On our fourth morning in San Diego, we drove north to the seaside town of La Jolla. The coastline there is beautiful, rugged, and lined with beaches and coves. We spent most of the day there and ended the day with an amazing winter sunset on the beach.
Happy Seal, Children’s Pool Beach ⤴
Our first stop after breakfast was Children’s Pool Beach. Built in the 1930s as a protected area for the children of San Diego to swim, Children’s Pool has since been taken over by a colony of harbor seals. They laze on the beach, playing and sunning themselves. Some residents of the city would rather see the seals moved elsewhere, but I don’t think San Diegans have any shortage of places to swim.
Good Life for a Seal ⤴
This guy seemed especially happy to be alive. I can’t say I blame him, lying on the beach in San Diego on a warm January morning is a pretty appealing prospect.
Pelican, La Jolla ⤴
In addition to seals, the area around Children’s Pool and La Jolla Cove was home to some enormous pelicans. They hopped lazily from rock to rock and made slow spirals over the water.
Sleeping Sea Lion ⤴
Just up the road from Children’s Pool was La Jolla Cove. Down a set of steps from a pretty little park, the cove was full of swimmers and bodyboarders, including some folks who were really too old and hairy to be wearing speedos. The sea lion colony wasn’t large, but it was noisy. A small gate at the top of the cliff led onto a ledge just about 20 feet from the closest sea lions.
Proud Sea Lion ⤴
This sea lion held himself in a way that made him look noble and absurd at the same time.