When you hear someone saying “La Jolla” in Spanish, it simply means “Jewel.” That’s a perfect name for the beautiful village located on the coast just north of San Diego. Spend a vacation in these spectacular surroundings, and you will feel like you have discovered a real gem of your own. The ambiance is one of absolute scenic beauty! In La Jolla, you will forget about work and the stress of life, except relaxing with those you love.
Boasting some of California’s most beautiful terrain and attractions, La Jolla (pronounced la hoya) is also the home of beautiful arts, restaurants, activities, and shopping. By mixing upscale living with popular activities, you will fall in love with the lifestyle and the community! Those blessed enough to reside in this seaside heaven, are surrounded by beautiful Mediterranean architecture. All along the shoreline to the different business districts, this region will have you gasping with awe.
The sea surrounds the village on the slope of Mt. Soledad serving as its background. Visitors come to this quaint village for a chance to relax on its sandy shore and enjoy its Mediterranean-like weather. La Jolla has also become a favorite vacation getaway for the rich, which is evident by the number of million-dollar homes that line its coast. The beaches are, of course, one of the main reasons you want to spend time in La Jolla. Summer and autumn, in particular, are popular times because of the gentle surf and warm waters. It can get very busy during these periods as well, so try to come early in the morning or late in the afternoon if you want to avoid the crowd.
There is the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Founded in 1960, UCSD is one of the 10 University of California campuses. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which predated UCSD, is now a part of the University, and is a designated sea and space grant institution; meaning a lot of research takes place there (check this one out about identity theft).
A visit to The Cave Store affords visitors the opportunity to descend a 100-year-old stairway, into a human-made tunnel, down into the fascinating and mysterious Sunny Jim Cave – the largest of several ocean caves in La Jolla Cove. If you need help getting around town, you can book our car service online in a couple minutes.
The cave’s first owner, Sunny Jim, hired two Chinese laborers in the early 1900’s to dig this underground tunnel down to the cave. Using only picks and shovels, they carried all the dirt out by hand. In the 1910’s, the only way the public could get to the cave was by lowering them down a rope. Today, you can take 145 stairs from The Cave Store. Sunny Jim Cave is the only sea cave in California that you can enter from a stairway.
Be sure to take a drive up Nautilus Street to the pinnacle of the city, the top of Mount Soledad. Dr. Seuss and his wife Audrey lived for years in the Seuss house on this mountain. From the park, at the peak, you can see San Clemente Island 65 miles west in the blue Pacific, North County beaches to the north and the San Diego downtown skyline and the Mexican border beyond to the south. The view is just spectacular at night. The site is well known for the controversy generated by the Easter Cross war memorial that towers above the peak.
Whether you’re traveling alone for business or taking the family on vacation, La Jolla will take your breath away. With so many attractions, you’ll have to come back again to do it all.
