Joan and I stayed a couple of days in La Jolla (pronounced La Hoy-ya), which is just north of San Diego. It was a very nice town and a great place to hang out for a couple of days.

When we first arrived, I was a little discouraged because there are a lot of rich folks, and that usually means the downtown doesn’t have the stores and character I like. When we first got into town to grab some breakfast, I parked next to a Ford GT I only recognized because I recently “drove” one in my Need For Speed iPod game. Despite this $200,000 car and the myriad Porsches and Mercedes cruising around, we found breakfast at a nice spot selling bagel breakfast sandwiches and some awesome scones for what I thought were very reasonable prices.

Joan and I both really enjoy college towns like Davis, CA and Madison, WI because of the off-beat stores and lots of cheap eats. Sadly, there isn’t a Chipotle in La Jolla.

Those issues aside, La Jolla is a wonderful coastal town with great access to beaches. Right in the village there are some very small beaches and rocky shores where you can view seals and sea birds. A few minutes north and you can get to the Blacks beach, which is closer to to the UC San Diego campus and para gliding port. The beach there is large with lots of room for walking, running, and enjoying the sunset.