Pink in the Sky

I try to sneak out in the morning, before anyone else is up to walk the dog just as the sun is coming up. Heading out in the chilled morning air is so refreshing and invigorating. On my way home, the sun has come up, and with a weird mixture of sadness & happiness, I feel the suns' warmth on one cheek, the nights' chill still on the other. Sad that the crisp-ness is falling out of the air, and happiness that another day is upon me.

This is a popular tree in my neighborhood - it's easy to see why. These flowers are long-lasting and lovely against both the green leaves and blue sky. I have *no* idea what it's called, though! Anyone else out there know?

View of the Pacific

Of course we didn't get a parking space right in front of the sea hare's home, so we had to park a little further and hike a cross this cliff to get down to the tide pools. This breath taking view of the cliffs and the Pacific Ocean was worth the extra walk.

Sea hare

While we were tide pooling, we were so excited to see a real squishy creature among the many sea anemones stuck to the rocks. A young lady pulled this sea hare right from the water to show us. We saw another one in the water that was about four times this size. Winter brings some of the lowest tides and the best opportunity for seeing these sea creatures up close. Click here to check local tide predictions.

Tide pooling

On the other side of the Point Loma peninsula where Cabrillo National Monument is located is the Pacific Ocean. I went there a week ago and there were hundreds of people trying to catch a glimpse of the stranded sea creatures in the tide pools. See those lumps of green seaweed? Normally that area would be underwater and when the tide goes out for a few hours that is our chance to see sea life up close. Tomorrow I'll show you the most exciting creature we saw.

The view

It happened to be a fabulously clear and beautiful day when I visited Cabrillo National Monument. This is the area where boats have passage into San Diego Bay. The land behind the passage is the Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, beyond that is downtown, and beyond that are mountain ranges to the east of the city. It was so clear that I could also see the mountains in Mexico (not shown in the photo). Here are some more photos of the monument and park that I posted previously.

N-Stuff

You don't have to wait for Comic-Con to get your fix! I don't read comics much but the Yoda at this Comics-N-Stuff on El Cajon Blvd certainly caught my eye. I'm so unknowlegable about comics I don't even know who the red guy is, anyone know? Click here for a nice round up of comic stores in San Diego.

Ruby's

Ruby's is a Southern California chain restaurant with 1940's diner decor. The waitresses at Ruby's wear uniforms just like this rotating statuette minus the stillettos. Ruby's won't be among the restuarants participating in San Diego Restaurant Week (several restaurants offer a 3-course fixed price meal for either $30 or $40) starting this Sunday because you could feed 4 people at Ruby's for $30-$40!

Humane Society & SPCA

Overlooked by USD (University of San Diego), the Humane Society & SPCA teamed up and built a really beautiful complex that includes a pet products store, classes, and even an outdoor coffee shop. Pets are welcomed and are, in fact, encouraged. The idea is to give owners opportunities to socialize their four legged companions, which will hopefully in turn, reduce the number of pets relinquished to them.

This whimsical sculpture sits in the middle of the complex, inviting visitors to come, relax & "hang out". Click for more info on the Humane Society & SPCA.

Model trains

Do you recognize these buildings? These models are part of the several mini cityscapes at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. Where are the trains you say? Well, you'll have to visit the largest indoor model railroad display in the world to see them zipping along the tracks. At one time, the surroundings of the above Western Metal Supply Company building possibly looked more like this photo, but today it is incorporated into Petco Park our baseball stadium.
Above is a very nice model replica of the Santa Fe Depot train station. Here are a few photos of the actual station: outside & inside.

Teatro Balboa

Fabulous news & photos from Expat: That was the original name of this 1200-seat downtown theater, built in 1924 and re-opened this month after a $26.5 million-dollar makeover lasting five years. We went to one of the free performances designed to re-introduce we San Diegans to this fake-Moorish gem, and were suitably impressed with the interior décor and the acoustics. We've never taken an interest in the annual 'Mainly Mozart' festival but now, with that festival now transferring to the Balboa, we just might. More info at http://www.sdbalboa.org and this URL is informative too.

Dream

Today is the Martin Luther King, Jr holiday. San Diegans can remember the leader everyday as they walk down the Martin Luther King, Jr Promenade along Harbor Drive. This sculpture on the promenade is called "Tribute to Martin Luther King" by Roberto Salas and consists of 5 bronze hands spelling out the word "dream" in American Sign Language.

The Q

I wouldn't be a good San Diego blogger if I didn't mention our football team the Chargers once in a while. :-) But sadly, today they lost their playoff game to go to the Super Bowl. Now, what will become of Qualcomm Stadium (pictured above and known as "The Q" and formerly known as Jack Murphy Stadium)? What's your opinion?

Gator

This smiling gator is a favorite sculpture and kids play structure at Balboa Park called 'Niki Gator' by Niki de Saint Phalle. There are several other sculptures in San Diego by this artist that I have shown on this blog - click here for more photos.

Rolled tacos

Next to the carne asada burrito, I think that rolled tacos (flautas) are probably the most popular Mexican food restuarant menu item. The variety of fillings can vary - I've seen ground beef, shredded beef, shredded chicken, and potato. A good cheap fattening meal of 5 tacos with guacamole, lettuce, cheese and salsa for only $3.45. These are from El Cuervo Mexican Restaurant where they do fried food right (and lots of other stuff too)!

Azalea Park Signs

There's a little community near downtown San Diego called Azalea Park. The streets there are all named for plants. It's a great little community with lots of character. They've hung signs with pictures that match each street. This one above is on Manzanita St.

It's really neat to take a drive through here and see the many different signs. Among the many different images are leaves (ex. sycamore & poplar), flowers (ex. lotus & violet), a chili pepper (pepper). For more info on the community: http://www.azaleapark.org/

Surf Shack

The "one-year" ban on alcohol at all San Diego beaches took effect yesterday, so I thought this would be an apt photo as this shack at Windansea Beach has a long history of beer orgies. The shack was built by local surfers in 1946 and since then the site has been a social hub and home to many famous surfers.

House #2

This is not exactly Melrose Place, but this courtyard of low cottages in front of the Victorian facade is quite unique. Apparently, it is also great spot to catch some sun.

House #1

My uncle, who is a retired architect, recently visited us and it inspired me to look for some interesting houses and architectural spots of interest here. Last spring I showed some swanky houses near the beach in La Jolla: one, two, three and I thought I could show you some "regular" houses. Actually, the above Spanish style house in Mission Hills is more swanky (high property value) than regular.

Shelter Island fountain

At one end of Shelter Island is the Bali Hai restaurant and at the other end is this lovely fountain. It is a floating ball in water that will rotate if you decide to get your hands wet and give it a push. If you look back to the photo from Coronado I posted a few days ago, you can see the same land mass (the Point Loma peninsula) that you see in the above photo.Here's a detail from the concrete wall that sits behind the fountain. Check out this walking tour guide of Shelter Island to see a full picture of the wall.

Wheel this way

I was so impressed with this sign near Petco Park that I backtracked to take a photo. Most people just take it for granted that they can get around everywhere, but those that require a wheelchair can find curbs, stairs, or narrow entryways to be big obstacles. While looking for info about these signs, I found this handy resource on the web called Accessible San Diego, a guide for disabled travelers as well as news and a calendar of events.

Jack

Do you recognize this face? This is Jack, the fictional CEO of the fast food restaurant chain Jack in the Box. The chain started here in 1951 with its first restaurant on El Cajon Blvd. These are the things I think of most when I think about Jack in the Box: antenna balls of Jack, funny commercials, their Southwest Chicken Salad, and 2 tacos for 99 cents. (I used to have an Oakland Athletics Jack antenna ball when I lived in the Bay Area.) You can see from the little photo to the left that their menu offers a little bit of everything - burgers, fish and chips, chicken pita sandwiches, breakfast, ciabatta, egg rolls, salads, etc.

The "Real" OB

The hippie movement isn't gone, it's just hidden away in pockets of O.B., where, if you're lucky enough, you'll happen upon it now and again like we did.

Since drinking on the beach isn't legal anymore, I'll keep their secret as to where their impromptu hootenanny took place. (Although those of you who know the area may be able to guess, given the surroundings...)

Googly eyes

Would you have recognized these as octopus eyes?

This cool mosaic stands by the lifeguard tower in Pacific Beach. Among the rocks, shells, and tiles, there is a cute little ceramic dog on the upper left "tentacle".

Surfing at sunset - Electrical box #12

Yay, the sun is back today! This is another one of the many painted electrical boxes around the city. This one is off of Mission Blvd near the boardwalk. Here are the other electrical boxes shown before: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.

The Pyramid

If you are trying to find your way around Miramar Road, then you'll probably hear people give directions by this reference -"A few blocks west of", "next to", "in the same plaza as" the Pyramid, also known as the San Diego Design Center. The area is filled with stores for everything that has to do with the home: furniture and interior decor, lumber, tile, kitchen appliances, bathroom fixtures, carpet, you name it. Look for the Pyramid, you just can't miss it.

Del pool

I took this photo of the Hotel Del Coronado on a clearer sunnier day, but with the sun shining in my lens this photo turned out looking better in black and white. We'll be swimming in the rain here, the forecast is for a grey week - 100% chance of rain today and partly cloudy, partly cloudy, and more partly cloudy.

Drip

I thought this photo, which is not black and white, would tell you something about my day. It is raining here, we need to take down our Christmas lights, and the tree is outta here next week with the curbside green recycling. Click here for info on the city's Christmas tree recycling program.

Cheap eats

In this photo you might not be able to read the specials on this chalkboard menu at Baja Betty's, but the one not to be missed is the $1.00 tostadas on Tuesdays from 6-10pm. Wash it down with a margarita or a tequila (from a selection of over 100 tequilas).

Winter Geese

These geese were hanging out at Lake Murray today. They were part of a larger group, sitting a few feet from the water. We walked by quite close; the sleeping goose didn't even wake up to take notice! Not that I'm all that surprised, that beak is a good arsenal.

I'll admit I'm a little afriad of geese - they're nasty little buggers.

Psychedelic horse

Here is a wild ride from Expat and photo credit to Gayle - We were invited to a very unconventional party in the Eucalyptus Hills area (between Santee and Lakeside, roughly) last Saturday. "Unconventional" seems to be a theme around there, because on the way to our friends' house we spotted this very unconventional Christmas decoration in a front yard. Could be the result of a children's party that got slightly out of hand?

Best of 2007

On the first of every month the Daily Photo group has a theme day and this month's theme is to show our best photograph from 2007. I chose the above photo (originally posted 5/17/07) because I wanted to show you one of the great photos that Alexandra contributed this past year and also to thank her for her many contributions to this blog. Alexandra took this photo of these dolphins at Sea World checking out this oblivious dog. Thank you all for visiting and Happy New Year!
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