A friend invited me to share Passover Seder at their house in beautiful San Diego.
Of course, I brought myself, my appetite, and my Nikon.
So I graciously accepted her invitation, and after the evening sunset, when the Seder began, and dinner had been served, I was already contemplating my next sojourn for Travelin’ Local.
Although I’ve been to San Diego a couple of times, I haven’t explored the city that much. However, I soon found myself high upon the mountain bluffs of the Torrey Pines State Reserve, with its splendorous views of both the ocean and the city.
And what a find it was–starting at the bottom:
This picture is representative of the majestic and grandeur of the unblemished Pacific Ocean at Torrey Pines.
The Torrey Pines are trees that were planted over a hundred years ago and are prevalent and plentiful in this area—aptly named Torrey Pines.
The US Open Golf Tour also holds an annual world famous Golf Tournament.
As I stood on the trail on the right, overlooking the sights and sounds of the Pacific Ocean, I was anticipatory of what was coming next–but that still didn’t prepare me for the new sights yet to come my way.
As this path wound around the hill, nature had its way of reminding me of who’s boss:
La Jolla may be the Jewel of the World—literally—but Torrey Pines is a friend for life—every moment there was joyous and wondrous, and by the time I was finished with my visit, I snapped at least 200 pictures.
Again, my destination is foretold by the people standing on the platform above, but before we get to the peak, I thought that this was an interesting part of the area’s history and folklore:
“Dead Pines.” The tree skeletons are all that remains from a severe drought and bark beetle outbreak in the mid 1960’s.” Even in death, life begins anew.
Once I reached the vantage point, I took pictures in all different directions:
As it’s literally impossible to capture all of Torrey Pines in one story, I’ll share the rest with you later this week.
I encountered dolphins, wildflowers, the Salt Marsh, and as mentioned above, the Torrey Pine trees–the most restricted and rarest pines in North America.
Do you have plans for Easter Sunday? No matter what your celebration may be, every day is special and a holiday, with new and exciting places to go and see while Travelin’ Local.
Wishing all of you a Happy Holiday.
April 12th, 2009 → 9:14 am
[...] about Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, Lisa Newton has a wonderful article on her blog at Travelin’ Local. Also check out the parks web site at Torrey Pines State Natural [...]
May 16th, 2009 → 8:25 am
[...] shown it to you from afar, but not up close and [...]