After a couple of wonderful days at the Inn I headed about 20 minutes south to La Jolla to visit the Z family, who I was a nanny for right after I graduated from college. They just recently moved to the west coast and were more than willing to offer me their guest room for the weekend. I have heard about La Jolla and how great of a place it is, and my visit there only confirmed this and exceeded all of my expectations.
Did I mention that the Z's are renting an amazing spanish mediterranean house with spectacular views of the coast/Pacific ocean?!?! Talk about breathtaking...
My entertainment and little sweetie while I was there. :) She would come in when I was getting dressed and ask me if I was wearing flips or flats that day. Quite the fashionista...
First thing Saturday morning we headed down to walk along the water. It's no secret that anything near water makes me a happy girl. It was a beautiful, sunny morning...
We walked out on the narrow pier below to get a good look at all of the seals in the cove...
You have to look closely to see the seals that blend in with the rocks. There were so many!
I think they enjoy sunbathing!
Me with A, A, & A while we waited for an outside table at a great restaurant on the water for lunch.
In this particular place, the area down below us was full of pelicans. The wildlife was amazing all along the coast.
Delish fish tacos...
After lunch we decided to explore The Cave Store where there is access to a manmade tunnel that takes you down a TON of stairs to a sea cave. This is the only land access to a cave of this type on the California coastline. It was definitely a very "tourist-y" thing to see but neat nonetheless.
The tunnel was so long, dark, and damp that it was a little creepy, but the view at the bottom was worth the workout.
The cliffs you see in the distance (pictured right) are probably the same as the ones in the background of the photo of me with the 3 girls above. The opening of the cave now looks like the silhouette of an old man/indian chief!
By the time we finished our sea cave tour, it was early afternoon and the temps had really warmed up. We headed home briefly to take a quite break and change before heading to the beach. What an unexpected treat! Of course, I was excited to tote my camera with me and take shots of the girls while they played.
It was certainly warm enough for bathing suits but certainly NOT to be in that water. I dipped in my toes and they went numb instantly. Clearly that was not an issue for these girls or the many others (who I avoided photographing) who were frolicking in the water.
West coast life agrees with these girls. They would have played here all day! This beach is only a few blocks from their house.
This is a picture heavy post (and I'm leaving out tons!), but I must include a few I snapped around their place. There was so much to take in that I would just stand and stare for long moments.
I went and picked a bowl of oranges from the tree right outside the master bedroom so that we could have fresh juice in the morning. How wonderful...
This room below was an add on to the backside of the house up above the roof. Can you imagine this being your office with a view of the coast/ocean? Breathtaking...
The below pictures show one of the many intricate details that the owners poured time and energy into to make this a spectacular home. The wife cut down each of these books and then attached to the face of this door that leads to an elevator. It reminded me of something you'd see in a mystery movie.
Thanks to taking the red eye late Sunday evening, I was able to enjoy another full day with the Zs before having to head home. Our first stop before church was at their local farmer's market. Even though I enjoy the ones here in VA, ours just do not even compare. The market was huge and takes place every Sunday. The vendors were all so friendly offering samples of any of their foods. It was hard to be there and not be able to bring back a few bags of fresh veggies and fruits. They had many varieties of produce that I had never seen before and the flowers were exotic and unique. One of the favorite things I tasted (and brought a small bag home) were honey orange flavored almonds. Yum! 
