Hiking, travel, and life in general

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Cali- La Jolla + map museum

After our grand journey to Joshua Tree, we wanted to do something nice and relaxing. So we slept in, then ate at Plant Power (duh), and headed to La JollaI think of all the places we've been in the immediate San Diego area, La Jolla is my favorite. Sure it's extremely high dollar and touristy but the beach itself is just amazing. The color of the water is like sea glass, the cliffs are stunning, and of course, I love the seals! This time we were able to see some baby seals because it was "pupping season". They were so cute! They played just like canine puppies. Since the water was so clear, we could see the seal pups swimming around and frolicking. They would let the waves push them onto the beach and then just roll around and play in the surf. For the safety of the animals, parts of beach and seawall were closed, but I have no problem with this because I know people are jerks and stupidity knows no bounds when trying to get that perfect Insta photo. Bring binoculars or a camera with a decent zoom if you want to see them up close! 

Once again, we missed low tide so we didn't spend a lot of time on the beach, but that's ok because we actually came back to La Jolla for another reason. While planning this trip, I was looking at a map of La Jolla and noticed a place called "The Map and Atlas Museum of La Jolla". I hadn't noticed it the last time we were here even though it's smack dab in the middle of the La Jolla business district. James and I both enjoy looking at maps immensely, but initially I wanted to come here was because our friend is obsessed with maps and we were going to bring him here as a surprise. Buuut obviously he was out of town so we came by ourselves. 

If you've got an hour (or 3) to spare, definitely go visit the Map Museum! It's free and mind blowing. They do have limited hours but given the free admission, I think that's reasonable. Probably not the best place to bring young children, as the atmosphere is quiet and library like, but great for older, studious kids and adults. The Map Museum has reaaaallly old maps and documents, dating back to the 1400s. Everything is amazingly preserved and the place is just beautiful to look at. I've never seen anything like it before and I've been to a lot of museums. They also have some more recent colorful, artistic maps showing different parts of California and the world. So if you're in San Diego and it's by chance raining, cold, or you just want to do something different, give the Map Museum a visit! Check their website for hours and other details. 

After La Jolla, it was mid-afternoon so James wanted to nap. He did drive 5+ hours the day before, so he deserved it. Around this time, I started to go into my "vacation is winding down depressive state" so I started looking at San Diego houses for sale online and plotting my escape from the Atlanta suburbs. Of course, that made me more depressed so I made James get up and we walked around Ocean Beach again. There is a tide pool area south of the Pier and it was low tide so we sat on the rocks to watch the sun set. It wasn't as magnificent as our first night but it was pretty as the light reflected off the tide pools. 

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