Little Italy - Street art

Tecolote Canyon:

The work on the drainage in Tecolote Canyon continues.

The Nature Center is a interesting stop to learn the history of the canyon and the critters that call it home.

Native Americans have lived in the canyon for several centuries.

recreating native wear

Wildlife has thrived in the canyon

The drainage for the center section of the canyon was completed a couple years ago, now the city is preparing to replace the drainage in the lower section.  The drain lines are tagged and will be dug up and replaced.

Many of the native plants will be retained, but the non-native plants will not.

Unfortunately Coyote Gourds are native.

Fran and I used to use this little foot bridge to enter the canyon.  But now we typically enter at the Nature Center.

Imperial Beach Bike Ride:

The San Diego City Library did not have a copy of the movie  “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare”, but the County Library did.

I requested it be sent to Imperial Beach for me to pick it up there.  The book and DVD are based on events of 1942, so deeply classified that it wasn’t made public until 2016.  And the British Spy master Ian Fleming is involved!, the events are said to inspire his James Bond.

The movie takes a bit of romantic license, but is fun.

Normally Fran and I would ride from Pepper Park, but the Padres were in the Playoffs and the sandcastle artist at Hotel del Coronado had a fun tribute on display.  My plan was to park just past the South Bay Salt Works and ride the Silver Strand.

Picture from the web

I took a break at the Entrance to Coronado Cays, a bit less than halfway and noticed a soft rear tire and a faint hissing sound.  I turned around at their entrance.

I didn’t make it far before the ride turned into a walk.

And a long walk back to the Salt Works, waaaay over there!

I figured just over two miles mostly on the bike path.  With a few sections on a well maintained trail.

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The evaporation ponds used to collect salt.

And my ugly old truck with its new KO tires never looked so good!

But my bike tire does not look so good!

Sera Mesa Block Party;

There was only one truck at the car show this year.

With a rebuilt inline 6 cylinder engine.

No  judges this year, the attendees voted.  Despite the fancy and classic cars in the show, the truck won the Peoples Choice Award!  I won’t mention how many times I voted :)

Again this year Love is a Rose is on the main stage.  The first time I heard them I walked out.  They named themselves after my favorite Linda Ronstadt song and butchered it! (IMHO)

So much better now!

Little Italy Bella Vita;

We’ve enjoyed the Little Italy Art Festival in the past.  But a bit different is their Bella Vita Fest where the street is the canvas and the artists all use chalk to create some really inspiring artwork.  Fran and I took the trolley the few stops to Little Italy.

I’ll let a few of their creations speak for themselves.  Enjoy!

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Next week is Day of the Dead!  So much fun!

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Sun and Sea Festivl - some weekend fun

In mid-August Imperial Beach hosts the Sun and Sea Festival at the foot of the Imperial Beach Pier.  We still have fog every night into late morning and this Fogust Saturday morning we loaded up the bicycles for a ride to/around Imperial Beach.

Sun and Sea Festival
Welcome San Castle

This is the first time the festival was not accompanied by a sand castle building event on the beach.  The beach and ocean remain too contaminated to guarantee the health of the builders.

However the the music was nonstop.

The numerous booths offered various art and collectables.

But the booth that interested us most was the Sea Shepard.  We toured Farley Mowat, one of the Sea Shepard cutters, when it was in San Diego.  That blog can be found HERE.

And again when the cutter was in San Felipe … HERE.

San Felipe, Baja MX.

The efforts of the Sea Shepard remain to preserve the wildlife of the oceans including the beloved Vaquita Porpoise in the Gulf of Mexico.  Now numbering less than a dozen. :(

The welcoming sand castle continues to take shape throughout the day.

In years ago there were food trucks at the festival  But for the past couple years the food trucks have been moved to the Farmers Market at the library a mile away.

We’re not ready to leave, so a walk to the Tin Fish at the end of the pier for lunch.

Walking the pier is fun.  I enjoy the humor of the one-liners along the way.

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You get the idea, there are over a dozen of these!

Sunday we enjoyed an afternoon picnic on the grass at De Anza Cove.  The event was to welcome long time friends Mike and Gail back for a visit. 

They retired and sold their PB home to retire in Delaware.  That’s definitely on the other coast!

We were busy visiting, and with the strong sun/shade contrasts not many pictures were taken.

I took a little time to visit the National City Depot.  This depot was the Santa Fe west coast headquarters from 1885 until 1889.

It continued to serve passenger needs and support of the electric trolleys after Santa Fe moved their headquarters.  This is a restored electric trolley that serviced the Panama-California Exposition of 1915

Another trolley served to move workers to/from the South Bay Salt Works

Returning home I stopped for lunch at El Indio

No fish taco this time!  Instead I wanted a beef tostada!

Now that Aj has returned from Spain we see a bit more of her.  She continues to work nearby in Mission Valley and rather than commute from San Marcos she stays here during the work week.  And we are very happy to have her!

Imperial Beach

We have been picking up our library books at the Pacific Beach location, as our local library is still Covid-closed.  But sometimes I’ll find something at the San Diego County Library that is not available within the San Diego City Library system.

Yesterday the Imperial Beach County Library informed me my hold on “La Leyenda” (The Legend) was available.  [It’s a collection of some of Selena’s best known work].

With the bike loaded up, I drove to Pepper Park in Chula Vista to begin my ride along the Bayshore Bikeway to Imperial Beach

Pepper Park is a quiet setting across the Sweetwater River from the Discovery Center at Gunpowder Point.

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The park has a few pieces of whimsical art.

The Chula Vista Bayfront Project is ongoing, but the results are quite good.

As I enter the bikeway I notice the old RR bridge has begun it’s inevitable fall into the estuary.

Before the Bikeway was completed I rode across those old train tracks into Imperial Beach.  I sure would not do that now!

The Bayshore Bikeway is well marked and at times returns to a designated street.

I took the detour along Marina Parkway and watched these animated arrows following the wind.  A mesmerizing and silent art work.

And the myrtle trees were spectacular against the blue sky, a nice detour.

There is a noticeable wind and the paddle boarders are enjoying the shelter of the harbor.  But they are sitting on their Standup Paddle Boards, too windy to stand.

The tide is out and the sea gulls without much shelter, huddle in the sand and hunker down against the wind.

Fran and I rode this section of the Bikeway when it was first completed.  We mentioned that the Spray Can Artists will love these large gray concrete canvases.  Apparently the city thought the same, and offered local artists a chance to display their work.

it’s not Chicano Park, but it is a welcome addition to the Bikeway.

the bike route goes past the South Bay Salt Works.  They take advantage of the tides to create evaporative ponds to remove the water from the saltwater, leaving pure sea salt.

An evaporative pond slowly releasing its water and leaving its salt.

I picked up my album at the County Library on 8th Street, just 8 blocks from the beach.  I then rode down to Seacoast Drive to check out the birdwatching at the Tijuana Estuary.

At the entrance there is an observation spot with FREE spotting scopes.

At the end of Seacoast Drive the ocean provides a hypnotic rhythm.

It's a great place to sit with your best friend and enjoy the sounds of the surf..

Alas no birds today, but always a nice day just the same.

Imperial Beach bills itself as ~“Classic SoCal, an authentic seaside community and the most southwesterly city in the continental U.S.”

It certainly is a vibrant place to visit, even just for a trip to the library.  😎