I went on a 4½ mile hike in La Jolla yesterday, of which 4 miles was on wet sand. O.M.effin.G. I feel like I walked 40 miles.

I walked bottom left to upper right. My goal was to get to the Mushroom House—more properly called The Pavilion—a place I have been wanting to get to for 25 years. There are only a four ways to get there: boat, airplane, knowing the owner and being invited, and walking a couple of miles on wet sand and slippery rocks.

In 1960, Sam Bell, heir to General Mills (Bell Potato Chips), purchased a summer home in La Jolla. His property extended down a 300 foot cliff to the mean high tide line of the surf below. His beach is isolated 4 miles from public access to the North, and is accessible only at low tide through rugged, slippery rocks from the south, and remains unused and out of sight.

The Pavilion was designed by Dale Naegle. Elevator Electric Co., designer and builder of the first glass elevator in San Diego, designed and built the 300-foot tram to the bottom.

The design had to honor nature’s mightiest destructive forces, resisting tidal waves, rock slides, earthquakes, fire, wind, storms, and surfers.