Sands Of La Jolla

Other animals and birds

by Dabs

A little north of the Children's Pool, there was a rocky area that seemed to be home to quite a few pelicans, I believe they are California Brown Pelicans. Despite their size, they are quite graceful when they fly and if you watch long enough, you may spot one of them diving into the water to find some dinner. Up near the caves I also saw a rock wall filled with comorants, a black coastal bird, and many of them flying along the coast.

Along the path I saw some squirrels, I believe these are California Ground Squirrels. I was surprised to see them as I had never seen squirrels before in California, I assumed they were all located in colder areas. They are different from the squirrels we see in the midwestern part of the country, their tails are not as bushy, but they both look like rodents which is the family they belong to. I saw a couple of babies near the coastline in La Jolla, the squirrels are used to being fed by people so they aren't very timid and you can get pretty close to them before they scamper off.

Most, if not all, of the animals at the Children's Pool seemed to be harbor seals but we did think we saw a few California sea lions a bit north of the Children's Pool, frolicking in the water and laying on the rocks. Sea lions are larger, with longer flippers and can support themselves on their two front flippers, the seals do not use their flippers to support their bodies and slide along the beach instead of walk.

Mount Soledad

by Dabs

I was following the directions for the 59 Mile Scenic Drive and Mount Soledad was one of the stops, it's La Jolla's highest point and has a good view over San Diego if you have a clear day. It was a bit overcast and hazy when I arrived but I could still see the coastline and downtown San Diego although my pictures didn't come out very clear.

There is plenty of parking to stop and take a look around and a cross memorial to our country's veterans near the parking area.

Apparently I just missed some landslides in the area, you might have a look at the attached website to make sure that the area is open to visitors.

La Jolla Downtown

by olgaehr

Nothing much to do here but shop, shop and shop.
Every year i visit there are more and more shops moving in.

One thing is a must, is to walk along the shore and watch the seals enjoying their life on the beach.

North Pacific Beach

by Carmela71

North Pacific Beach is the north side of the Crystal Pier beach of the previous tip. Not sure where one begins and the other one finishes lol

Now we left La Jolla in direction to Mission Beach

"The Jewel" of San Diego

by Dabs

My 1st trip to La Jolla was in April 2008, I only had a couple of days to spend in the area around San Diego but I was encouraged to make sure to stop by La Jolla by a couple of my VT friends. On my 1st day in San Diego, I hopped into my rental car and followed the part of the 59 mile scenic drive in San Diego from Old Town up to La Jolla, passing through Ocean Beach, Mission Bay and several other towns before reaching my destination.

I love seeing wildlife in it's natural environment so visiting the Children's Pool which has been taken over by a herd of harbor seals was the highlight of my trip.

La Jolla means "The Jewel" in Spanish, it's technically a neighborhood of San Diego but it seems like it's own city, distinct and apart from the rest of San Diego. There's a lot of money here and it's home (or a second home) for the a lot of very wealthy people but the coastline, at least the part I saw, has open access to the public and is not private beaches for the wealthy.

My 2nd trip to La Jolla was in October 2008 when we added a couple of days to our Los Angeles trip so that my husband could see San Diego. We stopped by La Jolla so he could see the seals at the Children's Pool and for a lovely walk along the coast where we saw lots of pelicans and comorants.