San
Diego La Jolla Hotels
North of Ocean Beach, you come to Mission
Bay and San Diego's most popular tourist attraction.
Exhibits and events at Sea World (mid June-Aug daily
9am-dusk; rest of year 10am-dusk; $41.95, kids $31.95,
parking $7; ) range from "performances"
by killer whales and dolphins to the eerie sight of
the heads of hundreds of moray eels protruding from
the hollow rocks of the "Forbidden Reef."
Sharks circle menacingly in the Shark House; the Penguin
Exhibit is a mock Antarctica; the Wild Arctic exhibit
simulates the North Pole with polar bears and walruses;
and the Manatee Rescue provides a close-up glimpse
of the white, bulbous freshwater herbivores.
Anyone of a nervous disposition, or with a physique
inappropriate for bathing apparel, might find nearby
Mission Beach - the peninsula that separates Mission
Bay from the Pacific Ocean - and its seamless northern
extension, Pacific Beach , an intimidating spot, with
scads of scantily clad torsos and surfboard-clutching
hunks. Despite first impressions, though, the city
authorities are endeavoring to limit its anarchic
hedonism - more families are using the area, but little
impact has been made on the beach's freewheeling character.
A more pretentious air prevails in La Jolla (always
"la-hoya"), an elegant beach community just
to the north that mystery writer Raymond Chandler
once described as "a nice place - for old people
and their parents." Stroll its immaculate, gallery-filled
streets, fuel up on some California cuisine at one
of the many sidewalk cafés or visit the La
Jolla site of the Museum of Contemporary Art , 700
Prospect St (Tues & Thurs-Sat 10am-5pm, Wed 10am-8pm,
Sun noon-5pm; $4; ), which has a huge - and regularly
changing - stock of paintings and sculptures from
1955 onwards, with California pop and minimalism some
of the highlights. On the seaward side of the museum
lies the small, exquisitely tasteful Ellen Scripps
Browning Park , named after the philanthropist whose
Irving Gill-designed home now houses the museum. Where
the park meets the coast is the popular La Jolla Cove
, with clear waters perfect for snorkeling, as long
as you can secure a parking space. |
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