Tag: California Living

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 19, 20228:53 pm

Vintage Volkswagens

Today, while walking along Adams Avenue, my wife and I came across three vintage Volkswagens. I have seen some of these vehicles parked about, but this is the first time together, in a row—and there were others elsewhere. Possibly one of our neighbors is an auto-collector or repairer/refurbisher.

Finny, who was profiled in my “Cats of University Heights” series, lives in one of the houses before which were the VWs. Oh, and we saw him skulking about while we both took photos. The Featured Image and companion come from Leica Q2. Vitals, aperture manually set for both: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/400 sec, 28mm; 1:50 p.m. PDT. The other is the same but 1/800 sec, one minute earlier.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 31, 20229:23 pm

Weather-worn is Wear Enough

On average, about 28 cm (11 inches) of rain falls in San Diego annually. The mild Mediterranean climate means three summer seasons, and the warmest of them is in process of gradually heating up. Sunny days, punctuated by breezes coming off the Pacific Ocean, allow citizens to maximize their living space by extending it outdoors. Businesses do likewise; consider Costco, which customer eatery is outside the warehouse rather than the more common inside location.

The fine climate leads to oddities like the alley art gallery, little house collections, Satanic shrine (well, maybe), or sidewalk lending libraries. The Featured Image is another example. This necklace has hung on this fence for at least six months. My wife spotted it along Monroe Avenue in University Heights on Dec. 11, 2021. She stopped for a photo, because beads and jewelry are her designer passion; I decided to do likewise—using iPhone 13 Pro. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 64, 1/121 sec, 26mm; 10:43 a.m. PST.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 19, 20229:04 pm

So Which Is It Supposed to Be?

Yesterday, while walking to the used bookstore where receiving a U.S. Constitution booklet and unprompted lecture, I came upon the oddest objects—on the outer fringes of University Heights’ boundary, along Georgia between Howard and Polk. Are these signs in the Featured Image more signs of San Diego bureaucratic bungling? This stretch is part of the Georgia-Meade bikeway, for which someone in the city authorized traffic circles with the wrong community name that later required sandblasting to correct.

Tell me, when have you ever seen a posting stating “Speed Humps Ahead”. Gasp, is that, ah, innuendo for approaching sexual activity (e.g. humping) in hedonistic Hillcrest? Yes, I am being facetious, but it’s not an unreasonable question to ask about the neighborhood.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 27, 20229:27 pm

San Diego Affordable Housing

The place isn’t roomy, but the architectural style is quite appealing. I hear there’s a waiting list, though. But if you like, I walk past often enough and can look for that “no” to be covered up. Here’s the thing; A little birdie told me that several crows are in the queue—and they are quite aggressive about obtaining lodging, particularly when the place is furnished and the landlord provides some meals.

Advice: Adopt a community cat from the shelter and turn him loose nearby. If the beastie doesn’t catch and eat some of the animals waiting for the place, he might scare off most of them. The residence is on Maryland Street in University Heights. Address isn’t disclosed, just in case I want to submit a rental application myself.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 19, 20228:21 pm

Promises, Promises

Who other than perhaps researchers at a Chinese lab could have predicted the global lockdown to combat SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19. Surely, owners of the Red Fox Steak House couldn’t guess when the restaurant and piano bar—long a fixture within the iconic Lafayette Hotel—lost its lease. Like its crafty namesake animal, the eatery cunningly chose to make a new home directly across El Cajon Blvd in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood.

But building and opening anew during California’s Coronavirus crackdown, when the governor ordered citizens to stay home and prohibited indoor dining, clearly proved challenging. In January 2021, I shared with you a photo of the then unfinished construction with banner “Opening early Fall 2020”. As you can see from the Featured Image, the place is still outfoxed by the virus—even as mandated restrictions relax. Will we ever eat medium-rare amidst the ambience of live music? I really wonder.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 11, 20228:34 pm

Mission Valley, a Dozen Years Ago

For reasons only guessed and not remembered, on July 16, 2010, I stopped at one of the University Heights overlooks and pointed Leica X1 at Mission Valley below. The view is much changed 12 years later, as apartment and condominium construction has transformed the horizon.

Dramatically more development is ongoing and the number of projects increasing. In autumn 2019, San Diego City Council approved a plan to add 50,000 more residents to Mission Valley by 2050, bolstered by the building of even more high density housing.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 3, 20229:02 pm

The Urban Jungle Gym

What qualifies as a park in one of San Diego’s supposedly trendier neighborhoods? Answer: North Park Mini Park—and, yes, that’s the name of the community seen in the Featured Image. When I think of a park, particularly in a coastal region with three Summer seasons (Early, Mid, and Late), lush space with grass, greenery, and trees comes to mind. Apparently, not in North Park, where cement rules.

Say, can some stereotypical, anti-carbon emissions, stop climate change citizen living there explain the environmental benefits of building another edifice that absorbs heat and in the process quite likely also contributes to global warming? Wouldn’t heat-reducing, carbon-dioxide absorbing, oxygen-producing plants, shrubs, and trees make more environmental sense and be more interesting a refuge for residents?

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 31, 20229:10 pm

The Future of Transportation?

As part of its strategy to reduce so-called carbon emissions, San Diego is building bikeways through various close-in neighborhoods. The one starting at Georgia in University Heights and ending at Fairmont in City Heights is complete. My wife and I drove the length along Meade Avenue on Jan. 29, 2022 to attend the free-admission Lunar New Year celebration sponsored by the Little Saigon Foundation. However, Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park and the surrounding area was so packed, and parking so scare, we did a drive-by only.

A series of traffic circles and speed bumps has greatly reduced vehicular traffic along Meade—not that a marked increase in bikers is apparent. What I do see, and this is something that should trouble city planners and their long-term goals: An alarmingly greater number of motor-powered bicycles. Everywhere. Some are pedaled, too, and most are battery-electric. But not all.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 27, 20228:11 pm

Don’t Drive Plastered

Is there some metaphor or deliberate message here? Hodad’s is a popular burger joint in Ocean Beach, Calif.—if the persistent waiting lines are any indication (unless seating is inadequate; I wouldn’t know). As you can see from the Featured Image, the restaurant’s vintage Volkswagen minivan is plastered with stickers, such that anyone sensible shouldn’t drive it. Safety first!

The eatery also sells craft beer. Being plastered is a euphemism for intoxication, in which state no responsible person should be behind the wheel of a vehicle. So is it coincidence that a place that brews beer parks its plastered VW nearby? I should have asked someone when in OB on Nov. 17, 2021 carrying Leica Q2. Photo vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/500 sec, 28mm; 12:30 p.m. PST.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 26, 20216:44 pm

The Road Less Traveled

The Georgia-Meade Bikeway, about which traffic circles I have negatively opined, nears completion—and certainly appears to be ready through the University Heights to Normal Heights portion. In observation, and preparation to write about the occurrence, I captured the Featured Image on Nov. 28, 2021. Vitals, aperture manually set for this and the two companion photos: f/8, ISO 100, 1/200 sec, 28mm; 9:59 a.m. PST.

The view looks down Meade Avenue from Georgia Street. The traffic circle at Alabama is clearly visible but barely the one at Louisiana two blocks beyond. Near the horizon to the right is the North Park water tower, which many locals regard as an essential navigational landmark.

Living by Joe WilcoxDec 23, 20219:48 pm

Seriously, California?

Sometime last week, my wife asked about getting brighter lightbulbs. IKEA-purchased LEDs are 1,000 lumens and loaded into most of our fixtures, whether ceiling or lamps; but not all. Then, three days ago, I observed during a Zoom meeting that one participant’s ambience so much more appealed than mine—his room being bright and white, while mine was dank and yellow. Color temperature is reason: 5000K lighting vs 2700K. I thought: Why not buy brighter and whiter bulbs?

So I tried shopping locally but ran aground. Is 5000K lighting unavailable because of supply chain problems or is 2700K simply wildly more popular? No San Diego store—not even the place specializing in bulbs—stocked that color temperature in a 100-watt equivalent with brightness greater than 1,000 lumens. That brought me to Amazon and a big surprise: The affordable product that also met my criteria can’t be shipped to California. Huh?

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 22, 20219:06 pm

Who Approved This?

Last week, while walking along Panorama Drive, I passed by what seemed like the strangest holiday decoration: An inflatable, rainbow-colored Christmas tree. The next day, there were three. The day after, my wife and I walked over so that she could see. We found four more—not every one erect but all unmistakably identifiable even when deflated. This will be our fifteenth Christmas in this San Diego neighborhood, and I have never seen such signs like these.

As I opined on July 4th, about seeing more Pride flags than the Stars and Stripes, University Heights has undergone dramatic, observable changes since start of the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns in mid-March 2020. New residents, many of them Northern California escapees, are everywhere. Their emigration contributes to soaring rents and skyrocketing home sale prices. The newcomers also bring different values that are commiserate with adjacent Hillcrest, which is known as a gay enclave. But Pride holiday trees, all on the same street?