Worth the Drive: Seal of a Deal
Worth the Drive is NBCLA's twice weekly look at nearby getaways
Birch Aquarium
The Kelp Tank at Birch Aquarium at Scripps in La Jolla (courtesy of Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego)
Your job: Decide to get out of town and fast. Our job: Help you find where you're headed. This week, NBCLA's Worth the Drive takes us to...
La Jolla: We've gone all soft over the sheer pink-o-sity of this beach town's grand La Valencia hotel before. And the nearby Birch Aquarium at Scripps? Not as pink, of course, but then the La Valencia doesn't have any in-house seahorse tanks (that we know about). So when we heard the two paired up on a sleep-sea-snack package, our interest was pinked. We mean piqued.
Seal of a Deal: You get a night's stay at La Valencia, admission to the Birch (for up to four people), and a picnic lunch. The hotel recommends taking your picnic down to Casa Beach or the Children's Pool, where harbor seals like to sun. You won't and shouldn't and can't get too close, but bet you'll score a fine perch to observe the bewhiskered mammalia lolling on the sand.
Price: $329/night
To book: 800-451-0772
On now at the Birch: A seahorse exhibit, pier walks, and kelp tank feeding shows.
On now at the Children's Pool and Casa Beach: Wave lapping, seal barking, and the strutting of gulls.
