When the weather was good, we spent most of our outdoor time exploring. We didn’t always know what we were looking for, but we liked to keep our eyes open to see what we could find. The San Diego we came to know during the first few weeks of our month’s stay centered on the Pacific Ocean, the bays, and watching birds along the coast. We had put off famous sights that are on many tourists’ “must-see” lists and all inside activities. When the first cool and cloudy day rolled in to San Diego, we decided it was time to head for famous Old Town.
Stepping into quaint Old Town San Diego was supposed to feel like the calendar was turned back 150 years. Displays of the early California days were interesting, but what caught our eyes was the small contemporary collection of Indian art not far from the old stagecoaches.
A few days later we headed for Balboa Park, an “urban cultural park,” where a number of museums, theatres, and even the zoo are located, surrounded by greenery and flowers.
The Botanical Building in the park was constructed with wooden laths, the largest of its kind in the world. The setting, with garden and pool in front, was pretty spectacular.
We had to go inside to see what was on display. The tulips looked perky.
Orchids filled the center of the building, and all seemed to be in full bloom.
We’d never heard of the Mingei International Museum, “dedicated to art of the people (mingei) from all eras and cultures of the world.”
A striking red quilt decorated one wall…
…and little Scandinavian dolls dressed in red were in a display case nearby.
When we explored the cultural area of the park, we wandered through the Spanish Village Art Center. Under the shade of a large tree stood this larger-than-life sculpture.
Something seemed familiar about this piece. Was there a vague resemblance to the contemporary Indian artwork in the first photo above?
We liked San Diego but mostly for its compelling ocean and outdoor scene. It was so different from what we are used to. Dropping in to museums and Old Town satisfied us for an interesting change of pace. In a month’s stay, we didn’t even scratch the surface of what we could see and do, but maybe it was enough.
March 2017
simpletravelourway 
I have been here 24 years and I’m still scratching the surface. I have never seen tulips in the Botanic Building before so you got a great experience there. The orchids you saw were from the San Diego County Orchid Society’s spring orchid show a few days earlier. After each orchid show, about 75% of the orchids go to the Botanic Building.
It’s great to spend some time in the one place and a whole month would be amazing! I like those little red Scandinavian dolls.