Day #4 – La Jolla

I have found my place in California, and it’s La Jolla! We got the kids up early and headed up to La Jolla (about 10 miles up the road) for a Sea Cave Kayak excursion. La Jolla is so beautiful, and the beaches are so nice. We found a parking spot and checked in with the tour company. We were given helmets, lifejackets and paddles, along with a safety talk about ocean kayaking. (sadly, I have no photos of this yet because I took them with a waterproof camera that still has to be developed) Then we marched down to the shore. There were about 5 other families with us. It was a nice small group. Andy and Emily were in one Kayak (I kept saying “Really? You’re not going to kill each other?)

And Steve, Pete and I were in another. All-in-all, I’d say we did a really good job. Neither kayak swamped (which was a good thing as the water was COLD), and we stayed right with the guide.

As we began to kayak out, the guide told us to keep looking down. We saw leopard sharks and other fish that were HUGE! As we approached the sea caves, we also saw these pretty orange fish that looked like goldfish. Sadly, I can’t remember what they were called. The sea lions were resting on the rocks. They were mostly sleeping, but a few went for a swim. They let each one of us go into one of the caves with a guide. It was beautiful in there! Really fun, too. After we all got a turn, we headed back towards our launching off point. While we wre waiting, the guide encouraged us to eat some of the eel grass floating in the water. After chewing it for a minute, it was tasted sweet! The experience was one I will never forget!

Once we were back, we decided we were hungry. We ended up at a small restaurant across the street called Barbarella’s. They were still serving breakfast, so we had amazing cinnamon rolls, omlets and fresh berry crepes. After our tummies were full, we started driving along the beach to find a parking spot. We found one, in front of an area of beach that was rocky down to the water, but there was a large sandy beach area once down there.

Emily finds BIG seaweed:

THE WAVES WERE AMAZING! Pete learned to navigate the waves quickly, but they took out everyone’s legs at some point. Andy body surfed, but he definitely took a beating. Pete ended up having the water knock him down and he then “slid” up the beach towards me. All in all, everyone had a LOT of fun. Andy was pretty beaten up by the time we were done. (see the video at the end of this day's blog)

We came back to the hotel and enjoyed a dip in the pool and some time in the hot tub. That helped relax us a bit before dinner.

Once we were de-sanded, de-pooled and clean, we were ready to head back out to dinner. We had heard about a place in La Jolla from a friend and decided to try it. I am so glad we did. The food was wonderful and the views were amazing. We sat outside on the balcony which overlooked the water where we had been s

wimming just hours before! We tried everything from appetizers to desserts. And we all tried each other dishes, as each one was so unique. Appetizers included their famous bean and chicken soup, tomato and watermelon salad and mussels like I have never had them before. I had the sesame encrusted tuna, Steve and Em had halibut and Andy had steak in an Asian soy sauce which was so good! The best dessert we had was a toffee pudding cake.

Our tummies full, we left happy. After a brief stop in a T-shirt shop, we headed home to sleep. Tomorrow we’re going to Sea World. Peter is very excited!