Photography and Other Interesting Stuff

History Photos

Here's a AAA freeway map of the San Diego area dated October 1972. Because the original is has such fine details, this is hard to read on a monitor; click on it for a hi-res version that you can print and see the details. Locals and ex-pats will notice how much has changed including:

Miramar Road got to "The Golden Triangle" via what is now Eastgate Mall and the nicely arched bridge over I-805
No I-5 exit at Nobel Dr.
The east side of what is now the Mira Mesa Blvd exit of 805 is only Carroll Cyn Rd, which is now Carrol Rd and goes by the El Camino Cemetary. I recall there being a Mira Mesa Blvd at that exit in the late 70's but it dead ended. At that time the other half of Mira Mesa Blvd stopped at Parkdale.
The road now called Carrol Canyon Rd has its own exit on I-15 that didn't exist in 1972.
Rt 52 only goes from 5 to 805 and its extension into LaJolla was renamed La Jolla Parkway recently
Exit ramps but no roads at 805 and La Jolla Village Drive
I-15 is in little clumps. I recall in the early 80's driving from here to Palm Springs and having to exit I-15 to the old Highway 395 (and back) a number of times on the way
Just an exit and the road to the Marine Stables at Miramar Way on I-15.
805 stops, to the south, at I-15 but there's a little clump of it in Chula Vista
No 905: that's parallel to the border, heading east from San Ysidro to the newer border crossing and is fairly recent
SR-54 is basically a surface street
No 125
An exit and a little tiny road, probably to the still present mobile homes, at Mira Mesa Blvd. BTW, did you know that there used to be a Navy Airport just south of there? It was called Hourglass Field (because it looked like on) and later was used for car races. It's now part of Miramar College's parking lot but part of the old tarmac is still visible if you look around south of the baseball fields north of the college by Home Depot. Standing SW of the concession stand you can see where the runways crossed and you can follow one, NW to Black Mountain Road.
Balboa Ave did not extend east of 163
Mesa College Dr. is called Artillery Dr. because it went to the National Guard Armory there (ask me how that tank the guy stole in 1996 lost me my job at at KyXy...)
There's a frontage road along 163 from Pomerado Road up to MiraMesa Blvd. I think you can still see a trace of it there. BTW, did you know that the, maybe 10, acres in the NE quadrant of (now) I-15 and Pomerado Rd. is NOT part of the City of San Diego? It's county but not city.

There are some neighborhoods listed that I never hear mentioned:

Lincoln Acres (is that now Lincoln Park?)
Bostonia
Johnstown
Glenview
I think East San Diego is now City Heights, done as a euphemism.

Note to foreigners (Orange County north): In LA they refer to freeways with an article and then the NAME of the freeway: The Harbor Freeway ("The Harbor"), The San Gabriel Freeway, etc. If it is to be referred to by its number (i.e. Interstate 105) it's STILL referred to with an article: The 105, The 405, even though nobody calls the same road "The Interstate 105 Freeway". Here in San Diego, we refer to the freeways by their numbers: does anyone know that 805 is the Jacob Dekema Freeway or that I-15 in Kearny Mesa has been renamed The Semper Fi Freeway in honor of the men and women serving their country in the US Marine Corps? No, we say "Take 805 south, then take 52 west" (that's Intestate 805 and State Route 52).

I'm concerned, though, about the apparent influx of LA-trained traffic reporters who say "There's a fender bender on the southbound 163 just past the eight." We San Diegans relish and delight in our "un-Angelization" (dis-Angelization?... there was an anti-growth propostion once that eschewed the "Los Angelization of San Diego", so I'm using that in humor) and this kind of speech worries us old-timers (having been in the area 26 years I've been a San Diegan longer than many!).

Photos

I've had a camera of some sort since I was about 4. I've been told I frame pictures well. Here are collections of various pix I've taken over the years. I've weeded out the personal stuff that won't be of interest to visitors, so I HOPE you wont find it to be like watching vacation movies!

Pix From England (2004) My creme-de-la-creme picks from our recent visit to England. More to follow.

Phil's Best Of Some of my faves that aren't in other collections.

Phil Gets a Ride In A B-17 (2005)

Crash Report of Sleepy Time Gal (550th BS, 1944)

March Field "Open Cockpit Day" April 2005 These are the shots worth showing, some having been slightly manipulated (ahem) in GraphicConverter.