25th St. Musical Bridge

Ok so this sounds really cool, and it's pretty cool, but it's not absolutely amazing. I mean, if you're in the area, check it out, but don't make a day trip out of it (unless you're going to go to the zoo afterwards like I did, or something).

It's a normal bridge that crosses a freeway (the 94, I think?), and cars drive over it but there's also a pedestrian walkway on one side. The railing that separates the cars from the people, though, is special. There are chimes, and if you hit them one at a time as you walk, it plays a song. It's pretty hard to hear with all the cars going by, and it's also hard to hit the chimes the right way, without hitting the plain metal bars near them. But it's a creative idea, and I think there should be more musical bridges!

Grape Day Park

This is a really cool park in Escondido, right across the street from the San Diego Children's Discovery Museum (which is possibly even cooler, but I don't have any photos of it). There's a small museum, some historic buildings (a blacksmith and a workshop), and you can rent (for free with a $10 cash deposit) oversized game boards and pieces to play. It's really hot and there's not too much shade, though.

This is the museum. It basically just has one exhibit, on Escondido's history, and an explanation of the significance of Grape Day

Chinese Historical Museum and New Children's Museum

I visited the New Children's Museum on the 2nd Sunday of the month, when it was free. It was pretty incredible. I also went to the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum on the same day (they're a few blocks apart, and there was a farmer's market along the way!). It was part of Museum Month, so I only had to pay $1 admission. The thing is, I only got one photo of each place! I don't know what I was thinking. So, here are the two photos. Both museums are pretty amazing, by the way. But the Chinese one probably isn't as interesting if you aren't Chinese, and the Children's one probably isn't that interesting if you don't have kids.

There's a main museum room, a garden with a koi pond, and then an annex museum room with even more exhibits!

I wish that the one photo I had of this place was of my favorite exhibit, the rock climbing wall! Alas, this is some metal sculpture called "Beast." It's pretty, though.

I think the the exhibits at the New Children's Museum rotate every few months (or every year, or something), and they are all on the same topic, then there are a few exhibits that stay all the time. The theme when I visited was "TRASH," and there were lots of recycled things and exhibits on how our trash affects things. There's also a clay play area, and a big-bubble-blowing area. I'd say it's good for ages 4 and up- not so interesting for the toddlers.

What I Would Change

This blog is meant mainly for my own personal use, to practice blogging and see what I learn. Therefore, this post is for me to reflect on what I want to do differently for my real blog that I will start in SF, and which I hope other people will actually read.

• KISS- give a short intro, then get to the photos
• Give a photo overview: When taking and uploading photos, don't have several of the same angle, or the same objects; get different objects that help represent the place or activity.
• Completion: If it's a playground, get all areas and all equipment, so people know what to expect.
• Photograph entrances/signs: If people are trying to find a place, they will want to know how to get there. Photograph what it looks like when you get there, so people know what to look for.
• Structure: Use a template to let people know, at a glance, the address, price, and other details (bathrooms? kid-friendly?)
• Links: include links to the homepage of the place, or the yelp review (or both)
• Save before the Storm: Visit several places and get photos before I start, so that I can post with some regularity (twice per week?)
• Keep a folder or file with all the stuff I am planning to post but have not posted yet, so that I can remember and not leave stuff out

I think that's it! I'll add to this if I think of more stuff. 

If anyone happens to read this and you have ideas for what makes a good blog, please comment!

9/2/13
I think I will need to visit places more than once in order to make a good blog post about them. I will have to visit once for myself, to explore how I want to, but then I will have to go back and make sure I take photos that help someone who's never been there. I may have to scan in hand-drawn maps, and I should be extra sure to find all the links I can, because it's always nice to have the official information. I noticed that when looking at other sites, it's all fine and dandy if they show photos of what's there, but it's frustrating when I can't find those things, because they didn't explain how to get there. I'm thinking it might be better as a website as opposed to a blog. Maybe if I open a childcare, it can be a portion of the childcare's website, and it can be a resource for parents, and possibly draw people in to the childcare page. Hmmmm.....