Category Archives: Photos
Might be the biggest ever!
I graduated from Texas A&M University which has a Corps of Cadets with about 2,400 members. During my four years there, and even unto this day probably, it’s not unusual to see students marching in fatigues with huge backpacks full of everything that a military person would need when out in a war zone.
However, I think the guy I saw on the campus of San Diego State University today wins the award for the biggest backpack ever:
Notice that he is carrying a military-type helmet so he’s probably in the ROTC at San Diego State. Maybe the fact that we were in a heat wave yesterday (98°) and today (96°) explains why he’s dressed a little more casually than the average ROTC student.
P.S. Temperatures should be back to normal tomorrow, i.e., high of 75°.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
Friday Flower Fiesta — Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden
Located at 2525 Park Boulevard, the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden in Balboa Park is an All America Rose Selection Display Garden with over 2,500 roses representing 200 varieties on three acres.
Park your car in the southeast corner or the far east row of the San Diego Zoo parking lot. Those areas are well away from the Zoo entrance and are often available. Walk across the street and south towards the rose garden. The first thing you’ll see is a beautiful tree dressed all in pink.
Roses bloom from March through December, but April and May are the best months with roses at their peak beauty. Let me know which rose (or rose picture) you like best.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I can recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
It’s just harmless li’l ol’ me….
Along with being a Realtor, Jim is also a staff accompanist in the Music Department at San Diego State University. Since parking is scarce on and around campus, and we live just a mile from it, I often drop Jim off on campus and pick him up later. Today when I went to pick him up, I got there early and parked in the loading zone like everyone else. I should also say that I am never without my camera.
So here I am parked in the loading zone and across from me is a school bus dropping off what appeared to be K-12 students. The school bus was labeled “First Student”:
I kept looking for Malia or Natasha, perhaps the President and First Lady, or maybe even just the First Teacher. Alas, nothing but students.
After all the students had departed the bus, I took the picture above. As I put my camera back on the seat, I noticed a man in a tie watching me, probably SDSU staff or teacher. As soon as he saw me see him, he rushed back into the building. Just minutes later, a police car pulled up behind me. The officer got out, walked to my car, and asked me what I was doing. I said I was there to pick up a guy who got out at 2:30 (it was then 2:40) and that he should be along shortly.
Officer asked me about the big camera sitting on the seat. I explained that I was a photographer and was never without my camera.
Officer then asked me if I had been taking pictures of the children getting off the school bus. I said no but that I did take a picture of the rear of the school bus, the part that said “First Student,” once all the children were off.
He asked to see the pictures on my camera. No problem, especially since there was only one.
Officer seemed satisfied and went into the building where the man had gone earlier.
I have no problem interacting with officers or other members of the public since (generally!) I don’t do anything wrong. I am happy that the man in the tie took action (I assume) since it might have been a pervert out there taking pictures of children instead of harmless li’l ol’ me.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
San Diego Historical Landmarks — #1: El Prado area designation, part 5
For the introductory blog post to San Diego’s historical landmarks, click on San Diego’s Historical Landmarks.
#1: El Prado Area Designation, part 1
#1: El Prado Area Designation, part 2
#1: El Prado Area Designation, part 3
#1: El Prado Area Designation, part 4
Behind the California Tower and the Museum of Man is the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center:
Conrad Prebys is one of the top two philanthropists living in San Diego today, the other being Irwin Jacobs, a co-founder of Qualcomm and the current Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Salk Institute.
Other facilities that I am aware of having benefitted because of Conrad’s financial generosity are:
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Conrad Prebys Polar Bear Plunge at the San Diego Zoo
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Conrad Prebys Elephant Care Center at the San Diego Zoo
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Conrad Prebys Australia Outback at the San Diego Zoo (opening May 24)
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Africa Rocks! at the San Diego Zoo (renovation to be completed in 2016)
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Conrad Prebys Music Center at the University of California San Diego
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Prebys Cardiovascular Institute at Scripps Health
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Salk Institute ($2 million for an Endowed Professorship in Vision Research)
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San Diego Opera ($1 million).
The Chronicle of Philanthropy lists Conrad Prebys at #24 in its Philanthropy 50 list. We are fortunate to have such a philanthropist with a wide variety of interests living amongst us.
The Conrad Prebys Theatre Center in Balboa Park comprises the Simon Edison Centre for the Performing Arts, itself comprising three theatres: Old Globe (600 seats), Lowell Davies Festival Theatre (615 seat outdoor theatre), and the Sheryl & Harvey White Theatre (250 seat theatre in the round).
The Old Globe was built in 1935 for the California Pacific International Exposition, San Diego’s second World’s Fair, and presented Shakespeare plays on a daily basis during the Exposition run. It is a copy of Shakespeare’s Old Globe in London, England. The Old Globe was destroyed by an arson fire in March 1978, rebuilt and reopened in 1981. Another arson fire destroyed the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre in 1984.
The Old Globe was led by Craig Noel for more than sixty years, fostering the careers of many people, but a couple of people you definitely should know: Marion Ross and Kelsey Grammer.
The Old Globe has been home to some of the most acclaimed artists, designers, directors, and playwrights in the Theatre industry. More than twenty productions produced at The Old Globe have gone on to play on Broadway and off-Broadway, such as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (nominated for 11 Tony Awards in 2005), and The Full Monty (10 Tony Award nominations for its successful Broadway run in 2000). The Old Globe’s annual production of Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! should not be missed, especially if you have children.
The Old Globe is one of San Diego’s largest arts institutions, its leading arts employer, and among the nation’s top-ranked regional theatres. More than 250,000 people annually attend Globe productions and participate in the theater’s education programs and outreach services.
I have had the privilege of performing on stage at the Old Globe while a member of the Gay Men’s Chorus of San Diego. I sang there three times.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
Developed by Monsanto?
I developed most of my gardening skills courtesy of my wise old grandmother. Our home in Kingsville, Texas, had about an acre of land surrounding it, and the land was full of flowers, trees, and grass. Here’s what the house looked like a few months ago courtesy of Google Street View:
The two oaks in front of the house were planted by the one and only me in 1970 after Hurricane Celia destroyed all the trees in our yard. Apparently all of the flowers, bushes, and shrubs are gone. She had mostly oleanders, poinsettias, crowns of thorns, snapdragons, pansies, and petunias.
All around the back patio, though, she had strawberry plants. I used to love picking strawberries (and eating them) as they ripened. Every time I buy strawberries at the store, I think back to the days of my youth when I would pick strawberries off of our own little strawberry plants. The strawberries of 40 years ago were small, certainly nothing like the strawberries we get here in San Diego from Oxnard and Watsonville (California). The strawberries I bought today look like this:
These strawberries come from Oxnard. I bought them at a Walmart Superstore, four pounds for just $5.98. The smallest one is about the size of a lime, and the largest is about the size of a lemon. And they are sweet! Sweet, sweet, sweet! A little chocoloate syrup, or some vanilla ice cream, and it’s heaven on earth!
I’m wondering, though, if these strawberries were developed by Monsanto……lol
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
God is having a bit of a financial crisis
Recently I discovered that God is having a bit of a financial crisis and needs to sell some of her real estate.
About a mile from me:
I don’t know what happened to the Rolando United Methodist Church, whether they moved or whether their budget looked like the federal government’s with too much red ink.
Maybe they closed up shop because they could not compete with the two churches directly across the street:
Their last tweet on Twitter was May 24, 2012, their web site is no longer active, and the United Methodist Church web site does not list them anymore. Yelp users also report that the church has closed. I couldn’t find anything anywhere about what happened or why.
Here are a few more pictures of the church:
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
Will YOU be next on the list?
I have always had a hard time meeting new people.
That was a contributing reason why I joined Alpha Phi Omega, a national co-ed service fraternity, while I was at Texas A&M University. Since I enjoy helping others, I could do that while basically being forced to meet others through the fraternity system.
I think the main (maybe the only) reason I like Facebook is because I can meet people without having to meet people. Then, once I’m comfortable meeting them, if I go to where they are, I will try to look them up.
Blogging is the same thing. People find my blog, I find theirs, we become Internet friends, and maybe somewhere down the road we’ll meet, either at their place or mine.
Yesterday, Barb (Life in the Foothills) and her husband (Paul), came to San Diego after their Carnival cruise had docked in Long Beach. Long Beach is about 110 miles from me, so they certainly didn’t have to go out of their way to come down here instead of going directly back home to life in the foothills. I don’t know whether or not they came here specifically to see me, but they sure made me feel like they did.
Jim and I took them to the San Diego Zoo, where we spent 4½ hours traipsing around watching the animals and, of course, taking pictures:
After we wore ourselves out at the Zoo, we had drinks and food at On The Border.
Barb makes the fourth WordPress blogger that I have met in actual reality since I started using the WordPress platform on January 7, 2012. Here is my complete list now:
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Rommel (The Sophomore Slump) — Rommel and I went to the USS Midway Museum on May 27, 2012. See his pictures and my pictures.
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Bashar A. (2 Rivers Photos) — Bashar, Jim, and I went to the La Jolla Cove on October 17, 2012, to take pictures of a negative tide and a beautiful sunset. See his pictures and my pictures.
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Marsha Lee (Marsha Lee) — Marsha came down with some long-time friends of hers on January 5, 2013, just to spend some time in San Diego. She and her friends introduced Jim and me to a new restaurant here in San Diego. See her pictures and my pictures.
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Barb (Life in the Foothills) — Barb and Paul were on a cruise that originated in Long Beach. After their cruise, they came down to San Diego to visit Jim and me. They just got home today so keep an eye on her blog for pictures of their cruise and trip to the San Diego Zoo. I’m still cataloging the 380 pictures I took, so stay tuned here, too, and I’ll have some pictures this week.
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Will YOU be next on this list?
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
Joey needs a name…. Wait! What?
A blogging friend and her husband came to town yesterday so Jim and I took them to the San Diego Zoo.
One of the little fellas that we saw was a baby Koala (remember that Koalas are not bears, so don’t go saying “Koala Bear.” They are marsupials.)
Turns out that baby Koalas are called joeys, and the San Diego Zoo is asking for help in naming this little joey.
In the picture below, you can see mommy teaching her little one that the reason why koalas exist is to sleep, up to twenty hours each day.
By the way, the San Diego Zoo has the largest colony of koalas outside of Australia. Unfortunately, there are only four currently on exhibit because their old exhibit was torn down and rebuilt into a huge Australian Outback. The new exhibit, which opens May 24 (I’ll be there!) is probably a good twenty times larger than the old exhibit which I heard had been there since sometime around 1935. So it was time for a little home remodeling!
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
Time to study
With the weather warming up lately, people are traipsing to the beaches like there’s no tomorrow.
One of San Diego’s most unique beaches is Blacks Beach.
It’s unique because it is one of the world’s most beautiful and well used naturist beaches.
It’s unique because the backdrop to the beach is 300-foot sandstone cliffs.
It’s unique because it is directly below the Torrey Pines Golf Course, a municipal golf course where Tiger Woods won the 2008 U.S. Open over Rocco Mediate on the first hole of a sudden death playoff.
It’s unique because it’s directly in the flight path for military aircraft taking off from the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
It’s unique because flying directly above the beach are the parasailers from Torrey Pines Glider Port.
It’s unique because it’s directly below the University of California at San Diego. With 29,000 students, it’s always possible to find some studying and enjoying the sun, water, and breezes.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
No pumps, tutus, or feather boas
A couple of days ago I trekked about six miles deep into the heart of the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge.
I was so deep in the wilderness that there weren’t any trails; I was making my own!
I was absolutely certain that I was going where no one had gone before.
Until I came upon this:
Those two lumps at the right are two backpacks. There were two complete sets of clothes — shoes, socks, underwear, pants, shirt. I did not spend a lot of time trying to identify genders that might be associated with the clothes since women will often wear mens-type clothing when going hiking. No pumps, tutus, or feather boas.
I looked around, saw no visual evidence that mankind was anywhere close by, and wondered.
Maybe they had a fresh set of clothes in the backpacks, knowing that by the time they got to wherever they were going, they would be all hot and sweaty and would not want to hike back out all smelly and everything. But why not pack all your smelly clothes out and simply wash them? Maybe they were taken by aliens.
Feel free to leave your own guesses.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
