The beauty that is San Diego

San Diego, February 5th & 6th, 2009

So today I was itching to get out of the house and spend some time by the ocean. This on and off rainy weather of the last few days always makes me want to go to the ocean for some reason. Most people flock to the beach when it's hot and sunny, but my favorite time to go is during and right after the rain. Over the last few days we've been going to La Jolla and later to Point Loma & Cabrillo National Monument to hang out, enjoy the ocean breeze, relish in the weather. And take pictures. We took lots of pictures. It was fun, and cheap too! Plus it was good Mama/daughter time...lots of time to talk and just be.

These shots were taken at the top of the hill at Cabrillo. Passes for the state park are $5 for the day, but only $15 for the year, so an annual pass was what we got. I knew the moment I laid eyes on the view that my daughter would be dying to take pictures here. I mean, just look at it! With the rain having stopped only minutes before, the air itself seemed as clean and clear as I've ever experienced. There was a bit of wind, just enough gusts to keep it interesting.

I even made some friends! lol...The gull was maybe 18 inches from me when I took this shot. I was standing there, watching some pelicans getting ready to take off, when this little guy landed right beside me. He seemed very curious about what I was up to when I started snapping photos of him. Not shy in the least. Much more shy was the little crab I found down by the tidepools. I had an enormous amount of fun just watching him skitter around, dashing away from shadows and hiding amongst the rocks.

These shots were taken in La Jolla, at what we like to refer to as Dr. Seuss Park. One look at the trees here and it is easy to envision any one of the books by Dr Seuss. Who knew those illustrations were more realistic than you could imagine! hehe! The second one above always reminded me of a Sneetch...all it needs is a star on the "belly"!

These are also in La Jolla, closer to Children's Pool where the seals are "pupping". Sadly, it wasn't warm enough to see much of them..but we did see a couple of the pups and one very boisterous mama! I haven't finished resizing the pics yet, but I'll get them up soon. I thought it would be nice, meanwhile, to share with you these two photos, taken about a block and 2 hours apart. What a sunset, eh?