BIRDS, BEACH AND SUN: A Spring Weekend in La Jolla, CA, by Caroline Arnold at The Intrepid Tourist

 Week 12: 52 Places to Go

Surfers and gulls at La Jolla Shores, California

Until I moved to California I never knew how to pronounce La Jolla, the name of the beach town just north of San Diego famous for swimming, surfing and beautiful ocean views, not realizing the “j” sounds like “h” and the two “l’s” are like a “y”. The correct pronunciation is “ la hoya”.

Hang gliders above La Jolla

Brown pelicans

On a warm weekend in March 2018, Art and I spent a weekend at La Jolla Shores and enjoyed walking along the sand, exploring tidepools, and observing birds and seals from the cliff top path at nearby La Jolla Cove.

Cliff top path at La Jolla Cove

On our first day, we headed north along the sand toward the Scripps pier. (The buildings of the Scripps Research Institute are on the bluff above.) Fleets of pelicans zoomed overhead, sharing the sky with hang gliders, who had launched themselves just up the coast at Torrey Pines. The tide was out and flocks of gulls and shorebirds patrolled the water’s edge looking for tidbits in the sand.

Marbled Godwits

Beyond the birds, where the waves were breaking, surfers in wetsuits waited for the next big wave.  We stayed dry. It was early spring and the water was cold--although apparently not for swimmers we saw making their way between the buoy markers.

It was a great day for photography. Broken shells, bits of seaweed, and even a jellyfish had washed up on shore, creating nature's own abstract compositions.

Nature as artist--one stone with kelp washed up on the sand

On the next day, we went in the other direction, following the path along the top of the cliff at La Jolla Cove. Hundreds of cormorants perched on the rocks below, many of them tending nests.

This Brandt's cormorant has three hungry chicks to feed

We continued around the point and walked to Children’s Beach, now taken over by seals and sea lions. 

Sea Lions enjoying the sun. (Sea lions have external ears; seals do not.)

People are no longer permitted to use Children's Beach, but a walkway along the breakwater provides a close look at the animals–who were mostly sleeping and enjoying a warm day in the sun--just as we were.As we looked down from the walkway, we could see our shadows next to the tidepools.
For my report on a previous visit to Jolla Cove, see my post for February 10, 2014.

  All text and photos copyright Caroline Arnold
www.theintrepidtourist.blogspot.com

BIRDS, BEACH AND SUN: A Spring Weekend in La Jolla, CA

Surfers and gulls at La Jolla Shores, California

Until I moved to California I never knew how to pronounce La Jolla, the beach town just north of San Diego famous for swimming, surfing and beautiful ocean views, not realizing the “j” sounds like “h” and the two “l’s” are like a “y”. The correct pronunciation is “ la hoya”.

Hang gliders above La Jolla

Brown pelicans

Recently, on a warm weekend in March we spent a weekend at La Jolla Shores and enjoyed walking along the sand, exploring tidepools, and observing birds and seals from the cliff top path at nearby La Jolla Cove.

Cliff top path at La Jolla Cove

On our first day we headed north along the sand toward the Scripps pier. (The buildings of the Scripps Research Institute are on the bluff above.) Fleets of pelicans zoomed overhead, sharing the sky with hang gliders, who had launched themselves just up the coast at Torrey Pines. The tide was out and flocks of gulls and shorebirds patrolled the water’s edge looking for tidbits in the sand.

Marbled Godwits

Beyond the birds, where the waves were breaking, surfers in wetsuits waited for the next big wave.  We stayed dry. It was early spring and the water was cold--although apparently not for swimmers we saw making their way between the buoy markers.

It was a great day for photography. Broken shells, bits of seaweed, and even a jellyfish had washed up on shore, creating nature's own abstract compositions.

Nature as artist--one stone with kelp washed up on the sand

On the next day we went in the other direction, following the path along the top of the cliff at La Jolla Cove. Hundreds of cormorants perched on the rocks below, many of them tending nests.

This Brandt's cormorant has three hungry chicks to feed

We continued around the point and walked to Children’s Beach, now taken over by seals and sea lions. 

Sea Lions enjoying the sun. (Sea lions have external ears; seals do not.)

People are no longer permitted to use the beach but a walkway along the breakwater provides a close look at the animals–who were mostly sleeping and enjoying a warm day in the sun--just as we were.

For my report on a previous visit to Jolla Cove, see my post for February 10, 2014.

Our shadows from the walkway above the tidepools on the other side of Children's Beach

MARINE MAMMAL CENTER at the Marin Headlands,San Francisco Bay California

View from the Marine Mammal Center entrance on a foggy day.

Every year hundreds of sick and injured seals, sea lions, elephant seals, and sea otters wash up on northern California’s beaches.  If they are lucky, they are found and taken to the Marine Mammal Center on the Marin Headlands where they receive food, medical care, and when they are well enough to be on their own, are returned to the wild. Located on a hillside above the lagoon, the center is open to the public.  On a recent foggy Sunday afternoon I stopped by for a visit.

Life-size Elephant Seal Statue

The entrance to the Marine Mammal Center features life-size statues of a sea lion, elephant seal and sea otter who greet visitors, allowing one to gain an appreciation of how big these animals are and to see them up close--an opportunity one would never have with a live animal.

California sea lion resting next to the pool in its enclosure

Inside the facility a stairway (or elevator) leads to a second floor viewing platform which looks out over the outdoor enclosures where the animals are kept.  Signs caution visitors to be quiet so as not to disturb the animals.  During our visit, in mid-August, not all the enclosures were occupied, but during the pupping season in spring, when young animals get lost and separated from their mothers, the enclosures are full.  A volunteer told us that during the peak period last spring they had hundreds of animals, requiring round the clock feeding.

Whale baleen

The Marine Mammal Center is both a treatment center and an educational center.  Exhibits explain how animals are rescued,what kind of medical treatments they get, the process of reintroducing them to the wild, and the importance of keeping the ocean clean--and the danger to animals of trash, nets, and water pollution.  There are also numerous hands-on exhibits--feeling the softness of sealskin, for instance--as well as displays of animal skeletons, giant whale vertebrae and an example of whale baleen.

The Marin Headlands is located  north of San Francisco, just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge.  On the road to the Marine Mammal Center one has a dramatic view of the city and of the bridge. 

The Marine Mammal Center is open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free and no reservation is required unless you have a group of 10 or more people. A well-stocked gift shop, which supports the Center, has books and ocean themed toys, shirts, and decorative objects.  The Center relies on donations for its funding. For more information about the Marine Mammal Center click here.