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It may seem to
you that the streets and storefronts in
La
Jolla are older than elsewhere along the coast,
it's because they are old. Abundance of picturesque natural
scenery here is unique in all
San
Diego. Thus it was an obvious choice
for the earliest settlers and Indians before them. As the
years passed by, the demand for room with a view increased
which has set the market and shaped
La
Jolla into a prosperous community which is evident
in the upscale restaurants, fine art galleries and Ferrari
dealerships about town. Travelers can still favors the simple
bounty that started it all, with a driving or walking tour
along La Jolla's rocky points and reefs from La Jolla Cove to
the Children's Pool, and southward to Windansea Beach and Bird
Rock. In the space of a few short miles, you'll come across
peaceful bays and pulsating surf, offshore kelp and near shore
tide pools, sea caves and seal rookeries, dazzling blue water
and shiny white beaches.
La Jolla Cove
which is the north facing point on the seaward end of the
cliffs creates a small deep water bay here. The cliffs are
riddled with sea caves of special fascination to kayakers who
paddle over from
La
Jolla
Shores
Beach. You can
slide down a spooky tunnel for $3.00 in the basement of the
old Curio Shop (on Coast Blvd. just off Prospect Street) to
Sunny Jim's Cave at the base of Deadman's, or snorkel over
from The Cove on a calm day, to explore the huge grotto
beneath The Clam.
La Jolla Cove
which is small beautiful beach itself is perfect for providing
comfortable accommodation to a few dozen beachgoers. During
the busy summer days, you will find a few hundred managing to
get their way in for the terrific swimming and snorkeling
afforded by The Cove's sheltered waters and abundance of
bright orange Garibaldi fish and other tame marine life (The
Cove has long been not entertaining fishing of any kind). The
Cove is the ultimate place for the Scuba divers and ocean
swimmers use this safe point of entry and exit. Not allowed
are the surfboards, boogie boards or rafts of any kind. To the next of The
Clove, you will get a fantastic
Grass
Park equipped with
bathrooms, showers, picnic tables, a paved pedestrian walkway
and several public gazebos.
From La Jolla
Clove, let’s move towards the south now where the coast is
open to the mercy of the sea. A wave reserved exclusively for
body-surfing, known as Boomer is the first spot on the route.
A stairway at the south end of the park leads to
Shell
Beach. Seal Rock
here is the big draw where California Grey Seals gather
together when the tide is low and the surf is down. During the
high tide when Seal Rock is water logged, you'll see the seals
gather out on the small sand beach inside the breakwall at The
Children's Pool. There has been a great controversy over the
issue of who should have the right use this beach - humans,
seals or both. It is always better if you check with the
lifeguards on site to find out the current ruling, but
remember, the seals that appear to be cute are wild and
unpredictable animals and better left well alone. If you want
to have the thrill you can walk out on the seawall and watch
the seals from a closer vantage point, but in that case you
also come closer to the waves.
The small beach
on the south side of the Children's Pool is
Casa
Beach and it has
slightly larger neighbor to the south is called Wipeout. Both
of these spots are not smooth for swimming because here you’ll
find a lot of moving water and rocks. A few small caves on the
beach are there, but they're often choked with seaweed and
other flotsam. A long narrow band of grass park is a signal
that you've arrived at Hospitals which is a great reef but a
poor beach. At low tide there are wonderful tidepools and
great shelling all along the coast here. The conditions are
not always favorable, but when they cooperate it becomes the
best dive site in town, with dramatic undersea arches and
ledges chock full of lobster. At the south end by the gazebo
is the Hospitals surf spot, the northernmost of
La
Jolla's reefbreaks.
The road leaves
to coast between Horseshoe and Windansea, preventing most
people from ever finding
Marine
Street
Beach which is the
prettiest, whitest beach in all of
San
Diego. Thus, the beach here is
dominated by teens and locals. Marine Street is famous for its
wicked shorebreak otherwise known as 'womp.' Bodysurfers and
bodyboarders get short, deep tube rides as the waves hit the
steep shelf and unload onto the shore. Also available several
nameless surfbreaks on the reefs at either end of the beach -
all fickle, all dangerous, all heavily localized, but also
unmatchable when they're on...
Windansea is the
next beach that floats southward. Made famous by Tom Wolfe's
story 'The Pump House Gang,' Windansea was and is all about
fitting in. The break is an easy left/right peak that breaks
on any tide, any swell and practically any day of the year.
It's well crowded, and the crowd accordingly competitive.
Though not always a friendly situation in the water, it is
refreshingly familiar on dry land. The beach is broken by
rocks, creating natural alcoves of varying size, perfect for
private parties or private get-togethers. The best thing is
swimming on the south half of the beach between
Kolmar
Street and Big Rock Reef.
Lifeguards supervise near the grass shack at the end of
Bonaire
Street in summertime.
The remainder of
the coast from Big Rock south to P.B. Point is characterized
by forbidding cliffs and rocky shoreline. The beachcomber is
the luckiest who trip upon the stairs at the foot of
Bird Rock
Avenue on a neap tide, and
discovers the sea floor spread out before him like a magic
carpet. All of them are the richest reefs in town which offers
plenty of surf spots when swell is running, and great diving
when it's not. Bird Rock is the last choice because of its
limited access, no beaches, no lifeguards and no facilities of
any kind for swimmers and sunbathers, but it's definitely
worth a snapshot on the way through for your collection.
Please enjoy La
Jolla California Beaches: If you are interested in real estate
for sale or La Jolla property for sale area please contact GAMER &
Associates at (800) 224-6637 Noah Gamer has spent his his
life living in San Diego; having grown up watching San
Diego county
become a unique set of beach communities and suburbs. Allow
him and his team to help you with your next real estate
transaction.
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