In my initial round-up of footbridges around San Diego, I completely missed one of the more interesting ones: the Spruce Street footbridge. Running from Front Street to Brant street, this suspension bridge has been around since 1912. Walking across it is not an experience for those afraid of heights. I found that a normal walking cadence can set it swinging, so of course I had to try an exaggerated, stomping stride ! That really set it swaying.
The bridge's neighborhood has a lot of beautiful homes - well worth a walk.
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Sunday, October 21, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Just sitting there
We all pass by buildings every day that have been empty for ages. Nothing happens and nothing changes, making it easy for them to fade from view. I'm going to try to remember some of them here in San Diego. There aren't many truly abandoned buildings around here, but I can think of a few off the top of my head. I can see one, the old California Theater, during my lunch-time walks in Downtown San Diego. Map
Another classic San Diego skeleton building is Pernicano's in Hillcrest on Sixth between Robinson and University. It has sat empty for close to 20 years.
A third example is the pair called Red Roost and Red Rest, early representatives of the Calfifornia Bungalow architectural style. They have been vacant since 1976
Red Roost Map
Article at Preservation Online
Another classic San Diego skeleton building is Pernicano's in Hillcrest on Sixth between Robinson and University. It has sat empty for close to 20 years.
A third example is the pair called Red Roost and Red Rest, early representatives of the Calfifornia Bungalow architectural style. They have been vacant since 1976
Red Roost Map
Article at Preservation Online
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Sky Ground Sky: Faceplant in Flagstaff
Do a trick, Man !
The setting: Flagstaff, Arizona, January of 1993. Winter break in Flagstaff can be pretty darn slow. A lot of NAU students are back home for the time between semesters, what with Christmas and New Years. So I was pretty excited that my friend Amy Kott was coming back to town. We were going to meet for lunch, so I went out by bike to get some cash. After that I still had time to kill, so I rode by Cosmic Cycles - this is back when it was on South San Francisco Street, and when that street was two-way. As I rode by, Steve Garro was out front. Steve was an awesome rider I looked up to. So, when he said "Do a trick, Man, do a trick" I did ...
I pulled a U-turn, got onto the opposite sidewalk and started to sprint. When I came to a drive-way, I jumped, using the curved side as a ramp. I caught some good air, but then remember thinking "That's odd" To this day, I don't remember what I thought was weird. In fact, I don't have any memory of a 10 minute or so block of time.
What happened was that my suspension fork, big tire and fender had sandwiched together, stopping the front wheel dead and turning the bike into a catapult. I was flung head-first onto the street - I'm told that that I skipped like a stone a couple of times. After that I apparently took great amusement in being able to stick my finger where my two front teeth used to be ....
The next thing I do recall is sitting on the curb, elbows on knees, head in hands, with red stuff dripping out of my mouth into a big puddle of red stuff. It took me a moment to realize "Oh, that's my blood ..."
Steve grabbed my teeth, giving them to me saying "Hey man, here's your teeth"
The ambulance came and the paramedics asked me all the standard questions: What's your name, what day is it, who's the President. They took me on the 1 mile ride to the Flagstaff Medical Center. Total cost ? $1200 - ouch.
For weeks afterwards, I was a minor celebrity in certain circles in Flagstaff. "Hey, your that dude that took the header !" I was only displaced when someone hit an open trench going downhill at night - he knocked out six teeth to my two !
I didn't have insurance at the time, so they didn't do much for me at the hospital. They were nice enough to find a dentist that was open on a Saturday. A call also went out to Amy, who picked me up from the hospital and called my parents.
Amy took me to that dentist, who immediately did three root-canals on me. Such fun ! He was able to repair the teeth and stick them back in. The dentist assumed that Amy and I were boyfriend and girlfriend, which I wished was true.
After the fun was over at the dentist, Amy took me grocery and pill shopping. Jeez, I was doped up for a several weeks. I would be trudging along somewhere and friends would call out to me "Cameron. Cameron!" Trudge, trudge. They would have to stand directly in front of me and shout my name for me to respond.
The dentist said not to chew with my front teeth for a while. The first thought was soup, of course. I would make soup and ladle it into my mouth, only to have it dribble out. My next idea was to make a sandwich and sliced it up in half, half, half, half, making sixteen tiny bites which I would toss to the back of my mouth.
The doctor (or dentist, I forget which) said I could not ride for six weeks. Six weeks to the day, I hopped on my repaired bike to hit the trails. I stopped at the end of one section of the trail for a drink of water. After opening the bottle (pulling the stopper out with my teeth, mind you) and taking a drink, I felt something "foreign" floating in my mouth. I spat it out and and felt something missing in my mouth - you guessit , I had broken my jerry-rigged tooth. Ta-da !
Speaking of which, I now have a one-tooth denture in place of that tooth. My neck, shoulders and lower back still give me problems to this day.
Any one want to go for a ride ? I know some great trails ...
P.S. About the name: Sky Ground Sky comes from the tumbling view point you (well, I) have during an accident.
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The setting: Flagstaff, Arizona, January of 1993. Winter break in Flagstaff can be pretty darn slow. A lot of NAU students are back home for the time between semesters, what with Christmas and New Years. So I was pretty excited that my friend Amy Kott was coming back to town. We were going to meet for lunch, so I went out by bike to get some cash. After that I still had time to kill, so I rode by Cosmic Cycles - this is back when it was on South San Francisco Street, and when that street was two-way. As I rode by, Steve Garro was out front. Steve was an awesome rider I looked up to. So, when he said "Do a trick, Man, do a trick" I did ...
I pulled a U-turn, got onto the opposite sidewalk and started to sprint. When I came to a drive-way, I jumped, using the curved side as a ramp. I caught some good air, but then remember thinking "That's odd" To this day, I don't remember what I thought was weird. In fact, I don't have any memory of a 10 minute or so block of time.
What happened was that my suspension fork, big tire and fender had sandwiched together, stopping the front wheel dead and turning the bike into a catapult. I was flung head-first onto the street - I'm told that that I skipped like a stone a couple of times. After that I apparently took great amusement in being able to stick my finger where my two front teeth used to be ....
The next thing I do recall is sitting on the curb, elbows on knees, head in hands, with red stuff dripping out of my mouth into a big puddle of red stuff. It took me a moment to realize "Oh, that's my blood ..."
Steve grabbed my teeth, giving them to me saying "Hey man, here's your teeth"
The ambulance came and the paramedics asked me all the standard questions: What's your name, what day is it, who's the President. They took me on the 1 mile ride to the Flagstaff Medical Center. Total cost ? $1200 - ouch.
For weeks afterwards, I was a minor celebrity in certain circles in Flagstaff. "Hey, your that dude that took the header !" I was only displaced when someone hit an open trench going downhill at night - he knocked out six teeth to my two !
I didn't have insurance at the time, so they didn't do much for me at the hospital. They were nice enough to find a dentist that was open on a Saturday. A call also went out to Amy, who picked me up from the hospital and called my parents.
Amy took me to that dentist, who immediately did three root-canals on me. Such fun ! He was able to repair the teeth and stick them back in. The dentist assumed that Amy and I were boyfriend and girlfriend, which I wished was true.
After the fun was over at the dentist, Amy took me grocery and pill shopping. Jeez, I was doped up for a several weeks. I would be trudging along somewhere and friends would call out to me "Cameron. Cameron!" Trudge, trudge. They would have to stand directly in front of me and shout my name for me to respond.
The dentist said not to chew with my front teeth for a while. The first thought was soup, of course. I would make soup and ladle it into my mouth, only to have it dribble out. My next idea was to make a sandwich and sliced it up in half, half, half, half, making sixteen tiny bites which I would toss to the back of my mouth.
The doctor (or dentist, I forget which) said I could not ride for six weeks. Six weeks to the day, I hopped on my repaired bike to hit the trails. I stopped at the end of one section of the trail for a drink of water. After opening the bottle (pulling the stopper out with my teeth, mind you) and taking a drink, I felt something "foreign" floating in my mouth. I spat it out and and felt something missing in my mouth - you guessit , I had broken my jerry-rigged tooth. Ta-da !
Speaking of which, I now have a one-tooth denture in place of that tooth. My neck, shoulders and lower back still give me problems to this day.
Any one want to go for a ride ? I know some great trails ...
P.S. About the name: Sky Ground Sky comes from the tumbling view point you (well, I) have during an accident.
View Larger Map
Friday, January 19, 2007
HOWTO: Get to an abandoned church near San Diego
My friend Todd Carpenter first took me out to this abandonded church in the mountains east of San Diego. I was completely amazed by it; the idea of something abandonded didn't really fit with my idea of San Diego. I've since been out there by myself, and located it on Google Maps, as shown below.
Google MapHere's how to get there:
from San Diego: Head East on Interstate 8, then take CA-67. You will pass through Lakeside, Poway and Ramona, before reaching Santa Ysabel. Stop at Dudley's for some bread and pie (this step is optional, but very tasty). Take a left onto CA-79 and travel 1.9 miles to Mesa Grande road. It starts to climb after just a bit, taking you through some interesting terrain. Travel approximately 7.8 miles to Angel Mountain Road. This dirt road will be on your left. Don't worry, it's nothing too rough; I've been down it in my PT Cruiser without incident. Just take it slow. You will see the church on your right after about .3 miles. The trip from Dudley's in Santa Ysabel totals about 10.1 miles
Park and enjoy. I'd love to see what other photographers make of this place.
The actual GPS coordinates are : 33.196672, -116.780607
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