chuckography

Just a boy and his Dad...

Close to my birthday, I was in San Diego. My son Chris (right) surprised me on a day we spent together when he suggested a stop at the beach by Del Mar.

I thought he had a typical beach umbrella but noted he tilted it back and anchored both sides.

We settled in, popped open our lunch and dined in the shade of a pretty cool cabana.

This was our beach stop as we enjoyed him having a day off while I was visiting.

We had already stopped at the Torrey Pines GliderPort and watched people leap into the air and soar over the rugged edge of a 300-foot drop to the beach.

Working for the paper here in San Diego back in the 1960s, I was aware of this aerial sport but never had actually come to this spot to watch take-offs and soft landings.

I watched an older crowd gather to hug an even older lady when she alit after a tandem flight, during which, she was securely attached to an experienced instructor/pilot.

Yikes.

My son asked if I wanted to do that adventure and I declined. Instead, we sat on a bench and watched the other daredevils.

We came down to the beach and found a parking space.

It was a Wednesday and there were ample open areas.

We hoisted our gear and walked along the rocky edge of the highway until we came to stairs down to the pebbly sand.

Charleston has the "other coastal ocean" but this was the one where the sun actually would sink slowly into the sea in the west.

 Chris took me to the La Jolla Cove that I, of course,  remembered from living here.

He explained the carefully designed Children's Beach was protected by a man-made curving shelter that one could walk out on.

The area had parking, restrooms, water fountains and other amenities.... but it had become overrun with seals.

Yep, they lounged everywhere and the public was advised to admire them from afar.

Very good advice!

It looked to me like they were all asleep, some rustling like having a bad dream or heartburn.

Mainly they appeared comatose.

The smaller, younger seals showed some activity but maybe Wednesday was "hump day" for all of them and they were chillin'.

Easy to fall asleep when you're clumsy, overweight and lying in the sun. Uh, I guess. We're talking about seals, right?

I had a great day with my son!

We live on opposite coasts and try to stay in touch and visit each other.

Thanks for spending a bit of time with a son and his dad.

The bonus of this trip was to extend my birthday celebration with as much family as possible.

It worked out pretty darn well.

And, lots of cake, blowing out candles and ice cream. Burp.

(Click on the photos and links for more details.)

Stick around, I am approaching my 1,000th blog posting and this trip may very well tip me over the top.

Labels: Children's Beach vs seals, Del Mar Beach, La Jolla, pop up cabana, San Diego, tandem flights, the other coastal ocean, Torrey Pines GliderPort

posted by chuckography @ 10:37 PM