La Jolla

Glad I could fit in a little pre-FNCE sight seeing for me with my mom and Joe.  We stayed in La Jolla, so it made sense to spend some time walking around the beautiful area there.

The hotel did have breakfast offered, and I liked that they had hard boiled eggs.  I would have loved some cheese, but it was mixed in with the meat, which I don't do, so I passed.  Probably better off because that saved some room for dessert later in the day.
 Although the weather was not the best, we still walked around all day outside.  The sky was overcast, but thankfully it was not too cold.  Before walking all along the coastal area, we stopped for lunch at Girard Gourmet, a local cafe with really great looking foods, including an awesome bakery.  

Mom mom had a BLT...I think!
Joe and I both ordered eggplant pesto sandwiches.  So yummy!
Then we were fueled up and ready for a nice afternoon walk.  La Jolla is a beach town on the coast, and known for their sea lions and seals that inhabit the rocky shores.
 There were also plenty of birds hanging out there too.
 Compared to many coastal areas, there is not a lot of beach here, but the coast is still very pretty.
 Lots of kayakers come here to go in the caves and get close to the sea lions.  There were also a lot of snorkelers in this spot.

 Here I am with my mom.  You can see it is foggy and grey, but we were still able to wear short sleeves.
 This is the other side of the cave.  You can enter through a store at the top of the hill.
 Looking closely you can spot some sea lions.  They camouflage with the rocks so you have to look closely.
 More kayakers.  There were tons out there.  I saw they had this on Living Social, but I didn't sign us up.  
 Lots of birds with a sea lion at the end.
A close up of a bird.
 There are some sea lions.  A little easier to see here.
 These are much easier to spot!  And there are lots of them.

 It was nice to be so close to the ocean again and watching the waves roll in.
 Love standing at the ocean!  Since living on an island I really love being near the water.  The good news is that in Japan we are just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean.
Over in this area are the seals.  Last time I was here with my friend Amanda (who I am staying with now) there were lots of seals, but we were there at night and they were harder to see. 
 Walking home we went by an art museum.
 Oh yes, we stopped for yogurt on our way back to rest at the hotel.
Another exciting thing was that we are here during San Diego Restaurant Week.  Oh, and even more exciting was that my cousin (on my mom's side) lives nearby and was able to join us for dinner at Aloha Sushi.

This place offered their 3 course dinner menu for restaurant week for only $20.  Awesome!

I started with a sushi roll.  I know, I know I always eat sushi, but there were only 3 options, and this was the best for me.
 Joe started with a cucumber salad.  I love how they serve these.
 My mom was brave and tried the Ahi Poke.  Yay mom for trying the raw fish!  This will be good preparation for her when she comes to visit me in Japan sometime.
 For the entree, my cousin Melissa ordered some more sushi.  I think it was called the lobster bomb or something like that.
 My mom and I both tried the salmon and it was amazing.
 Joe went with the third entree choice, which was steak.  Needless to say, in the dark, I just didn't get a picture of this.

But I did some dessert since it was part of the 3 courses.  Joe and Melissa had the fried bananas.
 I couldn't resist the chocolate mousse pie.
Great meal!  Great day in La Jolla!

QUESTIONS:  Have you ever been to La Jolla?  Ever seen a sea lion not in a zoo (wanted to say the wild, but not sure this counts as the wild)?  Does your town have a restaurant week?

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I was in La Jolla circa 1995 :) I saw the sea lions there and in SF - they are not in SF anymore :(
We do have a Rest Week in B-more (and B-more County), but it's always crowded and the deal's aren't THAT great and we are not a fan of prix fixe menus.

Emily said...

la jolla is gorgeous! my family is from CA, so i have been there quite a few times. i wish i were going to fnce, so we could meet up! i'm interested in your review of it! a few of my friends are presenting, so if you see anyone from st. louis university, i probably know them!

Gina; The Candid RD said...

I had no idea you were going to FNCE! How did I miss that piece of information?! Crazy. I'm jealous :)
I've never been to La Jolla, but I hear it's beautiful. And your pics prove that as well. Have fun!!

sophia said...

Oh my, how beautiful!!! I would love to visit one day...it's not too far away! I could probably make a weekend trip...
That lobster bomb or whatever it is looks crazy good.

Special K said...

Hope you are having a fun time at the conference!

I visited La Jolla years ago during grad school. Isn't it cool and full of artists, if I remember right. I completely think that travel without dessert is not vacation at all and those yummy sundaes look worth while

Say hey to Trader Joes for me!

Kristen (swanky dietitian) said...

I just love La Jolla. My friend's parents have a condo there my sister and I stayed there once. It was so nice.
Looks like you had a great time!

bejellyfish said...

I've never been to La Jolla, but it looks beautiful! I've also never seen sea lions in the "wild", but it looks like it would be an interesting experience. I just moved from Springfield Missouri where they had a restaurant month every year (August I think) and you could spend $20 for 3 options at any restaurant on a list of many. The list grew every year and it was a really great opportunity to experience local foods!

I've never heard of Aloha Sushi, but it looks VERY good, and since I live in Hawaii... they might have one here. I will have to look into that! I LOVE sushi and I'm trying to get the beau more interested in it. ;-)

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