La Jolla Cove Redux

  Visiting the Visitor's Attraction

Trip Report 20160320

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The Experience

La Jolla means "the jewel" in Spanish and it surely is a jewel.  It is popular with locals and tourists alike and it is on our "A List" when it comes time to entertain out-of-town visitors, particularly those that are in San Diego for the first time.  We were entertaining our "truck friends" Joe and Stacey from Ottawa and decided for our first act we would take them to "The Cove".  And for the second act, we went to the Torrey Pines Glider Port.

These photos were taken with a Sony A7RM2 and Zeiss 50mm f/2 fully manual lens.

The photos below are what we saw.

This pelican was hiding on the cliff among the spring flowers.

A view of La Jolla cove from the east end.  No shortage of folks.  The good news is that the surf war quite tame.

There are always a number of seals present at the cove.  The come seeking peace, quiet and rest, mostly unfulfilled on a busy tourist day.

This time of year, most of the cows have pups and they bag some rays in the sun.

The rank-and-file tourist is not very wise concerning the ways of the wild.  These seals hunt for their food and they are strong, fast and have big teeth.  It is a really bad idea to attempt to pet them as they will likely bite and it will not be fun.  Touching a pup is double-trouble as you will have mom mad at you in addition to the pup.

The dark gray bull charged the fellow with the towel.

When people come close, the seals wake up instantly.

They look like fur blobs on the beach, but they are swift, agile and effective hunters in the water.

The surf has reduced in size somewhat from the past few weeks but still large in an absolute sense.

Sea kayakers and the cliffs of Torrey Pines are visible in the distance.

The seals are social and tend to clump together on the beach.  Anything to get out of the cold water for a few minutes.

A form fitting rock is the perfect pillow.

Fresh out of the ocean this fellow heads for the dry sand.

These two bulls were having a dominance dual.  Barking loudly, teeth out, pushing and shoving, but no blood was drawn.

Neither bull got a decisive advantage so the barking continued.

This young seal just wants a nap but the close proximity of the tourists would not let that happen.

Note that the sea cave has been concrete reinforced to prevent a collapse.

The park at La Jolla cove has a huge dracina tree.

As we returned to the parking area we got a nice view of the surf cave and La Jolla Shores in the distance.


Our next stop was the Torrey Pines Glider Port.  Hang gliders of all types launch and land here on these cliffs.  The cliffs and the prevailing winds, not to mention the view, make this an ideal soaring area.


Things can get a bit busy.

Getting full control of your wing  before launch is critical.


And, of course, avoiding a mid-air collision is also a nice thing to do.

A well-timed launch prevents many problems.

There were many pilots setting-up for launch.


Look Ma, no hands!

Getting the kite inflated and facing into the wind can be challenging.

The glider port offers tandem rides.  Above, a young child gets a tandem ride.

San Diego has plenty to see and La Jolla Cove and the Torrey Pines Glider Port are two of the nicer spots.  Should your travels take you to San Diego, be sure to see them both.


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