A Walk in the Park

Since I can't ride a bicycle for the time being we decided a casual stroll in Balboa Park would be in order.  Gotta tell ya, not being able to ride the bike really sucks.  Anyway...

Cabrillo Tower, one of the many landmarks of Balboa Park.  You can also see it as you fly into San Diego.

Today is a beautiful Saturday.  Now that summer is officially underway there were a lot of folks at the park.  Parking was a bear.  Wouldn't have that problem if I could just ride the bike....

I moved to San Diego from Canada in 1957.  I essentially grew up in San Diego.  I've been to Balboa Park literally hundreds if not thousands of times.  It also is on my normal commuting route.  I've been through it so many times it's as if I no longer see it.  Today, confined to my own 2 feet rather than riding they bicycle, I had an opportunity to see it through new eyes.  Nice lil' joint if I do say so...

Check out the crazy columnades along the Prado!

Hi-speed rail just hasn't turned out to be what we thought it would be here in sunny California...

Lawn bowlers.  What exactly are they doing?  Never could figure it out.

Rennaisance Fair or Trappist monks?  I'll let you decide.  By the way, I call this photograhic work "Old Costumes, New Port-a-Potties."

Facade to the Museum of Man.  Check out the statues at the middle level... they shall be remembered for the rest of history as wearing those silly outfits.

Spanish Village is a place where local artists/craftsmen keep their shops and display their wares.  When I was a kid I announced to my parents, "One day I'm going to live at Spanish Villge!"

Museum of Natural History

The Museum of Natural History pretty much looks the same as when I was kid.  When I was about 11 ('63 or '64) our class took a field trip here.  We were permitted below in the basement where a curator gave a presentation about local minerals (read "rocks") and how the natives used them to make arrowheads.  Unfortunately, more than a few of these arrowheads were flintstone.  Every time the curator said, "Now, these flintstones..."  we'd stifle a giggle, although a few escaped.

After the third or fourth time our teacher suddenly yelled, "The next kid who laughs is going to spend the rest of this field trip sitting on the bus!"  Mr. Zelke was not known for his sense of humor.

As I'm sure you're aware, at that time The Flintstones was a very popular cartoon show.

Looking south from the Laurel Street Bridge toward downtown.

Did you know the Laurel Street Bridge is hollow?  Apparently it is.  A while back a lower section caught fire and the news showed a couple guys who lived there (they of course got kicked out).  It wasn't a luxury apartment, but I was surprised how they'd fixed things up... they even had a closet with hangers and clothes in the closet!  All on the taxpayers' dime.  But you have to sorta admire the resourcefulness of these fellows.  Until of course they tried cooking a gormet dinner and caught the bridge on fire.

C'est la vie.