The day after our trip to Legoland California, we headed off to La Jolla. La Jolla is an upscale area of San Diego that offers beautiful scenery and great places to eat and shop. It’s also a fun place to take the kids to walk around and visit the seals at Children’s Cove.
You can walk out right next to the beach where the seals come to haul out, and it’s even more fun when they have pups (they are so cute!). Nearby, there is also a cavern close to the water that you can walk down into. It’s inexpensive and something really fun for young kids— who doesn’t love going on a little spelunking adventure? 🙂
Birch Aquarium
Before heading to downtown La Jolla for lunch and a visit to Children’s Cove, we went to Birch Aquarium to check out and learn about local aquatic life and climate change. I would definitely recommend checking out Birch Aquarium if you are visiting La Jolla with young children, because there are quite a few interactive activities for all ages.
Immediately upon entering the aquarium building, you can go straight and head out to take in a beautiful view of Scripps Beach and the Pacific Ocean. There is also a great tide pool exhibit, where the kids can view tidal pool life and touch sea life with the assistance of aquarium staff and volunteers.
There are two different wings of the aquarium. One side has tanks filled with local sea life— the highlight is a very large tank with stadium seating to sit and enjoy the view. The other wing of the aquarium covers climate change, sea horses, leopard sharks and rays, and a fantastic little outside courtyard with interactive water exhibits for the kids.
Children’s Beach and La Jolla Waterfront
After checking out the Birch Aquarium, we headed into downtown La Jolla. If you follow along the water, you will find on street parking. There is a beautiful walking path that follows along the cove, in addition to a nice park for lots of play!
You will see seals on Children’s Beach and along the rocky coast of the cove. You might smell them before you see them, as they can be quite stinky at times! 🙂 There are also lots of pelicans that like to perch on the rocky outcroppings in between fishing expeditions.
During our trip to San Diego, there was a high surf advisory (as often happens in the winter months), so we were able to see great surfing from Birch Aquarium and some body surfers out in front of the La Jolla pathway!
Brockton Villa for Lunch
After a little walk, we headed over to Brockton Villa for lunch. When I lived in San Diego, Brockton Villa was one of my favorite places to take visitors for breakfast or brunch. It’s great for other meals too, but I’m partial to their signature Coast Toast and breakfast menu.
Taking it’s name from its owners who hailed from Brockton, MA, it’s got a fabulous fresh menu and a GORGEOUS view of the Pacific (it’s perched up on the cliff). You can check out more about Brockton Villa and its menu here.
If you aren’t too tired out from those activities, you can head to the downtown area for some high-end shopping or to nearby Torrey Pines for some stunning views and hiking!
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