The Jewel of San Diego
Yesterday, I decided to venture down to La Jolla and visit Scripps Pier. I have a session here soon and I wanted to scope out the area a little bit and check to see how much room we will have to work with since the tide will be high on that day. Once I turned down Expedition Way it struck me that I haven't been down this way in quite some time. I go to La Jolla Farms pretty often to hike what used to be the secret locals/surfer trail down to Black's Beach (thank you tik tok...) but that's really it. Occasionally I will go visit the coves and walk down Prospect to Jose's but that's really it. Once I turned down Orientation Way and drove around the curve that leads you down to Scripps at UCSD, I was struck yet again by the breath taking view that you get of the La Jolla coastline coming out of the trees on that road.
I was immediately transported back in time to the very first time I saw this view when I was 16 years old with my bestfriend, now husband of 8 years, and his family. I was lucky enough to have been invited (and allowed-thanks Mom!) to go with him and his family on a trip to California. It was also October when we had made this trip. I was completely awestruck then by how beautiful this place was. This place was magical to me and I had never seen anything like it having grown up in the desert and having only been to San Diego (Mission Beach) once before when I was 7 years old.
During our trip we explored all over La Jolla and I was just mesmerized. La Jolla Shores beach had the softest sand I'd ever felt. Nothing like what I experienced at Mission Beach when I was a kid. Not going to lie, I was off-put by Mission Beach back then and thought that was all San Diego was. A busy beach with rough sand and SeaWorld. Boy, was I wrong! This trip had opened my eyes to see that that there was so much more to San Diego than that and there were even more beautiful places the farther you go along the coast.
I wanted to live here. We both wanted to live here. We made a promise that one day we would make this our home.
After high school graduation, when we were 18, we made a spur of the moment decision to take a road trip for the weekend back to La Jolla. Nothing had changed. My feelings still hadn't changed for this beautiful place. I was just as awestruck as I was the first time. This time I wandered the beach more and I stumbled across Scripps Pier. I had no idea that it such a special place to La Jolla or how unique it was. I thought all piers looked that, this was the first time I was seeing one. It was stunning and I just loved how there was always something new around every corner. We are going to live here one day no matter what it takes.
Fast forward two years later to 2015 and we were making that dream a reality. Wow, we actually did it, our dream came true. It's been no easy feat and we continue to work hard everyday to live this dream. Driving down that road yesterday, taking in that view, walking in the soft sand on La Jolla Shores, and standing underneath the pier again nearly 10 years later... I felt immensely grateful for this wonderful life and for my husband, my best friend for everything that he does. Life has been crazy lately, it's been stressful and tiring. These past few years especially have been extremely hard and I'm so grateful that we've had each other.
We remind each other every day to never stop dreaming and to keep following them no matter what life throws at us.
