Torrey Pines State Reserve

On a Saturday in August we decided to head about 25 miles south to visit Torrey Pines State Reserve in La Jolla. We loved it! It is one of the wildest stretches of land on the California coast. It consists of 2000 acres of land that has been left as it was before San Diego was developed and it has 8 miles of trails and a visitors center. There are interesting plants and beautiful Torrey pine trees all over the reserve. The kids loved walking around the rock formations and playing in the small caves on our hike. Below the reserve are miles of beaches that you can hike down into and explore. You can also park in the lot down below and walk along the beach. Every beach we visit is unique and it's been fun to explore the different ones in our area. Being there made us think about what California might have looked like before people inhabited the area.

When we made it down to the beach on our hike we walked up to what's known as flat rock (Aaron calls it his pirate ship) and waded through water and played in the tide pools. It was fun to let the sea anemones grasp onto our fingers and feel the spray of the ocean on our faces as the waves crashed.

We brought along Brynn's friend she met at school, who also happens to live up the street from us. We ended the night with a trip to Rubios so Joe and I could get our fish taco fix for the week. ;) We all had a great time! (I realize it looks funny that I have my sunglasses on, when it's not exactly sunny. Two reasons, 1) They are prescription, I have a major astigmatism, and I wanted to wear them in case it became sunny on our hike. 2) I didn't wear any make-up that day. :) In the future, if I ever have my sunglasses on, it's most likely for these reasons. )