Don and I started a new year’s tradition – to see and explore more of our local surroundings. We went over to the coast near Torrey Pines and La Jolla (pronounced la hoya) to see the Children’s Pool Beach.  This small sheltered cove has created years of controversy…… philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps funded the sea wall construction in 1931.

The grant stated…”That said lands shall be devoted exclusively to public park, bathing pool for children, parkway, highway, playground and recreational purposes…..”  The sheltered cove created within the sea wall proved to be a perfect place for California seals to sunbathe and rest with their pups, and also a place for the public to watch seals in their natural state.

Legal debates have ensued over the years, with various parties filing injunctions to erect baracades to protect the seals and humans particularly during pupping season, and whether to eradicate the seals, conduct an environmental cleanup and return the pool to its original intended purpose – human recreation. With all the news coverage, year after year, we wanted to see the Children’s Pool Beach!