As I always do when I visit my grandparents, I took a side trip down to the San Diego area to see my friends Janice and Gideon. I timed my visit to coincide with their weekly anime get-together so I could see as many people as possible. But since that was in the evening, they had classes in the afternoon, and I left in the early morning, I had some time to kill. I decided to wander down into La Jolla. I found the Birch Aquarium first, part of Scripps Institution of Oceanography (and incidentally a place my company does business with), and wandered around. It was a little aquarium, mostly geared for school trips and nothing attention-grabbing, but still nice. But I wish I'd skipped it only because of what I found later as I kept driving down the coast.

I found La Jolla Cove. I'd taken a turn on a whim and immediately found an empty parking spot. Since it seemed like the kind of area I'd never find one again, I swung into it without really seeing what else was there. When I got out, I saw tons and tons of seagulls and pelicans on the rocky shore. And then I found another personable squirrel. This one didn't try to climb in my lap, but it came about a foot away from me and sat there chomping grass.

I kept wandering around the curves of the coast and suddenly was looking down into a small cove. People were swimming, snorkeling, and the water was swirling with vegetation. There were sea lions off to one side and a cave to the other. I so wish I'd had more time. I probably would have gone to find a bathing suit and snorkel gear -- a sign I read said there was an artificial reef that had been sunk to stimulate the tidal area. I did go wading.

I finally -- reluctantly -- crawled out of the water with the thought that I was running out of time. But when I climbed back up the stairs, I decided to see what else was around the curve... and there were more distractions with the incredible tidepools and rocks. I found all sorts of critters in the pools. The tide was coming in, so the splashes were getting higher and higher. It was wonderful. :)

I finally made myself turn around without seeing what lay around the next corner. I was late. But next time I'm in California, I want to spend a whole day there!

Pacific Palisades
Coastal Road Trip
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Vista & Fallbrook
Index