lajollamom's Passport
 | Been to 64 Attractions |
 | 36 Reviews |
 | 19 First to Review |
 | 8 Photos |
 | 25 Helpful Votes |
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Send a ComplimentAbout Me & My Family
We love to travel! We have just landed back in La Jolla after living 7 years overseas - 2 years in London and 5 in Hong Kong. My daughter was born in Hong Kong and we loved it there!
Since I've done it so much, I just wrote a little ebook called "Surviving Long Haul Airplane Travel With Babies and Toddlers" that can be bought here:
www.lulu.com/lajollamom
Our Family's Travel Personality
pampered, relaxed, sophisticated, social_butterfly
We Just Got Back From
Disney World Orlando
Our Favorite Vacation Spot
Anywhere in Asia
A Place We'd Love To Visit
Chaing Mai, Thailand
Favorite Vacation Memory
Pregnant in Tokyo shopping.....a lot.
Worst Travel Moment With My Kids:
When my daughter was a baby, she screamed the entire 15 hour overnight flight to Hong Kong. We were in business class paid for by my husband's firm. Can you imagine how angry you'd be if you paid $9000 for your ticket and sat next to that?
Websites I Like:
Things To Do In La Jolla With Kids
Fun activities for the entire family!
8200 Camino Del Oro La Jolla
La Jolla, California
reviewed on: December 12 2009
"Kellogg Park - New Playground"
This year, a brand new playground opened on the south side of Kellogg Park, which is right next to the La Jolla Shores Beach. I'm sorry I couldn't find a photo of it, I'll take one next time I'm there and upload it. You can easily spend most of the day down there with your family. There's a very large grassy area with picnik tables if you want to bring lunch. You can enjoy the beach (probably the best in La Jolla for small kids), take a surf lesson and let the kids play on the playground equipment all in the same place. It's win- win for everyone and best of all, it's free!
In the summer time, you should get there as early as you can in order to avoid parking problems. There's a sizeable lot, but La Jolla Shores is a popular beach for good reason! I will say that even when the parking lot is full, the beach doesn't ever really feel crowded. There's plenty of space to spread out. During weekdays in the fall, winter and early spring parking is pretty easy all day long.
If you're visiting La Jolla and just want to tire out your kids, this is a perfect place. A nice morning would be to let your kids play at Kellogg Park and then head over to Avenida de la Playa for some lunch. Lots of nice, casual places there.
2160 Avenida de la Playa
La Jolla, California
reviewed on: December 12 2009
"Surf Lessons at Surf Diva, La Jolla Shores"
Surf Diva is San Diego's #1 Surf School and can give year round lessons to anyone in the family, aged 5 years and up. There is no better place to learn how to surf than La Jolla Shores Beach! Surf Diva provides wetsuits and boards for you to use during your lesson. They also offer Standup Paddle Board (SUP) lessons which are all the rage with celebrities right now. It's fabulous exercise and I'm going to try it soon. If for some reason you weren't planning on going in the ocean during your La Jolla vacation, don't let that discourage you from taking a surf or SUP lesson. All the gear you need (bathing suits, sunscreen, towels, flip flops, etc) can be found at La Jolla Shores, including in the fabulous Surf Diva store.
Surf Diva is a family run business and sisters Izzy and Coco couldn't be nicer. They do a lot for the local community here in La Jolla too. If you're going to learn to surf, hands down they are the ones to call. As far as I know, they are the only surfing school with all of the proper city operating permits. Also, all Surf Diva instructors are certified First Aid and CPR. Check out their website for more details at www.surfdiva.com.
If you're from out of town, you can't visit CA without surfing! Your entire family will love it.
2300 Expedition Way
La Jolla, California
reviewed on: December 12 2009
"Birch Aquarium - Great Place For Kids"
My daughter has loved the Birch Aquarium since she first began to walk. She wasn't quite tall enough until recently to stand on her own and see into the sea life exhibits (with the exception of the one that's in the photo above) so I use to have to hold her up. Parents of really young kids might want to keep that in mind. It's not a huge place and we usually spend no more than 1-2 hours there. There is a small outdoor cafe if you want to sit down and grab a drink or sandwich. At the back of the aquarium, there is an outdoor tidepool area. My daughter always enjoys sticking her hands into the live tidepools, with the help of Aquarium volunteers. The view from there is spectacular. Older kids will find the aquarium a learning experience as there is emphasis on global warming and how kids can help. My sister in law had her wedding rehearsal dinner there. It's an amazing venue for events!
5709 La Jolla Blvd
La Jolla, California
reviewed on: December 13 2009
"Art Classes for Kids"
This studio is a kids dream. They have what seems like everything under the sun for kids aged 2-7 to make art projects with. If you want to take a break from the little ones, drop them off here for a class. Then you can go shop around Birdrock, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy some peace and quiet. If you have a 2 year old though, you'll need to accompany them to the class. But that's ok, you'll have fun anyway. :)Classes are 45 minutes and the instructors are excellent.
615 Prospect Dr
La Jolla, California
reviewed on: December 13 2009
"Great Playground For Kids"
We spend a lot of time here! There are 2 playgrounds, one for older kids and another for smaller kids. It's nice to have them separated, I think. There's also a large grassy area for kids to play on.If you live in La Jolla or are on an extended visit, the Rec Center has inexpensive kids classes ranging from Gym to Art. Also, around the holidays there is usually an activity such as an Easter Egg Hunt.
A perfect morning would be to play at the playground and then walk across the street to the Museum of Contemporary Art Cafe. It's a lovely cafe and my 2 year old devours their grilled cheese and fruit (I admit, it's an excellent grilled cheese!). You can sit inside or out. If we're playing at the Rec Center in the late afternoon or evening, we sometimes stop at Extreme Pizza, La Jolla (on Kline) to pick up a pizza to take with us. We eat it at the playground.
7460 Girard Avenue, Suite 8
La Jolla, California
reviewed on: December 13 2009
"A Car Service With Car Seats"
I thought adding this information might be helpful for out of towners that might not have a rental car or anyone that would just like the comfort of having someone drive them. We use this service all the time when my husband and I go somewhere and would like to have a few drinks, or not deal with parking. The drivers are very nice and they have never once been late (usually early). The cars are luxurious and the cost within La Jolla as of this writing is about $15, which can be less than a standard taxi depending on where you are going. I think the cost to the San Diego Airport is about $60. If you have a big group, they also have Escalades with the third row of seats.They have convertible toddler car seats. I've so far only needed these so don't know if they have booster seats for older children or not. They probably do. You need to tell them in advance if you need the car seat, and make sure they have it installed (with LATCH) before they get you. I did have one driver try to install it after the fact and not know what he was doing. I obviously did, so it just took an extra few minutes to get it in. No big deal. But if I was in a hurry, I would have been annoyed.
There's plenty of places in La Jolla to take your kids where you and your spouse can enjoy a bottle of wine at the same time. Take a towncar and skip the risk of driving yourself.
Since I originally wrote this, ownership has turned over to someone else. Prices and fleet are the same as are some of the drivers. There are new drivers now and I can't vouch for all of them since we've not had them all. I did speak to the owner about my concerns about this and they seemed accomodating. I'll change my rating in the future, if necessary.
UPDATE: I've learned that even if you are traveling within La Jolla, you must have the address of where you are going. The new drivers aren't as familiar with La Jolla. I find this endlessly aggravating, but it is what it is. The service is not as good under the new management.
1250 Prospect
La Jolla, California
reviewed on: December 13 2009
"Great Happy Hour - Bring Your Kids"
I'm a big fan of places where parents can have an insanely good meal at a reasonable price, while the kids are happy. My toddler will sit at Azul's happy hour for almost 2 hours. Happy hour is on the patio and there isn't an ocean view despite the location. However the Wagyu bleu cheese and onion burger at half price will make up for that. Also try the deep friend artichoke hearts - seriously good.The patio menu is half price and they have a few discounted drinks. The kids meal comes with a coloring placemat and crayons. Despite the gourmet feel of the adult food, the kids mac and cheese looks suspiciously like Kraft, but I don't care if it is because my daughter likes it and doesn't eat it very often. There's activity on and around the patio that usually keeps her entertained. If she wants to get down and walk around, there's space.
I will say that once we made an extraordinary effort (long story) to get to happy hour there and they were closed for a private party. The staff was kind of rude about it too. So I'd recommend you call in advance. My husband is still angry and won't go back, unfortunately for me.
