La Jolla Comes Alive in Summer

Summer Resort is International Destination

By Larry Taylor

Summer is when beautiful La Jolla really comes alive. This beach village, just north of San Diego, is a popular international vacation spot, with its scenic coves, great beaches, picturesque downtown and cultural and recreational attractions galore.

By late June the weather starts warming up and the ocean invites you to jump in. For years my wife and I make our annual La Jolla trip, usually staying at Shell Beach Motel and Apartments. This building complex, built in the ‘30s of brick with adobe‑tiled roofs, has a pre WWII charm. The apartments, as well, are spacious, most with bedroom, kitchen and living room.

And you can’t beat its location, facing the ocean with a great view of Seal Rock and a block away from La Jolla Cove, one of the top diving and snorkeling spots on the West Coast.

Our favorite sunbathing spot is just a few yards from our front door, a small beach facing Seal Rock. On calm days, it’s also fun snorkeling here. You see an array of Pacific fish, including many bright orange Garibaldis, which seem to shimmer when sun rays penetrate the surface. An added pleasure comes when seals basking on the rock jump in and swim with you.

Every morning before breakfast we make the10‑minute drive to La Jolla Shores, a beautiful two‑mile stretch of beach. Here we join the parade of tourists and locals taking their morning stroll. In addition, this is a popular surfing and boogie‑boarding spot. When we finish our stroll, we jump in ourselves and catch a few waves.

We try to make it to La Jolla Cove in the afternoon for a snorkel. By summer there are always crowds, but if you take a short swim north out of the cove along the cliffs of the shoreline, there are seven caves fun to snorkel through. Along the way you’re sure to meet kayakers paddling their way among the rock grottoes.

If you’re a shopper, La Jolla is paradise exploring the shops in the downtown area. You’ll find a small number of national clothing stores, boutiques, art galleries, and restaurants line the two main shopping streets–Girard and Prospect. Just a block from the beach, these streets not only offer fun shopping, but fresh air, sunshine and a break from the mall. And, if you “need” a tee‑shirt, you can find that too.

Everyone visiting La Jolla should go to Birch Aquarium, affiliated with Scripps Institute of Oceanography, across from UCSD. There are over 3,500 species of colorful fish on display here, including sharks, Pacific Coast fish and colorful tropical species. Opening this month is “Art of Deception,” giving visitors the fascinating task of trying to spot sea creatures disguised in natural camouflage. Also there is the must‑see exhibit of seahorses, a fascinating display of 13 types of this unlikely animal with the head of a horse, the tail of a monkey and the pouch of a kangaroo.

For fun and education, Balboa Park in San Diego is about 20 minutes away. First choice here is the San Diego Zoo. You could spend a day at this zoo, checking out the scores of animals, including pandas, koalas, polar bears and gorillas in enclosures that resemble their natural homes.

Other park attractions include the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, with over 100 hands‑on exhibits, a planetarium show and giant Imax Theater. Just down the way are the San Diego Museum of Art and the Natural History Museum.

La Jolla is justly proud of its annual Summerfest festival of chamber music, running this year, Aug. 4 through Aug. 21. This event brings together some of the finest musicians from around the world in concerts, including, in 2005, world famous artists, cellist Yo Yo Ma and pianist Andre Watts.

A great pleasure at the festival is to see and hear older established musicians playing with young musicians on their way up. Most concerts are held in Sherwood Auditorium, adjacent to the La Jolla Contemporary Art Museum, just a short walk from downtown. At the theater entrance is a striking beehive shaped cairn, especially commissioned, by environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy:

While in the area, a visit to the museum is in order. A couple of interesting exhibits are on tap this summer, “”Minimalist Abstractions” and “Location, Location, Location.”

We always go to the theater when we’re in La Jolla, and two of the country’s finest regional theaters are close by. La Jolla Playhouse, located on UCSD campus, presents plays year‑round in three auditoriums. In Balboa Park, there’s the Old Globe Theater also with three venues, the Globe, the Cassius Carter and a summer of Shakespeare at the outdoor Festival Stage.

This summer the Festival Stage will present “Comedy of Errors,” “Macbeth.” and “Winter’s Tale” in repertory. Of special interest, La Jolla Playhouse will be developing a musical version of “Dr Zhivago,” by Michael Weller, which could end up on Broadway.

Of course, there is a multitude of fine restaurants in La Jolla. As you might expect, the list includes a variety of great seafood restaurants. In addition, four of our favorites are Thai Spice, Forever Fondue, Nine Ten, and Japengo. Award‑winning Thai Spice offers above average cuisine in an intimate setting–indoors or in its shady, plant‑filled patio. The fresh basil rolls and chicken sate are among the best we’ve eaten.