Neighborhood Fall Color

We have fall colors in San Diego but not just colorful leaves on trees. In addition to the colorful leaves of the Liquidambar seen above some flowering trees and shrubs add to the palate.

Cassia tree

Coral tree

Plumeria

Bird of Paradise

Bougainville

Statice- Sea Lavender

Hibiscus

Cape Honeysuckle

Plumeria

Daylily

DIWALI-FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS IN SAN DIEGO

Diwali means row of lights.  In the Hindu tradition light represents knowledge, purity and the divine. The darkness of night represents negative force of ignorance, anger, greed, bigotry, injustice and oppression.  When the light of the lamps pierces the darkness of night, it symbolizes the victory of good over evil,, the triumph of virtue over vice and the conquest of ignorance through reason and understanding. The festivities in Balboa Park, San Diego were co sponsored by the Mingei International Museum, the San Diego Museum of Art and the San Diego American Society

The  Mingei Museum featured musicians, singers and dancers.  

An exhibit room was filled with  traditional Indian dolls depicting devine beings for the Festival of Dolls-Navaratri.  Through the evolutionary concept to keep improving spiritually in this lifetime-through unity in thought, work and deed is portrayed in Navarathri through the ascending nine steps, on which the different stages of evolution in our passage towards reaching God were  displayed in the form of dolls.

Goddess Saraswati bestows knowledge

Hindu God Ganesh is the Lord of Good Fortune who provides prosperity, fortune and success

 Ornate lamps were exhibited in the Spreckles Organ Pavilion and were lit at sunset. 

 In the evening more musicians and dancers performed on the Spreckles stage.  Nearby was a food court with Indian food specialities

LA JOLLA COAST VIEWS

This walk that we took along the La Jolla cliffs was during late afternoon during October.  There were good breakers with the high tide.  Some late season flowers on the shrubs added a touch of Fall.

This pelican was leading a group of fellow pelicans in formation overhead

Some of the seagulls are so fearless that they will approach people within a few inches.

This handsome pelican is checking out the scene.

Nothing like an afternoon nap.

These harbor seals were very vocal during some friendly teasing.

 Watching for the perfect wave.














I am enjoying a beautiful afternoon by the sea.

SAN DIEGO AIR & SPACE MUSEUM VISIT

Paul and I visited the Air & Space Museum which is divided into many galleries with exhibits emphasizing the contribution San Diego has made to aviation.  In 2005 the museum became affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and is one of only ten aerospace museums in the country with such affiliation. Sections include the entry Rotunda, Special Exhibit area, World War I Gallery, Golden Age of Flight Gallery World War II Gallery, Modern Jet & Space Age Gallery and the Pavilion of flight.  There are also a number of early aviation exhibits hanging from the ceiling.  Several aircraft engines are on display.

 

            A reproduction of the Spirit of St. Louis is in the entry Rotunda.

 In the large central pavilion there are several large aircraft overhead that include the Consolidated PBY-5ACatalina, Mikoyan-Gurevick MIG-17, Mercury spacecraft (mock-up), Bell AH-1E Cobra and Ford 5-AT-B Trimotor.  There is also the Wee Bee, once considered the world’s smallest plane.

The Wee Bee 

Ford 5-AT-B Trimotor

A Gee Bee racing plane

Another view of the Gee Bee

In the Golden Age gallery there are
examples of barnstormers, air mail pilots and the first airlines of the Twenties and Thirties.

stunt man catching onto ladder from plane

 

       

In the World War II gallery there are examples of the Flying Tigers that flew over China to the carrier  pilots over the Pacific. A recent addition is the Nazi Horten 229 flying wing. Never in production

Horten 229 Flying Wing mockup to measure stealth characteristics

Apollo XVII  mockup

The Modern Jet and Space Age Gallery features a replica of a Gemini spacecraft, and  a mock-up of the Apollo Command and Service module seen above and a moon rock from Apollo XVII in the case below..   There is also a Douglas A-4B Skyhawk and a Hornet “Blue Angel1” in the gallery.

The current special exhibit was about innovations by Leonardo da Vince which also included reproductions of several of his paintings

           

A robot in armor

Da Vinci's military tank design