Exploring La Jolla & Mount Soledad
Visitors to the Southwestern US usually focus on Greater Los Angeles with its attractions of Hollywood and Disneyland or head right to the area's natural wonders like Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. Fewer by far tend to dedicate time to San Diego or the sights of the nearby Mojave Desert, which we would like to cover in even greater detail in upcoming weeks here on Euroquest Sidetracks. Among those who do decide to visit Greater San Diego, the majority will stay in Old Town or see Balboa Park along with the city's world-famous zoo. Yet communities in the surrounding area equally hold great appeal and offer visitors a chance to experience a local side of San Diego along with its splendid Southern California hospitality. No better place than the seaside resort of La Jolla about 10 miles north of Downtown San Diego. Here we find the perfect set-up for a magical day away from the daily grind featuring spectacular coastline, a quaint and artistic inner city, a German brewery and nearby Mount Soledad for hiking and exploring the area's military legacy.
Leaving behind central San Diego we head North on I-5 and then West on La Jolla Parkway to reach the coastline near the village center of La Jolla. We can sense this is an affluent resort community with well-maintained roads and neatly landscaped gardens. The further uphill, the more prestigious the mansions become, giving testimony to the wealth and power of local residents. For starters we stay in the village center, however, boasting a wonderful beach area with both rocks and sand, numerous scrumpotious lunch options at nearby eateries, as well as a scenic subsidiary of the KARL STRAUSS brewery, San Diego's oldest and best-known local microbrewery of German descent. Our favorite lunch venue, however, is EXTREME PIZZA in downtown La Jolla offering fresh yet reasonable custom-made pizza catering to all likes and tastes.
Following our delicious lunch we head to nearby Mount Soledad, initially ascending on Soledad Parkway and then continuing uphill on Hillside Drive. The view opens up to the wide Pacific and La Jolla's coastline below, as exclusive homes on tastefully landscaped premises surround us. Here we also hear about La Jolla's recent history as an exclusive suburban San Diego community and its initial controversial policy of antisemitism surrounding local residency there, a discriminatory practice only abandoned as late as the 1960s.
Our destination is nearby Mount Soledad featuring a huge cross erected on its top in 1954. Since then the area was converted into a Korean War Veteran Memorial in the 1960s and has since then attracted controversy for featuring a cross on public land, an alleged violation of the separation of Church and State. That legal issue has since remained unresolved, but the real beauty of Mount Soledad may be seen in its lush vegetation along with numerous trails that invite for hiking and exploring the nearby hillside. No matter what side of the mountain we look down from, the views are spectacular throughout, ranging from Downtown San Diego to our South, to La Jolla and the Pacific Coastline just underneath us to the West, and I-5 with the nearby Mormon Temple and the grounds of UCSD University towards the North and East. Following our hike around Mt. Soledad we then decide to rest by the beach at nearby BLACK's BEACH, the area's most famous alternative nudist beach. The descent along the rocks is strenuous but we are rewarded by miles of unspoilt beach and the untamed waves of the open Pacific Ocean.
Leaving behind central San Diego we head North on I-5 and then West on La Jolla Parkway to reach the coastline near the village center of La Jolla. We can sense this is an affluent resort community with well-maintained roads and neatly landscaped gardens. The further uphill, the more prestigious the mansions become, giving testimony to the wealth and power of local residents. For starters we stay in the village center, however, boasting a wonderful beach area with both rocks and sand, numerous scrumpotious lunch options at nearby eateries, as well as a scenic subsidiary of the KARL STRAUSS brewery, San Diego's oldest and best-known local microbrewery of German descent. Our favorite lunch venue, however, is EXTREME PIZZA in downtown La Jolla offering fresh yet reasonable custom-made pizza catering to all likes and tastes.
Following our delicious lunch we head to nearby Mount Soledad, initially ascending on Soledad Parkway and then continuing uphill on Hillside Drive. The view opens up to the wide Pacific and La Jolla's coastline below, as exclusive homes on tastefully landscaped premises surround us. Here we also hear about La Jolla's recent history as an exclusive suburban San Diego community and its initial controversial policy of antisemitism surrounding local residency there, a discriminatory practice only abandoned as late as the 1960s.
Our destination is nearby Mount Soledad featuring a huge cross erected on its top in 1954. Since then the area was converted into a Korean War Veteran Memorial in the 1960s and has since then attracted controversy for featuring a cross on public land, an alleged violation of the separation of Church and State. That legal issue has since remained unresolved, but the real beauty of Mount Soledad may be seen in its lush vegetation along with numerous trails that invite for hiking and exploring the nearby hillside. No matter what side of the mountain we look down from, the views are spectacular throughout, ranging from Downtown San Diego to our South, to La Jolla and the Pacific Coastline just underneath us to the West, and I-5 with the nearby Mormon Temple and the grounds of UCSD University towards the North and East. Following our hike around Mt. Soledad we then decide to rest by the beach at nearby BLACK's BEACH, the area's most famous alternative nudist beach. The descent along the rocks is strenuous but we are rewarded by miles of unspoilt beach and the untamed waves of the open Pacific Ocean.
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