La Jolla: Torrey Pines

Last weekend, my good friend Lindsey visited from Portland. She works for Hilton hotels and recently won a overnight stay at The Hilton Hotel at Torrey Pines in La Jolla. She invited me and a couple of others girls to share this prize with her and also celebrate her birthday.

La Jolla is one of my favorite retreats from the city. Nicknamed the Jewel City, La Jolla is a affluent seaside resort community, occupying 7 miles of curving coastline within the northern limits of San Diego (which I affectionately call the promised land). La Jolla boasts of rugged coastline, sandy beaches and a host of wild seals.

Specifically, our hotel sat on the Torrey Pines golf course which plays host to the PGA tour (which was there the weekend prior to our arrival). Two golf courses sit on this property making Torrey Pines a total of 36 holes. An interesting fact is that the golf course has remained public over the years but it is highly sought out. To maintain public continued access to the course, on weekends, golfers arrive as early as 6pm the prior night to get in line for the first come/first serve tee times given out at sunrise.

We didn't play golf and I wish we had more access to the course (being the daughter of a driving range owner, it peaked my interest) but nevertheless it was incredible to even overlook such a famous golf course.

Our overnight retreat was short but it was fabulous. A sign I found at a wine bar we visited while there summed it up nicely: Good Friends, Good Wine, Good Times.