Wall Crawl - Carlsbad

Over our Spring Break we didn't have much in the way of plans. A few trips to our favorite parks/museums/science centers/aquariums. And, of course, a wall crawl tossed in there for good measure. 

Let's just take a moment to talk about the cutest little beach community of Carlsbad. It was so dang adorable. Every little shop, restaurant, coffee spot, and winery (!) had me swooning. Before we left I told Scott I needed an entire (long) weekend in Carlsbad. 

Moving along to the main event. WALLS!

THIS is the reason I wanted to get to Carlsbad.

Artist : @micahelsummers
Location: Sleeping Tiger Coffees

I'd seen this wall pop up a few times in my Insta feed, and every. single. time. I saw it I fell in love with it a little more. When we actually came upon it my excitement was palpable. I also can't put into words how thrilled I was to get BOTH kids in the shot. Per the usual, Julia wasn't into wall hunting and preferred to chill in the stroller while snacking the. entire. time. Marcus, however, obliged with every wall we came upon. 

After finding the gem of all walls the kids and I just kind of putzed around Carlsbad, with general ideas of walls we (I) wanted to find and locations of each wall. 

The rest of the walls are in no specific order as to how we found them, nor are the in any logical order in regards to mapping them out. 

The wall below actually the very first wall we spotted, and I couldn't get out of the car fast enough. Artist, Free Humanity, has done several works all over California, as well as other cities throughout the nation, and I was tickled to finally spot one for myself. 

Artist: @freehumanity
Location: Señor Rubby's

What makes the above wall so unique is that the business invites different artists every so often to come and paint murals. So, the wall is ever changing. It's cool that new art is rotated. On the flip side of that, it's kind of sad that each piece is only around for a very limited time. I am anxious to see what artist is brought in next and how he/she/they will transform the wall.

Getting a picture of the following wall was tough. It was located in a very narrow alley, so capturing the whole thing straight on was near impossible. I do love that Julia decided to join for this one though (please note the snacks).

Marcus actually spotted this Mario wall well before I did. We couldn't get to it when he saw it - we were on the opposite side of the street. So, I told him we'd stop by in on our way back. I totally forgot about it until Marcus reminded me, "Mom! Don't forget that Mario wall!" I tell you, I'm training him well. 

The next series of images were kind of like finding hidden treasures all over downtown. It's clear they were all done by the same artist (though I've yet to find out just who the artist is). And, I know there's at least one more of these cute little ditty's out there that we weren't able to find. 

This was our last wall, which just so happened to be on the opposite wall of the Free Humanities heart wall. We didn't see this when we stopped to snap the hearts, but we spotted it on our way back to our car! 

Marcus. Bless him for being such a good sport.

That's a wrap on Carlsbad - even though I know we missed some walls. I guess that just means we'll have to go back!

Have you spotted any walls lately? It's been a thrill to see so many fun walls popping up on the 'gram, and hearing how others are exploring their cities, one wall at a time. Next wall you find, please tag me @desireemacke so I don't miss the façades you're finding!