Fun and Frolick on the Beaches of La Jolla, San Diego

La Jolla, though its residents call it a city and it has its own postmark, is actually a district of San Diego. La Jolla is only 15 minutes from downtown San Diego. There are seven miles of coastline -- beaches and pristine coves, garnished with hotels and resorts, not to mention the numerous art galleries and a huge variety of restaurants downtown.

And don't miss the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Birch Aquarium -- maybe so that you can get to know the fish you just ate. No, really, the Scripps Institution and the Aquarium provide opportunities to get close to undersea life and ecology. Lately, it has emerged as one of the more popular attractions in La Jolla.

But enough about beautiful downtown La Jolla: let's now talk about the beaches. If you head north of Crystal Pier at the foot of Grand Avenue, you will pass North Pacific Beach. Keep heading north and you will find the following attractions that you should definitely not miss -

Wind and Sea Beach is the southernmost of La Jolla's beaches -- a surfer's paradise, but the rocky cliffs and steep beaches demand respect and caution. Be careful if you are going to bring your kids here for a swim.

There was once a children's pool at Casa Beach. It's still there, but the seals and sea lions have claimed as their own, so it's still a place to take the kids to watch the creatures play.

While you're enjoying the shoreline, keep an eye out for tide pools -- amazing little places, each a miniature ecology only a few feet across. Gaze to your heart's content, but don't touch: marine life is sensitive to human touch, especially in an area which attracts as many tourists as La Jolla does. Go and see them at low tide, and wear shoes with rubber soles -- the rocks are often slippery.

As the tide pools demonstrate, bigger is not always better. Another case in point: the Cove -- one of San Diego's smaller beaches. The sandstone cliffs on either side contribute to a feeling of peaceful solitude.

La Jolla's longest beach is the Shores Beach. From it you can see Scripps Pier. You can also take novice scuba classes here during the summer.

A little online research will uncover the fascinating origin of the name La Jolla. But I like to think it's Spanish for "Let's go to the beach," or perhaps "the best of California life."