Travel in America- On board! a day on the sea

Tight line! Let’s fish the keepers!

A few days ago we went to one of the most beautiful beaches in San Diego- La Jolla.
Every summer we will come here once or twice to see the sea lions or kayak, which both we are highly recommended on must-to-dos when visiting San Diego. Although, this year the pandemic keeps us at home most of the time, as homebodies we didn’t find it hard, but once we see the ocean, nature certainly triggers the joy and relief of the stress. 

When traveling locally is the most you can do, I would like to share a fun activity that will keep you busy and excited- Fishing!

First of all, it’s not our first time on a large fishing boat from Point Loma, however, we had a pretty different experience years ago and we didn’t feel like doing it much until this time! Why?
The main reason is the group size, I highly suggest to anyone, no matter if you are an amateur or professional angler, to keep an eye on the group size. It plays quite a key role, even at the cost of starting earlier in the day. 

We joined a group that was about 10 people, which has the advantage of the handcrews who can help each of us casting, fixing the tangled line, or taking off the keeper from the hook. they are all so humble and friendly, we  couldn’t be more grateful for the help we received, since we were not professional (yet!) 

Not a typical morning person, we were on a team that went fishing from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm, which is a half-day trip, that leaves time for dinner in La Jolla at night. I will share La Jolla in the second half. But boy, was it worth it to get up in the early morning!

The thing is I believe to follow the natural habit of animals, some fishes may be more active in the day time, some at night. We were lucky that the day we went had good weather and the fish seemed pretty alive! Most of us caught some keepers, also caught non-keepers but let them back to the ocean immediately! 

And this time, we saw those seagulls were so smart knowing the action of the boat and fishermen, some of them are braver which tried and stole fish from the bait tanks. Some of them follow the boat all day just to wait until the end of the trip when the crews were helping to clean the fish. 

They certainly love free sashimi, that’s what I learned from the day! 

Some other times, seals also outwitted human beings, the live fish bait was so attractive, they know when and how much proportion they can bite without being hooked! Although most of the time we felt… “Please seal, don’t bite my bait,” but isn’t amazing to see how nature is reacting to different species?
Not to mention every scene from the boat was soooo cinematic! my love and I are huge movie lovers if you follow along on my blog posts. I may mention one or two movies all the time, and this time is definitely related to The bird by Hitchcock and La Terra Trema by Luchino Visconti. Not going to say the spoiler too much on these two good movies, but the bait (Anchovies) reminds me so much of La Terra Trema, the humble family from a fishing village trying to deal with society. 

The fishing trip gave us more than we imagined, our skin was darkened by the harsh sun, our fingertips were rubbed off. But nothing is more rewarding than seeing the fish laid in our bags, with all the beautiful companies from nature, I can see myself go on the fishing trip again and again… Do you relate? 🙂 

At the end of the trip, the boat took us back to the pier, we can’t wait to have one of the famous fish and chips at Point Loma Seafoods, even though we have our own fishes in the bag, after under the sun all day, a beer with fried fish is just so right! 

Now about La Jolla, there are many fun things to do here, hiking, kayaking, swimming, or just walking on the beach and sea lion watching! 

In general, La Jolla is more of a shopping and relaxing walk by the beach place. However, since COVID affects a lot of businesses, I see most of the open one’s restaurants. I certainly recommend dressing up a little, and believe me, after the fishing trip, not until you go home, you would not realize the fishy smell all over the body! haha! 

We walked around the beach and said hi to those sea lion friends, they are just like some laid-back bros enjoying a sunbath at their backyard, what a life! and some of the baby sea lions are cuddling with their moms. they are such unusual and cute creatures at the same time! Do you feel this way too?

Our last step is seeing Sunset at dinner, we always end up at La Valencia, which has a beautiful Spanish colonial architecture, it’s a pretty eye-catching place with peach pink. They have a nice outdoor dining place on a hill, a great place to enjoy the sunset with the champagne and desserts. 

Cheers, my love, a good day well spent! thank you!

I wish you enjoy today’s sharing, a day to get outdoors, enjoy the nature view meanwhile support local business. It’s not an easy time during COVID, but I wish to bring you a little smile and relax. Stay safe and Always wear a mask, please. 

Also feel free to follow me ＠gabbie_arciniegas  & @betterthanauthentic on Instagram or sign up the newsletter of the blog! you will get notification of new post here! a lot of good stuff is coming up!

XX.

Gabrielle 

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