Field of View

What I enjoy most about North Park is the diversity of the neighborhood. Within minutes you can be transported from University Avenue, a central hub with its “big city” grunge (in a good way) feel to a more traditional residential area — complete with charming Craftsman homes of every color and accompanying architectural landscapes. I have spent many an hour walking the streets of North Park’s neighborhoods with my dog and never, ever got bored of the scenery.

Also interesting is the fact that there is a relatively even mixture of apartment complexes and homes — a cohabitation of owners and renters that doesn’t work so well in many other parts of San Diego. I lived in North Park near Morley Field for two years and never had a problem despite the foot and car traffic along Texas Street. In fact, if you’re looking for some good trick-or-treating action come Halloween, Texas Street is the place for you.

Old Town happens to be my very first home in San Diego. As a baby, I lived on Conde Street in a house that has since been torn down. In fact, a lot has changed in the (muffled)-something years since then. Much of the surrounding area has become a tourist hot spot that is faithfully avoided by the locals, but Old Town proper still remains a charming a step into the past for me literally and emotionally.

Guitarist Jennifer Batten led a multimedia workshop Saturday in Rancho Santa Fe for an intimate crowd of fans and aspiring musicians. The former lead guitarist for Michael Jackson during his Bad, Dangerous and HIStory tours played several songs, describing the techniques she used in detail.

Batten was candid and charmingly quirky, offering up show biz advice when asked and stories about her time spent with the King of Pop as well as Jeff Beck. She went well past the scheduled two hours for the event, and made sure all questions were answered. Pictures and autographs followed the workshop.

The workshop was hosted by The Fine Tune Academy, a music school that caters to North County musicians and strives to provide access to big-name entertainers. Big Fish Studios provided the venue, and has been used by bands from Switchfoot to Blink-182.

Photos and videos by Annie Lane.

It’s difficult to stroll through Balboa Park’s Spanish Village without imaging what a life spent exploring your inner artistic child would be like. This trip I decided to focus (mostly) on Hand Blown Glass by Andy Cohn & Partners over at Studio 19, where Kevin Baker created a vase I ended up taking home. On the way out, I got to witness some miniature feather painting nearby.