Our visit to South Park.

Lou, Donna and Deinna outside the "South Bark" Dog Wash.

Donna Walker, my former shipmate at Fleet Imaging Command Pacific, excellent videographer and now retired PHC, tells us about the Saturday Night Walkabout, sponsored by the South Park Business Association. The business' stay open one Saturday night a month for pedestrian traffic to cruise the neighborhood. Donna's dog washing business is doing very well, so much that there is often a waiting line.  Behind the sign, she has a very large, comfortable outdoor waiting area which doubles for those waiting in line and also the drying area for the freshly washed dogs.

Inside "South Bark" are the four large dog washing stations. Donna explaned the layout promotes comradery with the customers and easy access to their dogs in the wash tubs.

  All necessary items are at the ready: shampoo, towels and well trained assistants to help with

 your questions. Donna and her partner developed a 

"Blueberry Shampoo" that is 

patented and now being sold nationwide.

"South Bark" also offers many training events and discount coupon offers.

For pricing and washing options, check out their website.

Located at:

2037 30th Street, San Diego CA 92104

619-232-7387

woof-woof

Here are links for "South Bark" 

Web Site:  http://www.southbark.com

Map Location:  http://www.southbark.com/map.html

What started our trip to South Park was 

seeing the Christmas Tree Donna Walker posted on her FaceBook page. 

 I showed it to my wife Deinna and she said "we need to go see that."  

So, getting the directions from Donna, we set off for South Park.

If you live in San Diego and don't know where South Park is,
well, it is a friendly little neighborhood located
east of Balboa Park, West of I-15,
 and as you guessed,
it is south of North Park.

The tree is located at the corner of Grape St. and 30th St.,
and is almost directly in front of "The Big Kitchen" restaurant.

In her youth, Whoopie Goldberg lived close-by 

and actually worked at The Big Kitchen.

Covering it's wall are hundreds of pictures  - - of the famous,  

not-so-famous, and infamous people who have visited throughout the years.

There are pictures of Bob Dylan,  President Bill and Hillary Clinton, 

a life-size cutout of Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, 

lots of different San Diego personalities and the list goes on and on.

You'll just have to see for yourself!

We understand this restaurant was constructed in the early '60's, and the

wooden front counter was made even earlier than that.

There are as many nooks and crannies within the confines of the Big Kitchen

as there are nooks and crannies in an English Muffin!

So, if you're ever in the mood to reminisce, or just check out

some of the early San Diego neighborhoods,

make sure you put South Park at the top of your list.

Maybe you could even have a bite at The Big Kitchen.

The atmosphere, along with great breakfasts, are quite a treat.

Go ahead, get out there - there are plenty of places 

right here in San Diego you never knew existed.

It's fun to find them!

*************************

On this day, we pause to remember the veterans who have proudly served this country. Visiting the 77 plus acres at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, Ca., one is overwhelmed by the sheer number of graves. Many Fort Rosecrans interments date to the early years of the California Territory, including the remains of the casualties of the Battle of San Pasqual. In the Battle of San Pasqual, 19 of Kearney’s men and an untold number of Californios lost their lives. Initially, the dead were buried where they fell, but by 1874 the remains had been removed to the San Diego Military Reservation. Eight years later, the bodies were again reinterred at what is now Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

Number of Interments Thru Fiscal Year 2008: 96,626.

Of the 96,000+ interments, many spouses and minor children are among the buried.  Requirements for interment in a national cemetery can be found at this LINK.

 

 

 

 

Our second involvement with San Diego Hospice was to photograph the participants and events at Camp Erin the weekend of September 25 and 27, 2009.


From the Camp Erin website:
Camp Erin is a bereavement camp designed for children ages 6-17 who have experienced the death of a parent, friend or loved one. It is a weekend-long experience filled with traditional, fun, camp activities combined with grief education and emotional support -- facilitated by grief professionals and trained volunteers. The Moyer Foundation partners with local hospice and grief counseling organizations in the communities where the camps exist. Because these organizations are seeing and treating grieving children everyday, they act as the natural camp hosts and registration points for children and Camp Erin bereavement camps.

Our Involvement:
Deinna and I have both had loved ones helped by San Diego Hospice. Through our photography, we thought this would be one way to give back and show our support for this worthwhile project. Camp Erin is the largest network of bereavement camps for children in the country. Twenty-eight camps in eighteen states.

Camp Erin is free for all children. Application is required. Check the above website link for more information and locations. The website will also explain who Erin Metcalf, of Woodinville, Washington is, and how Jamie Moyer and his wife Karen, co-founders of the Moyer Foundation, became involved.




Camp Erin was held at the YMCA's Camp Marston, a few miles south of Julian CA. If you are looking for a project to support, after working closely with counselors and staff, we can highly recommend San Diego Hospice, the Moyer Foundation and Camp Erin for your consideration.

If you subscribe to San Diego Magazine or see the current issue (October '09), look on page 118. They have published one of my photographs. In this issue they have partnered with the San Diego County Medical Society to showcase the outstanding Doctors in 46 specialties. Chosen by the physicians themselves, they identify 475 that they would recommend to their own family and friends. They deem these doctors as those who minister not only to the body, but also to the soul.

Recently, Deinna and I volunteered with San Diego Hospice to do photography for them. The first project was to do some head shots so they could update their web site. As we completed this, we were requested to do a full length of Dr. Steven Oppenheim, M.D., who has been recognized by his peers as a "Top Doctor" in Palliative Medicine. The picture I took is the one featured on page 118 in the above mentioned magazine.



















(Click to enlarge)

One of the the nice things about San Diego is making new discoveries, or remembering things you may have forgotten. This is the case with the San Diego Firehouse Museum. A few weeks ago, as Deinna and I were going downtown, we crossed Columbia Street and I saw the Museum. I realized that it's one of the places I had heard about but never visited. This past Friday Deinna was looking for a place to try out her new Nikon D90 camera. So, we packed the gear and were off. Our friends Gary and Julie's son, Greg, was on duty at the museum that day. Greg is volunteer Firefighter at Deerhorn Valley in Jamul.















Located at 1572 Columbia St. San Diego CA
Here is the map LINK.





















































































From models to the real thing below, the Firehouse has a wide collection of fire related items on display.














1903 American LaFrance "Metropolitan Steamer 1991" built for Milwaukee WI. Steam cylinders 9" stroke-9-3/4' bore. Pump Cylinders 9" stroke- 5-3/4" bore. Allegedly pump 1100 gpm. Weighed 8200 lbs., less fuel & water. It burned bituminus coal, or "Cannel Coal", and was drawn by 3 horses, accompanied by a hose/fuel wagon.














The fire box on the "Metropolitan Steamer 1991".













































The caption on this photo reads: "This Firehouse occupied the site since 1916. Girolomo Navarra, Jerome's grandfather, bought the building in 1921 which became the original location for Jerome's Furniture Warehouse. Girolomo's son Jim, Jerome's father, would arrive once a week to haul away the manure produced by the horses that pulled the fire engine.




















The fire pole for sliding down is located on the opposite wall, but after a quick trip down, you must climb back up.















Hand-drawn fire hose cart, circa 1852, used in the Thames Shipyard, New London, CT.
On loan from the Maritime Museum Association of San Diego, CA.



























The "Dispatchers Console".
Alarms were received from an Alarm Pull Box on the street. The Dispatcher took the information and relayed the Box number to the Fire Stations.



























The Harden 6 inch Grenade. Thrown to extinguish fire.
Here is a LINK for more information.







































Waiting for the next alarm.












































Located at the rear of the building is a 50 foot high drying tower, for drying the fire hose.















Captain Kevin McWalters takes this "Seagrave" out for exercise. It had received an oil change earlier in the week.

Greg Gorton watches as the truck departs.

Went to Staples for more ink cartridges these are the parking lot lights.
Nikon D700 1/30 f/2.8 exposure adjustment in Camera Raw

Ever wonder where some of the things you see in life come from?
Deinna and I had that opportunity to meet the artist of one creation yesterday in Downtown San Diego.


































Jeremy Wright and his niece work on his masterpiece located at 16th and Island street. He is a sculptor/teacher from Encinitas CA.















Looking through his collection of chards for that next "perfect piece", Jeremy selects it....



















butters it....































and places it just so.

Jeremy was given permission to decorate the outside walls with his mosaic mural. Many local people have joined in by decorating a small part of the wall. You will find broken plates, bottle caps, cup handles, ceramic tiles, a spark plug, and even an old wrench and hammer. This building has now become the site of many photographic shoots, newspaper articles, and blog entries.






















This labor of love is now in the middle of it's 3rd year. The theme is COLOR!
















Almost in the shadow of Petco Park, the Island street side of the building reveals many religious symbols, a baseball player and some very interesting characters.

































God's Extended Hand is a community outreach and homeless shelter located at 16th and Island streets in downtown San Diego. For seventy five years, GEH has been a place of hope, love, refuge, and encouragement. Reaching out to the community in meaningful ways, it has been located on this corner for the last 50 years in one of the roughest parts of the East Village area.