La Jolla Real Estate Blog

Consumer alert - this "how to" video was found on YouTube and shows how vulnerable homeowners are who have windows in their garage doors.  This is an alert to homeowners to protect themselves and their home from this happening to them!

Yesterday afternoon after showing homes in Del Mar, my daughter and I headed over to the San Diego County Fair to see Kenny Loggins perform at the Grandstand Stage.  If you are a fan of Kenny Loggins and haven't seen him perform in concert, I highly recommend it!  He started on time at 7:30 p.m. and finished two hours later, giving 110% of himself to the performance.  He was rewarded with three standing ovations and for a "Fair" crowd that had other distractions, that was simply amazing! 

My favorite song is "Celebrate Me Home" and last night his version was over 10 minutes long highlighted by his incredible saxophone player's solo in the middle.  I "flip video" taped it, but read on YouTube that we cannot upload from concerts, so I guess I will just keep this for my own personal viewing.  However, the video below demonstrates an emotional and moving tribute to our troops and is accompanied by "Celebrate Me Home".

When deciding to buy a condominium, and there are many developments in La Jolla to choose from, here are some important things to consider when making that decision.  A thank you to Claudette Millette for compiling this list!

Courtesy of Susan Laxson, Laxson Realty   760-567-9100

The Mission Beach Woman's Club is located on Santa Clara Place in Mission Beach and is a non-profit organization founded in 1926.  The club is dedicated to education enrichment, community service, social opportunities and charitable giving.  Fundraisers are held throughout the year and the clubhouse is also available to rent for special functions, including weddings, parties, business meetings and seminars.  Their annual barbeque is held in early fall and is not only a social gathering, but also a fundraiser and invitation for new members to join.

This year one of the fundraisers entitled, "Save the Junior Lifeguard Program" raised over $26,000!  There is still time to donate by sending your check made payable to MBWC and mail to Mission Beach Woman's Club at 840 Santa Clara Place, San Diego, CA 92109.  Your donation is tax deductible.  My children attended the Junior Lifeguard Program to learn ocean safety and I consider it a very worthwhile program! 

Way to go USA soccer team!  For those of you who missed it, the U.S.A. team scored in overtime to advance in the 2010 World Cup.  Although being denied a goal by the referee during the game, the team continued on, despite the controversy. Truly inspirational and in the tradition of our American values to "never give up"!  Congratulations on their victory!

"Taste the Fun" at the San Diego County Fair this year!  The Fair is open now through Monday, July 5th and closed on Mondays, June 21 and 28.  My daughter, Kim and her friend Lizzy, were there yesterday and said that this year's theme of "Taste the Fun" is very appropriate!  Nothing like the huge assortment of fair food to choose from!

The Grandstand Stage events are always entertaining and Friday, June 25th is Michael Jackson Day and Julio Iglesias is performing at night.  Tonight, one of my favorites, Kenny Loggins is performing so we are heading over to see him and to try out some of the delicious fair food!

The San Diego County Fair is located off of Via de la Valle and at the Del Mar Racetrack.  Admission is $13 for adults, $7 for seniors over 62, $7 for children 6 - 12 years and ages 5 and under are free.  Parking is $10 per vehicle at the Fair's paid parking lots.  Admission gates open at 11:00 a.m. and close at 10:00 p.m. during the week and 11:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

A special thanks to Kim Laxson for the photos!

Shark sighting at La Jolla Cove!  When I read the news headline, I knew that I had to find out if the "5 to 6 foot" sevengill shark is a womaneater 'er maneater.  I need to know, because I love to swim at La Jolla Cove in the summertime. 

The article by David Schwab, a La Jolla Light reporter, stated that Jim Ridgway, a San Diego diver and his partner, Jim Huber took video footage of the creature and in their words, "Whenever you see an apex predator coming back, it's generally a good sign that the ecosystem is starting to recover".  Nice... apex predator aka shark!  But does it like to eat us? 

I went to Wikipedia to find out and discovered that the sharpnose sevengill shark has seven pairs of gill slits as opposed to the usual five.  Fine, I thought... the better to eat me with! 

The information continued with "though small, this shark is an active, voracious predator of...... (drum roll) invertebrates and fishes.  When caught, this species is notably agressive and will attempt to bite".  Well... duh!  The defining sentence in the information about this shark was, "But it does not pose a substantial threat to people due to its small size." 

Hmmmm.... at six feet it is bigger than I am and maybe I will swim in my pool this summer instead.  

It appears that finally the Red Roost and Red Rest beach cottages are going to rest in peace in the memories of what was once La Jolla's new seaside artist colony.  The California bungalow-style cottages purportedly influenced the styles of renowned architects Irving Gill, who built many homes in La Jolla, and Frank Lloyd Wright. 

Located at 1179 and 1187 Coast Boulevard, these two homes have been the center of legal disputes for years.   Apparently the owner wanted to bulldoze them and develop the land into timeshare units and the city and historical society wanted to keep their historical integrity intact.  So these historic cottages, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, sat for over 25 years in disrepair and litigation.  It is widely rumored that the owners had withheld maintenance in the hopes that the cottages would simply disintegrate.  If true, the owners almost got their wish when the cottages became the target of vandalism and large chunks of concrete were thrown onto the roof of the cottages.  An arsonist was arrested on charges of trying to burn the cottages down in 2002. 

While many have criticized them as "eyesores", there are those of us who remember when they were beautiful red California beach bungalows that signified the seaside lifestyle of La Jolla.  With the legal challenges finally settled a new chapter will begin for the valuable land where they have sat for over 110 years.

According to the real estate agency handling the sale, the asking price is $10 million per property. 

La Jolla Tennis Club is a public membership club in the heart of La Jolla featuring 9 courts.  It is home to one of California's oldest and more prestigious tennis tournaments, the annual La Jolla Tennis Championships, which has been held continuously since 1917.  The 2010 USTA event kicked off on Friday, June 18th and will continue through July 4th.  More than 1,100 players from 10 to 80 year olds are playing in the 73 event tournament.

Membership in the La Jolla Tennis Club is a $110 annual fee and is pro-rated depending on when you join.  They offer adult and children's clinics and lessons for members and non-members.  La Jolla Tennis Club is located at 7632 Draper Avenue, La Jolla, CA and their number is (858) 454-4434.

Around this time of year, many high school seniors throughout our country are planning graduation, enrolling in college and yes, master minding senior pranks!   This hallowed tradition has been carried out for generations.  Each senior class is expected to best the previous class in creativity and outrageous humor.

The most outrageous senior prank I have ever heard about was my brother's graduating class.  His high school in Chicago was next to the Brookfield Zoo and one night before his graduation ceremony a few of the zoo animals found their way over to our school's halls to greet the students in the morning.  Definitely his was a senior class to remember!

This past week La Jolla High was no exception; however their senior prank actually was quite inventive and non-destructive.   La Jolla High students and teachers returned to school one recent morning to find their campus covered with "post-it-notes", those little sticky notes that are plastered all over the edges of my computer screen.  The pranksters humor continued with little messages written on each sticky note.  If I had a sticky note to contribute it would say, "Congratulations Class of 2010 for a classy senior prank!"  Do you remember your senior prank?