La Jolla, the Jewel

Blogging until late last night definitely took a toll on me this morning, but I still managed to get out on my run, just half an hour later than yesterday. I quite enjoy having the time difference to my advantage, so I hope I stay on Summit time in order to keep waking up early enough to see the California sunrise! Anyway, today Mom and Dad also decided to go out on a walk by the bay area and so after I finished my run, I met up with them by the boat docks. There were hundreds of boats floating in the early morning sun in the bay! It almost reminded me of Bradenton, Florida, when we used to visit every winter break.

Boats in the dock

Once returning to the hotel and waking up Zaynee and Hanaa, we hopped into the car and hit the Pacific Coast Highway again. This time, however, we were going South instead of North of Laguna Beach, to La Jolla. Dad, having skipped dinner last night in favor of falling asleep at 9pm last night, was starving, so we stopped about 20 minutes away from our hotel in a small village called San Clemente. Antoine's Cafe looked friendly enough for brunch, though the wait was almost half an hour long. Luckily the sun was out and completely warmed the entire village, so we spent time walking up the main road and relaxing outside Starbucks in the warmth. By the time we finally had a table at Antoine's and finished our unfortunately bland food, it was almost noon, so we left the disappointing cafe to continue down South to La Jolla.

I don't think I could ever get tired of driving down the Pacific Coast Highway, with the sea on one side and the cliffs and mountains inland on the other side. It's just so peaceful and beautiful. It's also nothing like what back home looks like, with the ocean stretching out so vastly and the sky looking so immense. I've never seen the sky look this big! Even almost an hour later of driving on the same road, I wasn't tired of the views. However, we had arrived at La Jolla! Three years ago, I made a few friends at a conference in Washington, DC who lived in La Jolla. I remember wanting so badly to visit them. Though we aren't the closest of friends now, I was very excited to see the little beach village I had visited 17 years ago!

Waves by the cliff

The town really was a little jewel, as the name goes. The streets were clean and orderly and perfectly decorated with festive lights on every tree. It would look beautiful when evening came! There were boutiques and specialty beach shops and restaurants and so much more. And just a few minutes' walk from the main road of the town, down a steep little hill, we were at the beachwalk along the coast!

The views were incredible. I know I keep saying that, but they were truly spectacular. I cannot believe I have friends and there are other lucky people who live in La Jolla, and just California in general, all year round. They live in a perpetual paradise! At least in my opinion. I know it's all a matter of perspective, though: those who live in La Jolla may not think they live in paradise all the time, but I definitely think they do! Just look at how lovely the sea is!

Giant waves off La Jolla coast!

We spent a good few hours walking along the beach walk. It was situated atop the cliffs with the beach just below, allowing for a spectacular view of the enormous icy blue waves, the pelicans and seagulls, and even a few seals diving in and out of the waves!. We came across stairs to a little beach alcove where hundreds of people were crowding behind a rope, so we went down to see what the commotion was. Turns out, there were seals lazing about in the sun right by the tourists! They were so close by; Hanaa was having a field day because they were so cute. The seals were calling to each other, scratching their chins, and waddling up and down the beach--it looked like they were on vacation as well!

Such cute seals on the beach!

As we continued walking along the coast, Mom pointed out a little cove called La Jolla Underwater Cove. It was the little beach I had played on when I was 3 years old! The minute I saw it, I recognized it from so long ago, right to the rocks protruding from the sea where seals were basking in the sun. It's funny how little things can trigger your memories from so long ago; I couldn't believe I remembered!

La Jolla Cove

Seals basking on rocks in the waves

Zaynee and I left Hanaa and the parents to continue walking along the coast to walk through the town and grab a hot drink. Storm clouds were starting to roll in from sea again, so soon, the rest of the family found us and we camped out in Panera while the rain poured down. Once it cleared up, we drove up the high mountains surrounding La Jolla to see the ocean views as some of the incredible houses saw them and then began heading back to San Clemente for an Italian dinner to finish up our wonderful day.

Cathedral at sunset in La Jolla Village

Exploring the Pacific Coast

Though ominous grey storm clouds began rolling in as we clambered into our rental car, we were determined to beat the rain and start exploring the Pacific coastline. The weather was very windy and cold today, so we had layered up to brave the sea breezes we might encounter. The drive along the Pacific Coast Highway was gorgeous: the thick clouds descended upon the highest hills and mountains and created a misty fog, covering the villas in the high altitude on one side of the road. On the other, the vast sea stretched out, and we were sometimes able to see beautiful beaches off of cliffs as we drove by. We decided to make a stop at one of these beaches, since it wasn't really raining and the beach just looked so lovely.

It was extraordinarily windy on the beach, but we had a really nice time walking along the sand and watching the birds and huge waves crash onto the sand. Hanaa took some incredible pictures!

We continued driving and found a small, hidden park off the highway called Central Bay Point Park, situated on the edge of a cliff. It was starting to rain a little bit, but we couldn't pass up an opportunity to see even more fabulous beach views from the high cliffs. This peaceful little park was a hidden jewel! Orange flowers surrounded the walkways and hummingbirds fluttered around right in front of us. On one side of the protruding park we saw the edge of the cliff and a small stretch of rocky beach at the very bottom. On the other, we saw another beach nestled in an alcove of the Californian shore. Despite the rain, the views made up for the wet weather, as they seemed to do a lot!

See the hummingbird with the pink head?

View of the steep cliff and rocky beach at the base.

 

View of the other side from the park!

After enjoying a few more beaches along the Pacific Coast Highway, we came across small villages such as Newton and Irvine. There were cute little boutiques and restaurants, all with an ocean front view. We stopped around 1:30pm to eat lunch at a small Japanese restaurant with extremely hearty portions near Balboa Road called FujiYama. Zaynee got her "authentic" California sushi rolls on our very first day in the state, so she was happy! 

Enjoying our Japanese food.

Once we finished up, we started to make our way down the Pacific Coast Highway, back to where we came from. The storm clouds were still hanging above us, but were punctuated with spots of blue sky and bright sun. Dad turned into Island Shopping Center, which was a giant mall with surprisingly beautiful and clean aesthetics. I've noticed that almost everything and everywhere here in California is absolutely clean: all the beaches, the highways, the sea, the villages, the mall. I really like that about the Laguna Beach area! I hope it's similar around the rest of the state. Anyway, we decided we wanted to see "Les Miserables" in cinema. Apparently Island Cinema was very popular, because almost every movie time for Les Mis and a few other movies were completely sold out! We consoled ourselves by raiding the racks at Urban Outfitters and Bloomingdale's before continuing down the Pacific Coast Highway.

Dad has always loved watching the sun set, and he loves it even more when he can watch it from the beach. So, our next stop, around 5pm, was in a quaint little village just by the Laguna Beach area with a spectacular beach to watch the sun set on. As it sank lower and lower, we walked farther and farther along the beach. We were some of the only ones there, and it was very relaxing!

Sunset on the beach.

Hanaa loves getting her picture taken!

Back in the town, all the holiday lights had turned on and made the place look so adorable. Too bad the Scandinavian Bakery called "Scandia" that Hanaa and I decided to try an eclair that was absolutely foul. It would have been too perfect an excursion in the town otherwise! 

Early Morning Run

I've never enjoyed a morning run as much as I did today. With time on my side (California is 3 hours behind the East Coast!), I was up and ready by 7:30am and excited to get outside. The air was chilly and breezy, but made me exceedingly happy for some reason. I eagerly sprinted down the cliffs to get to the beach and begin my slow jog in the sunrise on the beach. Hardly anybody was awake; I only encountered a few runners, dog walkers, and bikers. It was very peaceful to run to the sound of the waves. Four surfers braved the frigid waters to paddle around on their boards and a fisherman stood in the high tide with his rod. 

(High tide at sunrise)

In addition to feeling like a true Californian fitness guru by running in the sand along the waves, I decided to explore the roads around the hotel as well. I passed boat parking lots and docks, small parks, seaside "villas," as they were dubbed, and found a steep hill lined with palm trees. All of a sudden I became very motivational and told myself I would run all the way to the top of the half a mile or so, steeply inclined road. I talked myself into it and nearly died getting to the top, but the view was absolutely worth it! Those people living in the "Lantern Bay" villas on the cliff were lucky. 

(View from near Lantern Bay Villas at the top of Laguna Cliffs)

Though I shed my fleece jacket while on my run, it was pretty cold and I put on a thicker sweatshirt to join Mom and Dad for breakfast at the Vue restaurant in the hotel when I got back. The food was delicious and, as usual, the views were exquisite. Hanaa and Zaynee missed out; they were still sleeping even though it was almost 1pm back home! I went back to wake them up and change while Mom and Dad sought out information packets at the front desk and rented our car. Now, as Zaynee and Hanaa are eating breakfast with Dad, Mom and I are stealthily watching an outdoor yoga class in the park from our hotel room window. I'll definitely be doing that tomorrow! Mom, however, has already started copying the poses in the room. Looks like she won't need to go join the actual class since she's doing it all in here, from warrior to eagle! As soon as the rest of the family gets back, we're heading off to explore along the coast!

(Yoga class overlooking the sea from my hotel window)

From Snow to Sand

My winter break just transformed from snow and city life to sand and lazy days on the beach. I've just landed in Laguna Beach, California to ring in the New Year! It has been forever since I've been to the beach and even longer since visiting the West Coast. The minute I landed with my family to start our relaxing vacation, I was greeted with blue skies and palm trees swaying in the cool breeze. It was wonderful getting off the six hour flight to views of the Pacific Ocean and the inland mountains. 

(Snowflakes on the plane window)

Our cab ride from the airport through Orange County showed us a segment of the beauty of California. The mountains rose and fell on one side of the road, with buildings and shops nestled in their ridges, while the other side boasted houses with ocean front views. We definitely had more than enough time to absorb the incredible views, as we hit traffic on the enormous highway. Despite that, our friendly cab driver hit the gas and sped us to our destination at an impressive 85 mph whenever he could shake off the traffic. We made it to our Laguna Cliffs resort and after dropping our luggage in our suite, we pulled out our flip flops and walked down to the beach.

(Hanaa, Zaynee and I on Laguna Cliffs. Photo Credit to Hanaa!)

As the sun sunk lower and lower over the ocean, the beach cooled down. Thank goodness we brought sweatshirts! The sea breeze smelled fresh and the waves slapped the sand in a comforting way. It was nice to hear that familiar sound again; I've become so accustomed to sounds of the city and the noises in Summit that the sound of the waves were welcome. On the beach, we were able to watch the gorgeous colors of the sunset before heading back to the hotel for dinner and an evening of relaxing in front of the television. 

(Sunset over Laguna Beach)

I can already tell that this holiday is going to be one of the most restful, exciting, and enjoyable vacations. It's great that my entire family can once again go on vacation together, even though both Zaynee and I are at college. It feels just like old times!

(Below: View of our resort pool on Laguna Cliffs. Photo Credit to Hanaa!)