Enjoying San Diego

San Diego, CA

The beach towns along the Pacific in San Diego have been pretty busy during the holidays.  We tolerate the crowds but look forward to a more peaceful time when people return to work and school.  We have kept busy, despite the crowds, checking out the views along the ocean.  One warm afternoon we rode our bikes along the coast from nearby Pacific Beach north a few miles into La Jolla.

The surf was unusually strong, even for this area, so the surfers were out in force enjoying the rides.

La Jolla is home to the famous Children’s Pool Beach.  Local philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps paid for the sea wall project (built in 1931) to create a Children’s Pool, a place where children could play and swim that would be protected from the waves coming on shore.  Over the years seals also found it a good place to play and swim.  The pool has been a source of controversy for years over whether seals or people should have priority for its use.  Apparently seals don’t have good toilet manners, so the water becomes a bit fecal challenged, making it unusable for humans.  But environmentalists fight any attempt to move the seals.

The City has maintained a rope barrier from December 15 through May 15 (pupping season) so that pregnant seals can rest and give birth on the beach without humans coming too close and frightening them.

Ah, I love nap time!

Low tides are at their lowest point right now,  so one afternoon Lisa and Hans (Metamorphosis Road) took us to Sunset Cliffs near Ocean Beach to check out the tide pools.

The view to the north

Looking to the south

They said the tide pools in this area aren’t as interesting as those found on the coasts of Oregon or Washington due to the warmer water temperature, but there are some cool things to see if you look carefully.

A marine biologist wannabee checks out a “pool”

We don’t know what these guys are?

Lisa loves tide pools!

Lisa told us this is a sea anemone. Ask Pam to pronounce that some time!

Hans Yoda!

Our reward for a hard day’s work was dinner at the famous Ocean Beach landmark         “OB Noodle House” where we enjoyed some great craft beers and a delicious bowl of Pho (Vietnamese soup pronounces Fuh).

Today, with clear skies and temperatures in the mid-70s, we drove a short distance to the north to visit the Torrey Pines Glider Port.  Unfortunately the winds were so calm nobody was jumping off the cliff with their hang glider, so we just sat in our chairs enjoying the view of the calm water and the beach below us while doing some reading.

We had a pair of binoculars with us in case any whales or dolphins made an appearance, but apparently they were off on an excursion somewhere.  There were a few people walking the beach far below us, with some even braving the cold waters (mid 60s) for a swim.  One person looked like he was wearing a flesh colored suit, so the binoculars were utilized for a closer look.  Turns out that flesh color was truly “flesh color!”

Turns out the area below us is a Nudist Beach.  Who knew!

OK, the guy in the lower left is not totally unclothed!

 

We have a little over a week remaining in our stay at Mission Bay before heading east into the desert.  With much to do and see here, we know the time will fly by, but look for one more blog before we move on.