Summer break was coming to an end, and during my final week, close friends were coming over from Boston. We spent lots of time together visiting SeaWorld San Diego, UCSD and many other places in San Diego. The most memorable place we visited, however, was the La Jolla beach, which includes a very blue ocean, lots of marine animals, and a sea kayaking program. The beach was only 20 minutes away from my house, so we decided to try out sea kayaking for the first time, have a campfire, and spend our entire day there.
As we approached the beach, I could feel the breeze against my face, and could smell the saltiness of the ocean. We got our equipment ready and changed into our swimsuits, going off to the beach to try sea kayaking. The guide instructed us, helping to drive us to the middle of the deep ocean and drive to a different end. I was very confused at first, but realised there were 30-40 leopard sharks. The guide explained to us that the sharks come to this end to lay their eggs, and we got to see many magnificent ones up close. After having the crazy experience with the sharks, we saw 10 to 20 sea lions laying on rocks at the shores, where they barked at us. Getting to see these sea lions was such a wonderful experience for me. Moving on from there, we went inside a sea cave and explored. We could see ginormous waterfalls inside and the different fish living there. After coming out of the giant cave, everyone got out of their kayaks and spent time in the cold sea water since it was getting hot at the beach.
After having such a wonderful experience with sea kayaking, we got a spot on the beach and went back into the cool, refreshing water to boogie board. I was able to spend time with my close friend while boogie boarding with each other until it got dark. At that point, we took out the fire wood to start a campfire. We sat in our chairs and talked with one another some more and stared at the fire, relaxing. We also made s‘mores by heating up the giant marshmallows we bought, like we did long ago in Boston.
Spending time with my old friend and his family was such a good way to spend the last moments of my summer break. My experience with them at the La Jolla beach was an amazing experience because I got to see many animals I had never seen and I had a great relaxing time at the beach. I recommend people who visit San Diego to take a trip to the La Jolla beach as well to experience the fun I had there.
Jaemin Kwak, Grade 10
Torrey Pines High School
