Exotic Beach Locations

So it turns out the La Jolla is a pretty nice place. I had been wondering a bit about this over the year, as I watched scads of tourists seemingly enjoying themselves as I blearily drove back and forth from campus. Given my current lack of responsibilities, I took it upon myself to emerge from my apartment on foot to take in my environs.

My first mistake was to think that a walk downtown would be an appropriate way to "break in the sandals" or rather "break in my feet for the sandals." It all started out pleasantly enough, the stroll down the bikepath, wandering by the swim meet at the local high school. Unfortunately, somewhere about mid-downtown I realized that while my feet may one day be strengthed by the experience, they were currently in rather excruciating pain, thanks to a mile and a half of rubbing the sandals had incurred on my pearly unbesocked feet. Fortunately, there is a Vons supermarket right downtown, so I jumped in an bought some anti-rubbing band aid type things.

An interesting side note. I was recently called out for calling the supermarket "the supermarket." Apparently some folks just call it the market. I think this is ambiguous. If we really need to shorten, I say we call it the "sup'ket". Actually this side note was not interesting. Continuing.

So the anti-rubbing band aid things lasted approximately one city block. I mean, what the heck is that? I know they don't want them to permanently bond to your skin, but please. If anyone has had success with these things, let me know.

Well anyway, there was nothing for it but to take off my sandals and go barefoot back to the house at that point. As I scurried across the smoking hot pavement, I thought back to walking with my brother in Conway, Massachusetts one summer long ago. I distinctly remember him encouraging the toughening up of one's feet by walking about barefoot. As I stepped off the burning street and onto a small sharp pebble on the sidewalk, I quietly cursed him. But I was just jealous.

So all of this led me back home, where I found myself pretty much crippled and spent the next two days walking around on one foot and taking a lot of asprin. So the moral of the story is that while La Jolla may be familiar, and may be beautiful, it is also extremely dangerous and it is a good thing I spent the last nine months in front of a computer regressing Mexican educational indicators and calculating GDP's. I am in no way rationalizing. No sir.

Oh, and I also took that photo from the beach near my house. Must be what all the tourist hubbub is about.