When we last left Torrey Pines, I was at the top, looking in all directions.

A few yards down from the trail, I saw that several people were looking out at the ocean; so of course, being the naturally curious person I am, I stopped to see what they were looking at.

Low and behold, as you can see here, dolphins were frolicking in the midday ocean’s sun and were having a swim. Although, they were pretty far from the shore, you can clearly see one of the dolphin’s fins peaking out. Needless to say, I was very excited because I had never seen one in its natural habitat.

The coastal strip of San Diego is more than a hundred miles long, and with its Mediterranean climate of mild wet winters, and warm dry summers, results in a long growing season, and probably the best weather anywhere in the world.

San Diego’s average temperatures, range from a January minimum of 45F, to an August maximum of 80F, with a yearly average of 62F!

Hey, Life’s a Beach.

The majority of rainfall comes during the winter and early spring, with a seasonal average of less than 10 inches.

The salt marsh, pictured above on the right, is a highly productive ecosystem—,creating an extremely important wildlife habitat. It serves as both a nursery for fish and shellfish and a feeding and nesting ground for resident and migratory birds.

BTW, my car is parked in the little strip located to the left of North Torrey Pines Road, so my walk was literally onto Torrey Pines, which is seen from this mountaintop looking north.

Located to the south are Blacks beach and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography pier.

This woman and her companions were using one of the most interesting “Wheelchairs” I had ever seen.

I talked to Susan for a few minutes, and she told me that she was a “Guinea Pig” for this particular model, and loved it. And it’s obvious why:

As you can see from the picture–it’s a beach wheelchair. Amazingly, although it took a little bit of effort to get it onto the hill, once there, I was very impressed with its ability to move on the trail.

Its maneuverability was fantastic as opposed to a traditional wheelchair; which for all intents and purposes, would’ve been near impossible to navigate here; it didn’t get stuck in the sand, and easily afforded her the ability to go where she couldn’t have gone in a normal chair.

I love this idea and I know that Susan did, too; because she told me!

As I turned and reached the final corner facing the beach, I suddenly found myself enclosed in a harbor of pines—, glorious and stunning.

Torrey Pines

This pine is probably the remnant of an ancient coastal forest which has been reduced during the drying period of the last ten thousand years to the sandy soils of the sandstone bluffs and ravines of Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve and Santa Rosa Island. Extensive root systems and blankets of summer fog help the Torrey pine survive and thrive. The continuous winds cause the pines to grow twisted and gnarled creating a blanket of shade for the travelers on the trail.

As my Travelin’ Local sojourn takes me back to Los Angeles, I’ll leave you with this picture. The mixture of deadwood and new wildflowers fascinated me.

Buried in the sand together–the visual contrast between the dead pines and the new yellow flowers is quite striking.

For another look at Torrey Pines, be sure to check out Kevin’s recent visit over at his blog, Kevin Oke Photography. He took ordinary sights and converted them to artwork. It’s definitely worth a look.

San Diego, Torrey Pines, and the next place to Travelin’ Local, will always be etched into my memory. But as for reminiscing, I’m already plottin’ and plannin’ my next local cool spot to visit.