Unexpected, delightful La Jolla - tourism in California

Peter Jensen

Step beyond the shopping temptations to find a beachside resort town still full of beauty, serenity and surprise

It's very peculiar today," says underwater photographer Judith Garfield as she digs her toes into hard-packed sand near La Jolla's famous Marine Room restaurant and squints at the heaving blue sea. "You rarely see waves breaking this big at this time of year."

I watch a suffer catch a right-breaking curl over the very spot where Garfield and I are scheduled to do a little snorkeling this morning. We opt for coffee instead.

On a normal day, the shallow, placid waters off the south end of La Jolla Shores beach offer snorkelers a good chance to see shy leopard sharks in 5- to 10-foot waters over a sandy bottom. Last year a local news helicopter crew happened to spot dozens of 2- to 5-foot shadowy sharks cruising the clear waters about 30 yards from the restaurant. The startling news of a shark "invasion" broke at 5.

Divers, of course, have known since the 1940s about the harmless, beautifully mottled sharks that can be seen year-round here, but the media hoopla only added to the mystique of above- and below-water La Jolla.

In this "town with the funny name," as La Jolla resident Max Miller called his 1948 memoir, secrets and amusing little delights crop up in unexpected ways--if you know where to look.

Sometimes, that's harder than it sounds. Set beside a glorious bay and the point that shelters it, La Jolla is 11 miles north of downtown San Diego. The area is so well known for its pricey shops, pricier dining, and priceless (judging by how hard they are to find) parking spaces that most Southern Californians assume it's a resort town. Actually, La Jolla is a San Diego neighborhood, and while your first impression as you drive down Prospect Street is of a glitzy mall, La Jolla is also a genuine, functioning neighborhood with longtime residents, beautiful beaches, and plenty to do besides shop.

One local institution is the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, where I meet director Hugh Davies for a tour. Redesigned in 1996 by Robert Venturi, the museum stretches along Prospect Street in a series of white arches and courtyards. Inside, Davies shows me numerous Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera works housed in galleries overlooking pounding surf, then he guides me through a lushly landscaped sculpture garden (often overlooked because of its secluded location but worth seeking out).

"We want the museum to be a blend of both Latin American and U.S. cultures, just as this garden is a blend of art and botany," says Davies, who has broadened the cultural focus of the institution in recent years.

On the way to lunch at Brockton Villa, a historic bungalow turned restaurant, we stroll northward along Coast Boulevard's cliff-edge sidewalk. Passing the children's pool, actually a cove and tiny beach enclosed with a breakwater in 1931 to be a place where children can swim safely, we find it also being used by a few dozen basking, belching harbor seals.

Promenading along the neighborhood's coastline parks and beaches has been La Jolla's most popular activity since the early 1900s. Sidewalk improvements in the past year, including new sitting areas and walls topped with seashells, have made it all the more pleasant. At lunch overlooking La Jolla Cove, Davies calls the town "an idyllic satellite with easy access to both San Diego and Los Angeles." One key to its vitality is the University of California at San Diego, he says. "It raises the intellectual tenor of all that goes on here."

Over several days, a visitor can explore La Jolla's cultural and scientific landscape by attending a play at La Jolla Playhouse, touring the architecture of Louis Kahn's famous Salk Institute for Biological Studies, viewing UCSD's Stuart Collection of outdoor sculpture throughout the campus, studying sea life at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography's aquarium, and more.

Most of all, however, the ocean calls: after all the shopping and dining along well-known streets such as Prospect, Girard, Fay, and Pearl; after all the gallery-hopping; even after a dip in La Valencia Hotel's pool, which glimmers beneath a pink tower. Swimming at La Jolla Cove remains one of the finest snorkeling experiences in the West--an underwater preserve of emerald grasses, skulking moray eels, and brilliant orange Garibaldi fish. Over at La Jolla Shores, the swimming is fine but quite different: The beach is long and wide, the waves well-suited for bodysurfing around Scripps Pier.

A few days after my failed snorkel attempt with Garfield, I return alone to the beach in front of the Marine Room, reaching the sea via a narrow alley at the building's south side. Like those at La Jolla Cove, these waters are rich in marine life. Another wellknown San Diego diver-photographer, Richard Herrmann, once called this "the best place in San Diego to introduce a child to sea life. You can stand in waist-deep water and just look."

I fin out into the undulant, pellucid sea to "just look." Within minutes I see them: several spotted sharks gliding amid shafts of sunlight, familiar in their frightening shape, but obviously gentle and shy.

How peculiar. How La Jolla.

La Jolla travel planner

Located approximately 11 miles north of downtown San Diego and San Diego International Airport at Lindbergh Field, La Jolla can be reached from 1-5 north at the Ardath Rd. exit or from 1-5 south at the La Jolla Village Dr. exit. Area code is 858 unless noted.

September is mild and breezy: Daytime temperatures are in the 70s, and nights are cool enough that you'll welcome a light jacket or sweater. Ocean temperatures should still be in the high 60s or low 70s. For travel information, visit or call the La Jolla Town Council office at 7734 Herschel Ave., Suite F; 454-1444 Mon-Fri.

Attractions

Birch Aquarium at Scripps. The aquarium opened in 1903, then moved in 1992 to a major new hilltop facility with a spectacular view. 9-5 daily; $8.50, $5 ages 3-17, parking $3. 2300 Expedition Way (off N. Torrey Pines Rd.); 534-3474. Coast Walk. Walking trail begins near the entrance to Sunny Jim Cave (described at right), then wanders northward to the clifftops. The 1/4-mile one-way trip offers the best views of La Jolla Bay.

Kayaking and scuba diving. Several outfitters rent gear for use at La Jolla Shores. Closest to the beach is O.E. Express, where kayaks start at $25 for two hours and half-day rental of a mask and snorkel costs $10. 2158 Avenida de la Playa; 454-6155.

La Jolla Playhouse. Tony award-winning theater runs The Cosmonaut's Last Message... through September 3; Thoroughly Modern Millie (a musical comedy) opens October 3. From $34. 2910 La Jolla village Dn at Torrey Pines Rd.; 550-1010.

Mt. Soledad. At about 800 feet in elevation, the summit is one of San Diego's best view points. From La Jolla Blvd., take Nautilus St. to La Jolla Scenic Dr. S. Go left to the entrance of Soledad Natural Park and continue to the memorial cross at the summit.

Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego. The museum will close for an exhibit change between September 5 and 24, when a show featuring 16 contemporary Latin American artists opens. 11-5 Mon-Tue, Fri-Sun; 11-8 Thu; $4. 700 Prospect St.; 454-3541.

Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Architect Louis Kahn's masterwork is open for free guided tours. Call for reservations. 11 and 12 Mon-Fri. 10010 N. Torrey Pines Rd.; 453-4100.

Snorkeling. Judith Garfield's field guides to La Jolla Cove and to La Jolla Shores and its submarine canyon (La Jolla, Picaro Publishing, 2000; $19.95) are available in bookstores or at www.judith.garfield.org.

Stuart Collection at UCSD. For a guide to the outdoor sculptures, enter at Gilman Dr. (off La Jolla Village Dr.) and stop at the information kiosk for a brochure. 534-2117.

Sunny Jim Cave (La Jolla Cave).

This natural sea cave is accessible via a tunnel dug in 1902. Coffee and tea sold at entrance. 9-5 daily; $2, $1 ages 16 and under. 1325 Coast Blvd.; 459-0746.

Torrey Pines Gliderport. Great close-up views of hang gliders and paragliders cruising the updraft above the beach. Tandem flights cost $125 per half hour; the best flying times are usually in the afternoon. Call Air California Adventure for conditions before you go. End of Torrey Pines Scenic Dr. behind Salk Institute; 452 -9858.

Dining

Brockton Villa Restaurant. Look down on La Jolla Cove from a Craftsman cottage; try the grilled salmon BLT on toasted sourdough. 1235 Coast Blvd.; 454-7393.

George's at the Cove. George's delivers great views, a lively crowd, and terrific food; the separate upstairs terrace has the less formal menu. 1250 Prospect St.; 454-4244.

Harry's Coffee Shop. Harry's has kept the locals happy since 1960 with its breakfast and lunch selections. 7545 Girard Ave.; 454-7381.

Marine Room. No restaurant in California is closer to the sea than this one, where winter waves sometimes froth the aquarium-thick windows. 2000 Spindrift Dr.; 459-7222.

Piatti. Rustic but sophisticated regional Italian cuisine is served in a beautiful room or on the romantic patio. 2182 Avenida de la Playa; 454-1589.

Sammy's Woodfired Pizza. Mountainous salads and sweetly smoky pizza bring in the crowds. 702 Pearl St.; 456-5222.

Lodging

Bed & Breakfast Inn at La Jolla.

Hiding behind a vine-draped facade, this 15-room inn began life as one of architect Irving J. Gill's cubist residential masterpieces. From $159. 7753 Draper Ave. near Prospect, across from the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; 456-2066.

La Valencia Hotel and Ocean Villas. This tall pink 1926 classic is an endearing, still-sprightly Mediterranean resort. From $95. 1132 Prospect; (800) 451-0772.

Sea Lodge at La Jolla Shores. Adjacent to the town's best swimming beach, this 128-room lodge offers a protected courtyard and swimming pool. From $149. 8110 Camino Del Oro; 459-8271.

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