This five-room house, acquired in 1911, is considered one of the best examples of early 20th-century Japanese architecture in the United States, and is part of the Japanese Garden at The Huntington, in San Marino near Pasadena.
The Transamerica building was designed by architect William Pereira and completed in 1972. At 853 feet, it’s the tallest skyscraper in San Francisco. Four cameras at the top of the spire create a virtual observation deck with images sent to four monitors in the lobby.
An interesting site on Shelter Island in San Diego is the Yokohama Friendship Bell by artist Masahiko Katori. The citizens of Yokohama, Japan presented the Friendship Bell to San Diego in May 1958 as part of the establishment of a sister city relationship between the two cities, the first such affiliation on the West Coast. The bell has no clapper but is rung by being struck by the large suspended wooden ram.
Bill Pavlacka, aka “The Sandcastle Man”, hard at work on one of his creations at the Hotel del Coronado, in San Diego.
The Valley View Casino in Valley Center (near San Diego) has a 35-foot long (3,300 gallon) saltwater fish tank separating their Black & Blue Lounge/Steakhouse from the gambling area, which was featured on Animal Planet’s television show “Tanked” during their second season. The tank was constructed and installed by Acrylic Tank Manufacturing of Las Vegas, NV.
The Central Garden at the Getty Center in Los Angeles was created by artist Robert Irwin. Its 134,000 sq. ft. contain over 500 varieties of plants and a stream that cascades over a stone waterfall into a pool with a floating maze of azaleas.
This giant sculpture of a sleeping human, by Michael Stutz, reclines on a 4th floor terrace above the western lobby of the W Hotel in San Francisco. It is constructed of annealed bronze strips welded together.
Links: Stutzart
When Jay Leno was host of The Tonight Show, he would drive a different one of his many classic automobiles to work (at the NBC Studios in Burbank) each day. On this day, he chose a 1906 Stanley Steamer, one of his rarest vehicles.
Links: Jay Leno’s Garage
The Self-Realization Fellowship Center in Encinitas (known locally as “Swamis”) has a meditation garden that is open to the public. This beautiful area boasts a multitude of trees, shrubs, and succulents along with several koi ponds including the one above. Benches are spread throughout, inviting one to sit quietly under a canopy of leaves or on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Links: Self-Realization Fellowship
One of the reasons we love the San Diego Zoo Safari Park is because of the lorikeets, which are so much fun to feed. All you have to do is purchase a couple of little cups full of nectar and then enter the lorikeet enclosure where the birds proceed to perch on your shoulders, arms, hands, head, etc. It’s become a birthday tradition for us.
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