La Jolla-How Sundays Should Be

Sunday is a popular day in La Jolla.  

Since we were lucky enough to score a prime parking spot near the Open Aire Market, we left the car where it was, and took the shop and restaurant dotted few blocks walk to the beach.  As we descended the palm tree lined road, a vast expanse of blue rising before us, a man who was walking by exclaimed to his companion,

"This is how Sundays should be." 

There are many things that make La Jolla worthy of a day trip

Seals

La Jolla is home to a large seal population.  They lounge on the beaches,

and on a rock aptly named, Seal Rock.

Anyone who knows me well will know that this was a trip highlight.  We spent a lot of time seal watching.

They were super cute, as long as you kept a respectful distance. 

Me keeping a respectful distance

There were signs on all of the beaches reminding people that seals are wild animals and will bite you if you attempt to touch them. We watched one twenty-something looking girl try and try again to give a napping beach seal a hug.  As soon as she got too close, the seal would snap/lunge at her. She would scream and run away, only to try again.  A group of teens from a swim club were prepping for a practice.  One of the boys yelled down to the girl,

"Hey, you better stop, it's going to bite you!"  Another boy patted the first boy on the shoulder and said,

"Let her learn on her own."  

I have to admit there was a point where I started rooting for the seal, but eventually she did give up.  Totally dejected, the girl stomped away. She appeared personally offended. She just couldn't fathom why the seal did not want a hug.  

Gelato

Okay, so maybe people don't go to La Jolla specifically for the gelato, but they should.  

Bobboi Gelato uses organic, natural ingredients, many of them locally sourced.  The people working the counter were very cool and friendly, and were happy to chat about all of their flavors.  

Choosing a flavor proved difficult. They all sounded good.  Since we are suckers for a good salted caramel, we both got a scoop of the salted caramel. Shannon got a second scoop of pistachio, while I got banana rum as my second scoop.

It was great, creamy gelato. It was fresh and didn't taste like it was sitting around in a cooler all week. Sometimes a specific flavor can get a bit lost, or watered down by the milky part of the ice cream/gelato, but here, the flavors really stood out. I could pick out the rum from the banana, and the salt from the caramel.  We sat at an outdoor table, trying to slow down and savor. The view wasn't too shabby either.

Nature

If I ever came back to this section of California, I wouldn't mind staying/spending the week in La Jolla.  It is absolutely beautiful.  We loved seeing all of the palm tree dotted beach areas with their clear, blue water.

Artist painting the view

There's a nice trail that meanders along the cliffs. It offers plenty of opportunities to ooh and aah, and to take way too many pictures. 

There are benches dotted here and there along the trail so you can take a moment to soak in the spectacular scenery. 

Did I mention that it was beautiful? It was the kind of nature that almost feels unreal.  

Views

While we were taking in the view at one of the beaches, we overheard a woman chatting about another place to get fantastic views, Mount Soledad.  

It was a short ride from the beach area of La Jolla, and well worth a stop.  The mountain is home to a Veterans Memorial.

The top of the mountain presented gorgeous, sweeping views. We were fortunate that it was a blue sky, puffy cloud kind of day.

I loved La Jolla so much, if I was filthy-rich-tons-of-money, you might find me house hunting there.  

If you like the outdoors, beaches, nature trails, seals, and/or yummy gelato, La Jolla, California is a must do, especially on a Sunday. I wholeheartedly agree with the passing gentleman, La Jolla is how Sundays should be.