San Diego’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade and festival was held in Hillcrest and Balboa Park, March 12, 2011. You can find even more photos in my archive gallery.

Butch Bauer celebrates the holidays with his decorated bicycle and truck in San Diego's Pacific Beach, Dec. 12. 2010.

Wandering around Pacific Beach at sunset, I took a quick snap of a festive cyclist and was quickly hooked into conversation with the man, who was riding a vintage Mongoose bicycle wrapped with holiday lights. Butch eventually showed off the modified Dodge truck which he had similarly decked out for the holidays, and which he calls home — along with another truck and an airstream.

On top of this truck were a serious set of solar panels, and Butch went down the list of amenities in his homemade camper: HD television, powerful Wi-fi antenna, and constant companionship in the form of a 14-year-old pitbull named Maxine in the passenger seat. It was a serious setup, so it made sense when I learned he had been living like this for over 30 years. He was only in Pacific Beach for a few days when I met him, but he said he might be around in the summer — donning a mohawk and showing off his seasonal “totally ripped” physique.

“It looks like I’m happy, and I am,” Butch told me as he described his lifestyle. “I’ve got too much to be happy about.”

Deming Wyre, Marley Meyer and Maddie Meyer take a break from riding bikes to pose for a photo on Waverly Avenue. Their families, along with the rest of the 5500 block of Waverly Avenue, gave donations to rent a Snorkel boom lift to put up the lights.

I have to say I’m in the holiday spirit right now, replete with a gallon jug of egg nog and a Christmas tree loaded with presents.

Over the weekend I shot some pretty impressive holiday light displays in La Jolla, like the one above where some neighborhood kids were nice enough to hold still for a long exposure to get the lights shining brightly. See the story on the La Jolla Light website here.

And on the Meridian Collective website I’ve got a large photo essay from San Diego’s beaches. Hopefully that will cheer up whomever is stuck in the snow for the holidays!