La Jolla Children`s Pool

The Children`s Pool in La Jolla is located just south of La Jolla Cove. The pool has a concrete breakwater wall that was constructed in 1931. The wall was paid for by Ellen Browning Scripps. The purpose of the wall was to create a safe area for children to swim. This has always been a popular beach. Many young children have learned to snorkel here without the fear of large waves.
Recently that has all changed. Sometime over the past 10 to 20 years seals have started to call this beach home. They have taken over the beach and quite frankly polluted the water here. The beach has now become a place for `seals only` due to the pollution and seal loving extremists. I often wonder if any of the `seal protectors` have ever used the beach.
It is a wonderful place to see seals, but has become a terrible place for swimmers. We still enjoy visiting the area, but have not been on the beach for many years. Hopefully, the area will be a safe place for people to swim again. See http://www.friendsofthechildrenspool.com/ and http://www.lajollafriendsoftheseals.org/ for more information. Enjoy!

Street Fairs

Street fairs are a great way to experience a neighborhood. Street fairs are popular thoughout the United States. San Diego certainly has it`s share. Most street fairs are very similar but we have been to a few that were surprisingly good. There are usually lots of food concessions, home improvement booths, the local hospital/medical group booth and of course the local politicians. So often street fairs will have entertainment and rides. These two bonuses usually help the fair to be a step above the rest. Street fairs can be found nearly every weekend somewhere in San Diego. Last weekend was the Rolando Street Fair http://www.rolandovillage.com/  Keep your eyes open for the next one in town. Enjoy!

Piers in San Diego

San Diego County has six piers open to the public. Two are on San Diego Bay. The other four are ocean piers. To the north is Oceanside Pier. This is one of the longest wooden piers in California. There are always surfers at this beach and fishermen on the pier. Crystal Pier http://www.crystalpier.com/  is in Pacific Beach. This pier is unique as it has cottages for rent and you can actually drive your vehicle to the cottage. This is not a very long pier, but fishing can be good in season. The next pier to the south is Ocean Beach Pier. Ocean Beach Pier is the longest pier in California. Ocean Beach is a funky California beach city with lots of restaurants and shops to visit. One of the best hamburger joints in town is Hodads http://www.hodadies.com/ . A walk around Ocean Beach and then on the pier is a must for everyone who visits or lives in San Diego. The next pier and farthest south is Imperial Beach Pier.

All of the ocean piers have fishing, bait stores and restaurants except Crystal Pier which has no restaurant but there are lots of restaurants in the area. A pier is a great way to experience the ocean without getting wet or seasick. In addition, it is the best way to see the back end of a wave. Enjoy!

Saint Patrick`s Day Parade 3-12-11

Saturday was the annual Saint Patrick`s Day Parade and Festival in Balboa Park. The parade runs along 5th and 6th Avenues just west of Balboa Park. There are over 150 entries in the parade. This was the 31st year for the event. The Festival is in Balboa Park along 6th Avenue after the parade. There were two stages with entertainment, lots of food concessions and of course a beer garden. This is a great place to put on your green and celebrate Saint Patrick`s Day. For more information go to http://www.stpatsparade.org/ . Enjoy!

Lake Hodges

Last weekend we had some of the best weather of the year so far. The sky was clear and the temperature inland was in the low 80`s and high 70`s at the coast. We decided to take a drive to the beach via Del Dios Highway. While driving past the dam at Lake Hodges we saw that the water was overflowing the dam. This has been a rare site in recent years due to California`s drought conditions. I have seen the water running over the dam many times and always seem to need to stop and take a longer look. We do not have many waterfalls in Southern California so this is our substitute waterfall.

Lake Hodges is a great place for hiking, fishing and bird watching. More information about the lake can be found at www.sandiego.gov/water/recreation/hodges.shtml .The lake is part of the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy http://www.sdrvc.org/ which is working on a coast to mountains trail. The trail will run from the beach in Del Mar to Volcan Mountain near Julian when complete. There are some wonderful spots through the Lake Hodges area and March and April are good times to experience them. The vegetation is green and the flowers are out. This is another place to Enjoy San Diego!