We started out the morning by driving up to the Mt. Soledad Veteran's Monument. To be honest, we didn't really look at the monument very much. What we did do was look at the amazing views that you see from that height. It was beautiful, and while it was a little foggy that morning, we got a great view of La Jolla.
We then made our way down to the heart of La Jolla and ate breakfast at Cody's. We got there around 9am on a Wednesday and it wasn't busy at all. My husband ordered french toast while I ordered the breakfast chicken sandwich with cheddar scallion biscuits covered in sausage gravy. Both were amazing. If you're in the area during breakfast, you should definitely stop here for some food. It did seem a little pretentious, but the food itself was really good. My son didn't really find anything on the menu that appealed to him (because he's picky. ugh.) so he just ordered some bacon.
We then walked to The Cave Store. Now, this is obviously a super touristy thing to do, but we weren't going to see the inside of a sea cave without going here, so we made the trip. It cost us $13 for 2 adults and 1 child to walk down the stairs. There was a super rude woman at the bottom, but luckily, they left shortly after we got there. There isn't a whole lot of space so I would say that area can really only hold less than 10 people at a time. It is very difficult to take pictures in here with the severe brightness outside compared to the darkness of the cave. We did see some snorkelers swimming by, which was cool. We enjoyed our time down there and no other people came down so I could have enjoyed the peaceful ocean waves for hours. The stairs back up didn't seem that bad. There were over 100, but as an obese person that isn't in shape, it wasn't that bad.
We went to get the car and drove it closer to where we wanted to go next. Be aware, we were there on a weekday in October and it was difficult to find a spot. If you're going during the summer, it will be next to impossible unless you show up super early. That being said, we did find a spot. We were planning to go to a cove, but on our way there, we got distracted by a ton of sea lions and seals playing in the water and sunbathing on some rocks. We knew not to get too close (even though apparently, some people did not!). I believe there is a law in California that you are to stay a specific distance away from these animals. We didn't get anywhere near that close. That didn't keep up from getting some great pictures though. We stayed here and watched these amazing creatures for about half an hour. We easily could have stayed longer though. In this same area, there was a cool rock that you could sit on and get some great pictures of the waves breaking on the rocks. I would have thought that lots of people would have wanted pictures here, but I guess they were all distracted by the sea lions.
We then walked over to Shell Beach because it was right next to where we were. We didn't have our swimsuits with us and it wasn't a very warm day, but we did take our shoes off and explore. The beach itself is very small. But it's so fun. When you first walk down the stairs, to your right is a little cove area that you can explore. The rest of the beach has the huge wall of rock going up to where everyone else walks past. It's actually a pretty easy beach to skip by and not notice. That being said, there weren't many people down there with us. My son loved standing on a rock, letting the waves crash against his legs. It was a great little break away from a lot of people. I wouldn't say there were very many shells there though.
We continue to walk down the coastline to the Children's Pool. This is where you can watch the seals. While we were there, there weren't very many seals, but we did get to see a couple. You can walk out on this wall that juts into the water to create an area of beach where the water isn't very rough. This is why the seals love it so much!
We then tried to drive around and take some cool pictures with some Instagram spots I had found online. Some of them turned out okay and others were a hot disaster. So, that was mostly a waste of our time and just be aware. If you're trying to look for a specific mural or photo spot, it might be difficult to find parking or even find how to get there.
After that little adventure though, we decided to get lunch. We went to the Taco Stand where my husband got a carne asada taco and a baja taco. I got carne asada fries and my son got a 1 lb bag of tortilla chips. What can I say? He eats much better at home, but we were on vacation. Everyone loved their food and I was pumped about my fries. They were delicious. We then shared some churros.
This was the last day of a somewhat exhausting vacation so we decided to go back to our hotel and just pack, watch movies, and order room service to relax and enjoy the rest of our time before returning back home. We had a great day exploring.
