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‘Bubble Queen of Mission Bay’ Reggie Dyer Veit reigns with joy

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3 months ago

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‘Bubble Queen of Mission Bay’ Reggie Dyer Veit reigns with joy


A young child reaches up to touch the “Bubble Queen’s” masterpiece at Mission Bay Park. (Photo by Barry Alman)

About half an hour before sunset, something extraordinary happens at Mission Bay Park. Giant, iridescent bubbles float through the air, some stretching 8 to 12 feet, occasionally drifting over Interstate 5 and past apartment windows, leaving wonder in their wake.

Behind this phenomenon is a bubble artist who has called San Diego home since 1987 and spent the past nine years perfecting her craft and earning the nickname “Bubble Queen of Mission Bay.” 

Reggie Dyer Veit’s journey into bubble artistry began nearly 40 years ago at the Ocean Beach Christmas Parade, where she first saw a bubble artist perform.

“I just fell in love with it. I thought that’s so neat,” Dyer Veit said. 

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  • An onlooker snaps a picture of the “Bubble Queen” at Mission Bay Park. (Photo by Barry Alman)
  • The “Bubble Queen” in the zone at Mission Bay Park. (Photo by Barry Alman)
  • Dyer Veit with her apprentice Steve Coy. (Photo by Barry Alman)
  • The “Bubble Queen” smiles as a child chases a bubble behind her at Mission Bay Park. (Photo by Barry Alman)

But life got in the way and she waited three decades before pursuing her passion. The turning point came when she spotted someone creating giant bubbles on the dunes in Pacific Beach. 

“I went home that night and started learning everything I could about bubbles,” Dyer Veit said. 

What followed was an intensive self-education. Dyer Veit discovered a wiki site with information about bubble physics and history, spending four or five days absorbed in reading. Within her first year, she became a certified bubbleologist — a designation requiring both theoretical knowledge and practical skill. 

“You have to take a test to become a bubbleologist,” Dyer Veit said. “You have to be able to do certain tricks with the bubble.” 

One of the most challenging tricks she learned is called “the cube,” created by renowned bubble artist Tom Noddy, who performed on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.” The trick involves blowing five bubbles around two connected bubbles to form a cube shape in the center. 

Like other bubble enthusiasts, Dyer Veit is part of a community with its own vocabulary.

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“We have our own bubble language,” she said. “You’ll hear us talk about things like the dragon and the wick.” 

Dyer Veit said October is often her best month for bubbling, as higher humidity helps the bubbles last longer. She has spent years perfecting her bubble juice recipe, a secret mix of five ingredients besides water. Her goal is to create bubbles that can withstand wind and drift for extended periods.

“If you can get a bubble to last over 30 seconds, that’s pretty good,” she said. “I’ve had them go for almost three minutes.”

Mission Bay provides ideal conditions due to the moisture in the air. However, she also ventures to La Jolla, Dog Beach in Ocean Beach and the Torrey Pines Gliderport, where updrafts can send bubbles soaring over cliffs. 

The reactions she witnesses range from pure delight to the downright surreal. Her most unusual encounter happened at De Anza Cove when one of her giant bubbles floated over the freeway, high above the hillside.  

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“A hawk was circling and dive bombed the bubble,” she said. “That was the strangest thing I’ve ever seen.” 

More often, Dyer Veit sees faces light up, moods shift and she hears a lot of “wows.”

“I know that I’m going to turn somebody’s day around,” she said. 

Dyer Veit has made many friends through bubbling, including Steve Coy, who has apprenticed with her for two years. While she favors a few giant bubbles at a time, Coy prefers a garland that releases 20 to 60 medium bubbles with each sweep. 

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The “Bubble Queen’s” passion isn’t confined to California skies. Nearly three years ago, Dyer Veit took her bubble wands on a four-day train trip from Sacramento to Detroit. 

“Every time the train stopped long enough, I got off and did bubbles,” she said, sharing her art with strangers along the way. 

What Dyer Veit didn’t expect was how deeply the practice would affect her. Once shy and introverted, she found herself opening up through her art. 

“It just takes a little bubble in the air to change your whole attitude,” Dyer Veit said. 

These days, she spends most evenings at Mission Bay, delighting onlookers with giant bubbles.

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“I wish I were like that before I started bubbles,” Dyer Veit said. “Bubbles did that to me.”




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San Diego, CA

Padres roster review: Luis Campusano

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3 hours ago

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January 8, 2026

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Padres roster review: Luis Campusano





Padres roster review: Luis Campusano – San Diego Union-Tribune


















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LUIS CAMPUSANO

  • Position(s): Catcher
  • Bats / Throws: Right / Right
  • 2026 opening day age: 27
  • Height / Weight: 5-foot-10 / 232 pounds
  • How acquired: Second round of the draft in 2017 (Cross Creek HS, Ga.)
  • Contract status: Will make $900,000 after agreeing to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration; Will not be a free agent until 2029.
  • fWAR in 2025: Minus-0.4
  • Key 2025 stats: .000 AVG, .222 OBP, .000 SLG, 0 HRs, 0 RBIs, 0 runs, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts, 0 steals (10 games, 27 plate appearances)

 

STAT TO NOTE

  • 1 — The number of plate appearances for Campusano while in the majors between June 1 and June 13 and the one at-bat resulted in a weak, pinch-hit groundout against a position player (Kike Hernandez) on the mound in mop-up duty. Campusano was recalled to the majors four times in 2025 but did not get a real opportunity get settled after he went 0-for-6 with four walks and a strikeout in three straight starts as a DH in early May. Of course, hitting .227/.281/.361 with eight homers over 299 plate appearances after getting the first real chance to start in 2024 likely informed how the Padres viewed his opportunity in 2025.

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San Diego, CA

2 San Diego Eateries Named Among ‘Most Beautiful New Restaurants’ In America

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15 hours ago

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January 7, 2026

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2 San Diego Eateries Named Among ‘Most Beautiful New Restaurants’ In America


SAN DIEGO, CA — Two San Diego County eateries were named among the most beautiful restaurants that opened last year in the country.

Carlsbad-based Lilo was ranked No. 4 and La Jolla-based Lucien was ranked No. 9 on Robb Report’s list of the most beautiful new restaurants in the U.S. for 2025.

Lilo, which opened in April, features a multi-course tasting menu served around a 24-seat chef’s counter.

The restaurant, co-owned by Chef Eric Bost and John Resnick, earned a Michelin star just months after opening its doors. The eatery was also the only one in San Diego to land on The New York Times list of the 50 best restaurants in America.

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Lucien, which opened in July, also offers a chef’s tasting menu, with more than a dozen courses. The 30-seat restaurant, is owned and helmed by Northern California native Chef Elijah Arizmendi, along with partners Brian Hung and Melissa Lang.

“I’m very grateful for the recognition from Robb Report,” Arizmendi told Patch. “Lucien is deeply personal to me, and the space was designed as an extension of my philosophy — one centered on intention, hospitality and the joy of sharing something meaningful to others.”

The list spotlights 21 restaurants in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and other cities across the country. View the full report here.



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San Diego, CA

Proposed fuel pipeline draws interest from investors. Can it give San Diego drivers a break?

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1 day ago

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January 7, 2026

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Proposed fuel pipeline draws interest from investors. Can it give San Diego drivers a break?


Plenty of financial and regulatory hurdles still need to be cleared, but a fuels pipeline project that may lead to lower gas prices in San Diego and Southern California has received a healthy amount of interest from other companies.

Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan have proposed building what they’ve dubbed the Western Gateway Pipeline that would use a combination of existing infrastructure plus new construction to establish a corridor for refined products that would stretch 1,300 miles from St. Louis to California.

If completed, one leg of the pipeline would be the first to deliver motor fuels into California, a state often described as a fuel island that is disconnected from refining hubs in the U.S.

The two companies recently announced the project “has received significant interest” from shippers and investors from what’s called an “open season” that wrapped up on Dec. 19 — so much so that a second round will be held this month for remaining capacity.

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“That’s a strong indicator that people would be willing to commit to put volume on that pipeline to bring it west long enough for them to be able to pay off their investment and provide a return for their investors,” said David Hackett, president of Stillwater Associates, a transportation energy consulting company in Irvine. “They won’t build this thing on spec. They’ll need commitments from shippers to do this.”

The plans for the Western Gateway Pipeline include constructing a new line from the Texas Panhandle town of Borger to Phoenix. Meanwhile, the flow on an existing pipeline that currently runs from the San Bernardino County community of Colton to Arizona would be reversed, allowing more fuel to remain in California.

The entire pipeline system would link refinery supply from the Midwest to Phoenix and California, while also providing a connection into Las Vegas.

The proposed route for the Western Gateway Pipeline, a project announced by Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan designed to bring refined products like gasoline to states such as Arizona and keep more supplies within California. (Phillips 66)

A spokesperson for Kinder Morgan told the Union-Tribune in October that there are no plans for the project to construct any new pipelines in California and the proposal “should put downward pressure” on prices at the pump.

“With no new builds in California and using pipelines currently in place, it’s an all-around win-win — good for the state and consumers,” Kinder Morgan’s director of corporate communications, Melissa D. Ruiz, said in an email.

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The second round of “open season” will include offerings of new destinations west of Colton that would allow Western Gateway shippers access to markets in Los Angeles.

Even with sufficient investor support, the project would still have to go through an extensive regulatory and permitting process that would undoubtedly receive pushback from environmental groups.

Should the pipeline get built, Hackett said it’s hard to predict what it would mean at the pump for Southern California drivers. But he said the project could ensure more fuel inventory remains inside California, thus reducing reliance on foreign imports, especially given potential political tensions in the South China Sea.



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