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Add some color to your cheeks
PICTURE OF THE MOMENT
According to those in the know (not necessarily me!), San Diego has one of the world’s best Naturist beaches. Naturist doesn’t mean there are wildlife here, there, and everywhere. It means that people like to play on the beach and in the water without any clothes on. None whatsoever. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Naked as a jaybird. Naked as the day they were born.
The funny thing is that the beach, Blacks Beach, is located in La Jolla, an upscale community of the overly wealthy. Blacks Beach is an asset (so to speak) that they don’t advertise. So I was a little surprised (a little? Ha!) last week when I was walking along the main drag (Girard Avenue) and saw this interesting T-shirt in a store window:
To even find in La Jolla such a low-class item as a T-shirt is a little unusual in and of itself, but to find that one, I suspect, makes the La Jolla Natives a little uneasy.
Many years ago some La Jolla Natives started a petition to try to make it illegal for anyone to sit on a bench more than 30 minutes or something like that. They thought that would help solve their homeless problem — by forcing the homeless out of La Jolla, most of us thought. Alas, the extraordinarily bad publicity caused clearer minds to prevail and the petition failed.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County? I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor with Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re just looking for a home inspector,
I can highly recommend Russel Ray; that’s me!
Your request is my command (or, This one’s for you, Todd!)
Did you know that I take requests?
Having just turned the picture odometer over to 73,000 yesterday while taking butterfly pictures at the Butterfly Jungle at the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park, it’s difficult for me to stay focused on any one thing, which is why I don’t do those weekly photography challenges. I couldn’t stay focused that long!
Todd Materazzi (great Scrabble name!) of Todd Materazzi Photography made me feel great when he commented, “I am always amazed at what you are going to blog next!”. He also asked for some pictures of light tunnels. I’m not really sure I know what a light tunnel is, but following is the only light tunnel picture I have using my definition of light tunnel. This one’s for you, Todd!
That picture was taken from inside the cave at La Jolla Cove in La Jolla, California, an enclave of the overly wealthy here in San Diego.
This post approved by
The Geisel Library at the University of California San Diego
Today happens to be the birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, more famously known simply as Dr. Seuss. In honor of Dr. Seuss, today is also National Read Across America Day, a reading initiative created by the National Education Association. Although Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904, he died right here in La Jolla in 1991.
All pictures copyright 2012 Russel Ray Photos
Geisel and his wife, Helen, moved to La Jolla shortly after World War II, and it was from La Jolla that he wrote his most popular works:
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If I Ran the Zoo (1950)
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Horton Hears a Who! (1955)
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If I Ran the Circus (1956)
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The Cat in the Hat (1957)
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How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957)
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Green Eggs and Ham (1960)
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One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (1960)
Sadly, Geisel’s first wife, Helen, committed suicide on October 23, 1967, over her husband’s affair with Audrey Stone Dimond, whom he married on June 21, 1968. Geisel had no children with either of his two wives, but he and Audrey spent almost a quarter of a century contributing to literacy nationwide, as well as the programs of the library at the University of California San Diego.
Geisel died of throat cancer on September 24, 1991, and on December 1, 1995, the University of California San Diego renamed the University Library Building to the Geisel Library in honor of Audrey and Theodor Seuss Geisel. It ranks as one of the most unique buildings in San Diego. Here are some pictures that I took on March 2, 2011:
All pictures copyright 2012 Russel Ray Photos
The library has thirteen floors of which only 12 are usable. Eight floors are in the skyscraper, two are underground, and there is no third floor if you’re in the elevator. The third floor is simply an emergency exit that allows people in the skyscraper to evacuate without having to go down through the subterranean floors.
Since it is a skyscraper, one would not think to go down in order to go up:
All pictures copyright 2012 Russel Ray Photos
Parts of the library are actually underground. I didn’t realize it until I was leaving the library, but this part that I was walking on is the roof of part of the library:
All pictures copyright 2012 Russel Ray Photos
The crooked wall you see at the right in the picture above looks like this:
All pictures copyright 2012 Russel Ray Photos
Interestingly, there was a Dr. Hans Seuss who also lived in La Jolla at the same time. Dr. Hans Seuss was an internationally renowned chemist and nuclear physicist, and a founding faculty member of the University of California San Diego in 1958. The United States Postal Service confused Dr. Hans Seuss and Theodor Seuss Geisel, regularly delivering to Dr. Hans Seuss mail that was addressed to Geisel’s Dr. Seuss.
The Dr. Seuss Collection, housed in the Geisel Library, is the world’s largest repository of Geisel’s original drawings, sketches, and manuscripts. Dr. Hans Seuss’s private collection is also housed in the Geisel Library, forever linking the two Seusses.
All pictures copyright 2012 Russel Ray Photos
This post is dedicated to Kathy Streib, a home stager and owner of Room Service Home Staging in Delray Beach, Florida. I have known Kathy for a couple of years through a real estate professional networking site. I highly recommend her for anyone needing home staging, decorating, or interior design services in Delray Beach, Florida. Kathy is also available online with her e-staging service.
All pictures copyright 2012 Russel Ray Photos
All pictures taken by Russel Ray using a Canon 550D camera and a 70-300mm Tamron lens.
Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography celebrates 20 years
#1: Birch Aquarium
at Scripps Institution of Oceanography
celebrates 20 years
The Birch Aquarium is now celebrating 20 years in its current location (it’s actually 109 years old) by offering 50% discounts on admissions on the twentieth of each month through September 2012. (Seems like it should have been a 20% discount….). It is located on Expedition Way in La Jolla with spectacular views of La Jolla and the Pacific Ocean.
The Aquarium is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and occupies just over 64,000 square feet. Its display tanks contain 175,000 of water with over 5,000 animals representing 380 species.
Featured exhibits include:
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a 70,000-gallon kelp forest tank
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a 13,000-gallon shark tank
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Tide Pool Plaza where you can touch starfish and sea cucumbers
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Coral Reef featuring the nautilus and lionfish
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Over a dozen different species of seahorses (Birch Aquarium is a world leader in seahorse breeding)
Birch Aquarium is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Regular admission is $14 for adults, $10 for seniors,
$9.50 for children ages 3 to 17, and children under age 3 are free.
There are various other discounts available so be sure to check the Birch Aquarium web site.
