The depths of the wild below…

April 22, 2015

 

The depths of the wild below…

My first day post Coachella, I drove back down the California coast towards San Diego. I had tickets to see the band The Cat Empire at the famous club in Solana Beach, the Belly Up that evening and I made my way down to check out the beauty of the Southern California coast before catching the show that night.

 

I began by driving to the beautiful coastal community of La Jolla, just north of San Diego. . La Jolla is truly a beautiful little city, or neighborhood of San Diego as it is. The coastal community is home to the beautiful Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the University of California San Diego. There is a wonderful upscale shopping area with restaurants and bars and of course the amazing beach and coastline.

The coastline includes the incredible La Jolla Cove and cave, which is open as a park-like area along the clifty coast. I went over to check it out and see the many seals and sealions which call the area home. There are so many of them and they are so used to human interaction that they are everywhere along the coast, even right on the swimming beach where they frolic in the waves along with the many humans taking to the sea there.

Their lack of fear of humans allows you to get very close for photos and it was mesmerizing to just sit and watch their activity. People for the most part do not seem to bother them too much, mostly just taking photos and watching the amazing animals as they go about their business.

 

It is such a beautiful place and so cool to see the wildlife up close and personal. After hanging at the beach for some time I walked over to the nearby La Jolla Brewery to try some delicious West coast craft brew and have a bite of lunch before heading north towards Solana Beach, which is yet another beautiful upscale coastal suburb of San Diego.

 

I arrived in time to check out an amazing sunset on the beach there as I watched surfers try their luck in the chilly waves along the beach. It was a great way to spend an evening prior to the show at the Belly Up, the famous nightclub only a couple of blocks from the beach.

The Belly Up has hosted just about every major (and minor) musical act of the past 30 years. It is a small, intimate space with a laid-back beach vibe that the bands can appreciate. I was happy that the band The Cat Empire was scheduled to play while I was there, as I had never had the chance to see them and I really enjoy their music.

The Australian Ska/ Jazz band has been around since 1999 and while they have never quite caught on big in the USA, they are huge in their native Australia and their high energy music and live shows have something of a cult following here. I thought their show was terrific, they even played my favorite song “Fishies”. If you have not heard them, they are for sure worth checking out. 

The Cat Empire 

http://bellyup.com/

http://thecatempire.com/