Our day in La Jolla

Last October, during our trip to San Diego, we decided to spend a day in La Jolla. It was my husband's birthday, and we ended up having a great time. We really only spent about half the day there, but here's what we did with our time:

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.

Places to Eat in San Diego

I did some research before we left for our trip and picked out most of these places ahead of time. But no amount of research can really tell you whether you’re going to enjoy the food or not. I’m glad to say we did enjoy most of what we ate. I hope my research and personal experience will help you if you’re travelling to San Diego anytime soon.

Searsucker
Pork belly was delicious, but it was kind of bizarre. It came out as a large hunk of pork belly with a salad-like mixture on top with 2 weird crunchy potato things on the side. It was like butter the way it just melted in your mouth because it was so tender.
The short ribs came with pureed potatoes. It was so delicious. The meat was tender and moist. I could eat it every day. And those potatoes were smooth and creamy.
The duck fat fries were really good. My husband and son thought they were amazing. I, however, thought they were good, but strange. The duck fat gave them almost a nutty flavor.

Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate
After we ate at Searsucker, we walked down the block to Ghirardelli. We each had a scoop of ice cream (mint chocolate chip, cookie dough, and espresso chip). Everything was amazing and delicious, but not the cheapest options around.

Carnitas’ Snack Shack
I got the pork belly plate with shack fries and coleslaw (which my husband ate). I wanted to get the mac and cheese, but they were sold out. Tom got the triple threat pork sandwich which is bacon, pulled pork, and pork loin schnitzel. He loved it. I personally didn’t like it because of the pepperoncini on it. Owen got the carnitas taco kids combo. Everyone really enjoyed their food. We also got some chicharones to take with us.

Broken Yolk Cafe
This was a last minute choice because we had some unexpected time one morning and decided to get breakfast. This was an amazing choice because everything was seriously good. I got the crunchy french toast. Tom got the border benedict. And Owen ordered a kids pancake with a scrambled egg and bacon. It was just what we needed to get us ready for a busy day. Plus, it was reasonably priced, which is sometimes difficult to find in cities.

Lupe’s Mexican Eatery
I got the California burrito, Tom got the T-gunz burrito, and Owen got the kids rolled tacos with fries.
The T-gunz burrito was so big, my husband couldn't even finish it. He said it was delicious, but he recommends splitting it with a friend.

Crack Shack
Everything was amazing. Ran into Richard Blais. Schmaltz fries were seriously delicious. My burger came with a fried egg on top which was amazing, but I unfortunately bit into it and got the egg yolk all over my shirt! Embarrassing! My husband said this was the best food of the trip. He got the spicy chicken sandwich and fell in love. It was spicy, but the spiciness added to the flavor instead of it just being spicy for no reason.

Donut Bar
This place has amazing donuts! And they’re huge. I got the unicorn, Tom got the maple bourbon, and Owen got the Homer. They were all SO good! But so huge. I couldn’t quite eat all of mine. Seriously one of the best donuts I've ever had!

Hodad’s
This was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. My husband got the burger that was created because Guy Fieri visited here. It's called the guido burger and he loved it. My son was extatic because he asked for extra pickles on his burger and they did not disappoint. Plus, he was able to get a bottle of root beer, which always makes him feel grown up. The atmosphere in there was super unique. I would recommend giving it a try if you're in the area. We went after we left the zoo and it was fairly close by.

Where we ate that you should skip:
Sally’s
We were looking for a place to eat dinner one night when we didn’t have anything planned and picked this place based on its proximity (located right next to our hotel) and the menu which had things we liked.
My negative review is based on the wait (over 40 minutes while over half of the outdoor seating sat empty) and the price. Based on all the places we ate while we were there, it seemed a little overpriced.
The food itself was good, but not really anything to write home about.

Our Day at the San Diego Zoo

We arrived at the zoo around 9:15am, only 15 minutes after they opened. We were able to get pretty good parking considering we didn’t get there before opening. We could have bought our tickets online, but we chose to just stand in line and get them. We made a b-line straight for the koalas and I’m so glad we did. At 9:40am, they were pretty active. Well, as active as koalas can be. Basically what I mean is, they were awake.

We meandered our way around the zoo, looking at all the animals.
We saw:
9:43am Giraffes
9:50am Elephants
10:10am More Elephants
10:18am Leopard
10:45am Polar Bears

At this time (11am), we took the skyfari to the other side of the park. There was hardly any wait for it since we were still in the first couple hours of zoo opening. When we got to the other side, the line going in the opposite direction (to ride from the front of the park to the back) was VERY long. The views were great to see!

We decided to take the bus tour. My son really wanted to sit on the top of the bus. When we got there, we saw that there were 2 lines. One goes upstairs to sit on the top level (this line is always longer) and one stays down below for the lower level. We waited in line for about 20 minutes before we made our way onto the bus. My son and I sat on the right side while my husband sat on the left.
TIP: The right side is the place to be! That’s where most of the animals will be on your tour.
The tour itself lasted about 30 minutes. During that time, we saw bears and elephants and other random animals. I wouldn’t say this is a great way to see animals, but it is a great way to take a break from walking.

After we got off the bus, we were off to see some more animals:
12:31pm Orangutans
12:38pm Gorillas

At about 1pm, we decided to eat some lunch. Since we were in the area, we decided to eat at the Treetops Cafe located in the Lost Forest. There are some great views from the multilevel decks. I shared a chicken caesar salad and chicken parm with my husband. It came with a breadstick, but I knew we would each want one so we got a side of 2 breadsticks to go with our meal. I also got a rose wine as my drink. Owen got a kids meal that came with pepperoni pizza, applesauce, animal cookies, and a milk. Everything was pretty mediocre, but I have no complaints. Luckily, we were able to find a seat right next to the restaurant.

After lunch, it was time for more animals:
1:55pm Hippos (now, I know we stayed here for a while, but we were all feeling a little tired and wanted a rest; plus, I’m a huge fan of hippos so we basically waited around for it to move closer to the window
2:46pm Alligator
3:03pm Galapagos Turtles

We were now back over by the Skyfari, so we took it back to the back of the zoo. Again, we came at a good time and didn’t have to wait very long in line.

3:36pm Elephants again
4:03pm Bears
4:19pm Sharks
4:22pm Penguins

We decided we were done for the day so we headed off to the gift shop so that my son could pick out a couple souvenirs. He found an amazing sweatshirt that says “Save the Chubby Unicorns” with a picture of a rhino. He was ecstatic!

We took a couple pictures out front before we left for the day.

We took 18,669 steps this day and still didn’t see everything that the San Diego Zoo had to offer, so just be aware that you will get tired and your feet will hurt, but know that it will be worth it being able to see all of these amazing creatures.

There are a lot of places located around the zoo to take pictures with animal sculptures. Here are some of our favorites: