La Jolla Part One

A man walks into a bar in La Jolla and orders a Dewar’s on the rocks.  The barmaid brings him the drink and says that will be $15 plus tax.  That’s the joke - and it was on me!  (That afternoon I had purchased a fifth of Dewar’s for $19 plus tax.)

Much has changed here since we last visited eighteen months ago.  No fewer than five restaurants we used to visit have closed; in addition to several more we’d never even tried. There are many empty storefronts where shops have failed - and the prices, WOW.  California has always been more expensive than most states and La Jolla more than most villages, but everything from toothpaste to Dewar’s costs about a third more than in the rest of the country. 

Having just spent a week in Italy where you could get a half-liter of good wine and a freshly made pasta dish for under ten bucks, prices here seem even more unreal.  We had a very modest dinner the other night at a mom and pop Italian place off the beaten path and the pastas started at $15 and a single glass of mediocre wine was $10.  So, I’m doing a whole lot more cooking here that I had anticipated, and like all good retirees we are taking more advantage of lunches and happy hours.

Having said all that, this is truly one of the most strikingly beautiful locations for a time-share that I can imagine.  Right now I’m looking out the window at the surf breaking a hundred yards away.  Surfer dudes and gals are always at the ready to catch the next big wave and there is an endless stream of walkers above the beach and tide pool explorers on the beach. We don’t have any sandy beaches here as they do in Pacific Beach, which means we don’t have any ticky-tacky boardwalks and bars offering supersized pastel cocktails.  We do have lovely sunsets and yesterday we saw the green flash and this morning a double rainbow. How do you put a price tag on that?

We continue to do a lot of walking which is so easy to do here since there is always something new to see at sea or in the air.  Today I watched as about twelve F-18G jet fighters departed from Miramar Air Station to join the carrier that had been deployed yesterday.  There was a large seaplane flying low and slow and doing practice turns and stalls, as well as the numerous small planes flying the coastline and the Marine helicopters on maneuvers.  At sea there was small support convoy that preceded the carrier and from time to time there are as many as forty little fishing boats following the schools.  Like I said, never a dull moment in La Jolla.

Best wishes, Cindy and Wm

PS: No jokes about drinking Dewar’s please.