Foggy shores

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San Diego seems very familiar. I think it's because there are eucalyptus trees everywhere and I keep driving through areas that remind me of Perth Suburbs. I swear we drove through Nedlands and Subiaco this afternoon!
We drove straight through town to La Jolla (mostly because we were looking for hotels near Seaworld and got lost) to get our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. We made it across - woohoo! Unfortunately, we couldn't actually see it very well bcause the coastal areas of Southern California have been really foggy for the last few days. Something to do with the heat wave air meeting cooler air coming in from the ocean. At first we thought it was smoke, it was so thick!
La Jolla is a lovely, sea-side area made up of hilly residential areas and a 'village' of upmarket shops and restaurants. We're in a small chain motel next to the best Mexican restaurant in San Diego, apparently. It is pretty good!
Today we went to the San Diego Zoo - one of our must-see attractions. It lived up to all our expectations. We saw animals that we've never heard of, such as the Chinese Takin and Harpy Eagle (massive!). We also saw animals we've seen before, like elephants, up really close and displaying interesting behaviour rather than just standing there looking miserable. And many of the animals had babies, so their breeding programs work. CJ loved the hippo - there was an underwater viewing area so you could see him in all his glory.
With only a couple of weeks left with our car, it's crunch time - we have to decide where we're going for the rest of our journey, where we're going to fly from, and where we're going to fly to. Even though we've been thinking about it for months, and getting increasingly frustrated with online flight booking sites, we're still fairly undecided. We're in LA for the next few days, so perhaps a visit to a travel agent is in order. Yikes!

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Photos

Foggy
Windansea Beach, La Jolla. Had to get the jackets out again. Boo!

CJ and Squeaky
His favourite bedtime toy is Squeaky the Hippo, which would explain why he spent the whole time at the hippopotamus exhibit shouting 'Squeaky! Squeaky!'

Chair Lift Ride
Over the zoo grounds - really cool.

Chinese Takin
Their baby is only about a week old. (Sorry for the dodgy photo). They are considered a natural treasure of China, but it's their neighbours, the pandas, who get all the funding.

Debbie the Elephant
Retrieving treats from a suspended drum - she was enjoying herself immensely.