of Picasso" was painted on the building and was a symbol of the arts community in the East Village. As the area began changing with Petco Park's development, the building was sold to make way for these condos and the eyes were painted over. Do you remember the Eyes?

Tower 2

In the warmer summer months my book group meets at the beach for a bonfire. We try to get the fire pit next to Tower 2 because it is the closest to the parking lot, bathrooms, and main lifeguard tower in Ocean Beach. This month, some of us (not me...I'm usually a book or two behind the group) read Julia's Chocolates. What are you reading?

Plaza del Pasado

I think one of the most pleasant areas in Old Town to stroll is the Plaza del Pasado. The area is a small square surrounded by shops and restaurants. The Plaza occupies the space that was once the Bazaar del Mundo. When this changeover took place many people were sad by the change, but luckily the plaza hasn't changed too much and the Bazaar is still in business right down the street.

Humphrey's

We've got tiki!!! This is Humphrey's - a hotel, restaurant, and concert venue on Shelter Island. The Shelter Island area is kind of a "tiki district" because there are quite a few buildings in the area in this architectural style. Other places to get tiki in San Diego - the Bali Hai restaurant, Mr Tiki Mai Tai Lounge, Trader Mort's Liquor Store, Tiki House bar, Spa Tiki and in my neighborhood. Places to shop to create your own tropical paradise: Tiki Land, Bamboo 2 U & Tiki Too, and Culbertson Imports Tropical Tiki.

Bento

The Price Center food court at UCSD is in the process of a huge expansion where several new restaurants will be added to the dining options. Students were really happy when Shogun of La Jolla opened in 2004 and the lines there continue to be long at lunch time. Decent Japanese food, but probably a little pricey for students. Here is Bento C for $8.95 - California roll & nigiri sushi, wontons, katsu chicken with rice, salad, & miso soup.

Leaves of Grape

One of the great things about San Diego is how you can grow just about anything successfully. For example, here's a shot of a grape vine in the early morning.

UCSD

The University of California San Diego was established in 1960 and there are currently about 26,000 students. The above photo was taken from the 5th floor of Geisel Library (photo to the left and more here), and is looking toward Warren College and the Jacobs School of Engineering.

USD

The University of San Diego is a private Catholic university which was first established as a women's college in 1949. Today it is co-ed and has about 5000 students. This photo shows the Immaculata Parish Church in the heart of the campus.

SDSU

San Diego State University was recently named the #1 small research university in the US. They've come a long way since being listed as one of the top party schools. This is a photo of the student center that I took when school was out for the summer - now that classes have started, I never would have found a parking place! Here is another photo from last summer.
PS: SDSU is the oldest of the 3 university campuses in San Diego, established in 1897. There are currently about 34,500 students.

College mini tour

Since the start of school is probably on the minds of a lot of people these days, I thought I'd give you a mini tour of San Diego's three major universities. Before I show you some photos of the campuses, I thought I'd bridge into it by showing you this cool newer foot bridge near San Diego State.

Duckling Xing

Now that the Daily Photo theme day of street signs/lights has passed, I'm starting to find all kinds of things that fit the theme....
Posting a 15mph sign alone probably wouldn't get people to slow down, but I bet showing those little ducklings keeps people from speeding around on Shelter Island.

The Huddle

I've never huddled at The Huddle, but it looks like a good place for having breakfast and coming up with your afternoon plan. They open early, like 5:30 in the morning Monday-Saturday. Their motto is "Where Good Friends Meet"- See you there!

Tasty Vittles

I love gorillas. 'nuff said. :)

This photo was taken at the Wild Animal Park, San Diego.

At ye Indian statue on 5th

I've always liked seeing a little pig or cow hanging over the butcher shops in France. But when I saw this statue, I wondered what is the connection between Indians and cigars? I guess the link started over the introduction of tobacco to Europeans and the peace pipe. Statues like this Indian were commonly used in the 1800's when illiteracy was high and before streets were numbered. Shopkeepers would use a statue or a trade sign to advertise their location. Some other symbols that were common were a barber pole for a barber shop, a key for a locksmith, or glasses to indicate an optician. Have you seen an interesting or fun trade sign in your city?

Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding

Sittin' in the mornin' sun
I'll be sittin' when the evenin' come
Watching the ships roll in
And then I watch 'em roll away again, yeah

I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time...

You know the whistle part...

Okay, no one is sitting on the dock here because it is too darn hot! This dock is at the end of Shelter Island's Yacht Basin close to where San Diego Bay meets the Pacific Ocean. Click here to see a map of the Bay.

Yokohama Friendship Bell

At one end of Shelter Island you can see the Yokohama Friendship Bell. The bell was presented by the people of Yokohama, Japan in 1958 as part of the celebration formalizing Yokohama and San Diego as sister cities. There is an annual bell ringing every New Year's Eve hosted by the Buddhist Temple of San Diego. I kind of remember a long time ago you used to be able to jump the moat and ring the bell, but now it is gated all around and a sign says "please keep off". Have you ever rung this bell?

Humidity

It has been hot and humid here this weekend - from 80-100 F and 60% or more humidity - that is a lot of moisture for us. Here's a photo from my backyard a few nights ago. I was trying to catch some lightening but just caught these clouds.

Talmadge Gates - Theme Day street lights/street signs

Talmadge Gates, originally uploaded by Digitalexx.

Talmadge, a small community near San Diego State University, has gates on the sidewalks of the streets. If you say you live in Talmadge, you better be ready to hear, "do you live inside the gates?" (It raises your coolness factor by a few points if you can say 'yes.')

Talmadge was named after the wife of Joseph Schenck, (then President of United Artists), Norma Talmadge, and her sisters, Constance and Natalie. The three sisters were noted silent film stars. On January 3, 1926, the sisters hosted a dedication ceremony in Talmadge. More than 10,000 San Diego residents as well as famous actors Buster Keaton and William S. Hart were in attendance. The community was advertised as a self-sufficient community, a place from which "residents could send their children to school from Kindergarten through college and not have to move."

The Talmadge area was called by the San Diego Union newspaper on July 28, 1928, "the city's most attractive close-in residential tract." I don't know if it's still the *most* attractive, but it really is darn pretty there! More Talmadge info here.

See more street lights and signs around the world:

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