"White, sandy beaches; cleverly simulated natural environment; wide-open enclosures. I'm telling you, this could be the San Diego Zoo..."

And the San Diego Zoo it was! 

I got to San Diego by first going through part of the Mojave Desert National Park to see the Joshua trees... those trees look weird; almost like I was in the middle of a Dr. Seuss book.

Well, of course I had to see San Diego Zoo... someone told me it was worth it and I now agree that it most certainly is worth it!  Pandas, koalas komodo dragons, giraffes, elephants, snakes, meerkats, birds, lions, tigers and bears...

oh my! So many animals and such a great way to plan out the park.

The trails weave through vegetation, rare and common, that compliments the environment. 

You feel more like you are in a jungle or forest while navigating yourself to the next exhibit.  Bird aviaries were something interesting to walk into- birds just chattering away and swooping down next to you.  The air tram gives a nice bird's eye view of the zoo, and the guided bus tour was a good way to get a vague look of the layout and some info about the animals.  I spent most of the day there and I think it's safe to say I saw about everything I could.  The zoo was a hike in itself!

Drove up to La Jolla shores to see some of the beaches.  Waves were pretty high today so there were a lot of surfers out in the ocean.  The current was so strong and the sun was going down, so I didn't spend too much time in the water.  After about the eighth wave knocking me over, I went to sit on the beach and watch the sunset.  The beach itself was not as pretty as Miami Beach, probably because the sand was not white.  And it had many piles of seaweed that attracted these weird tree bugs that liked to hop on you.  Blah.

But the sunset was amazing- I couldn't believe how beautiful it was!

San Diego is a very nice city with beautiful weather- almost 90 today- and awesome views.

I can't wait to start the drive along the coast.