Sunny Jim Cave

This was a neat little find! After having lunch at
"Top o the Cove" in La Jolla we went for a walk
off the beaten path. From a third story we saw
behind the main street an old building called
"The Cave Store". We weren't sure what we
would find in a "cave store", maybe some
fossils or seashells, so we made our way to it.
How excited we were to find a hole in the floor
of the store leading to the only cave you can
enter by land. So we paid our four dollars a
piece and hurried on our journey. As we
descended the 144 stairs into the earth, we
marveled at the walls of the tunnel trickling
with water in places. Down...down...down..till
at last we walked out onto a small wooden dock
and looked out of the cave from the inside, the
ocean crashing on the rocks below us and
seagulls nesting in tucked away places above.
Many movie studios have used this cave and
it's founder, Sunny Jim, left quite an interesting
story. Seems years before finding his cave it is
suspected he lost his fortune. He thought he
could make a living from his cave, so he hired
two Chinese laborers in 1902 to escavate an
underground tunnel that would lead to the
interior of the cave. The workers finished the
cave in one year, using only picks and shovels
and carrying out the dirt with a wheel barrow.
At first the public could only get to the cave by
lowering themselves down by rope. Later they
added the stairs. Sunny Jim liked socializing
and was said to be quite the ladies man. It was
only after his death that it was learned that he
had left a wife and six children in Germany!
Inside The Cave Store there is a little coffee
counter and an outdoor garden to relax or
thumb through some more information from
the past.

The Cave Store is open daily 9-5.

Admission is $1 per person.

Located at 1325 Cave Street in La Jolla.

Telephone (858) 459-0746

NOVEMBER 2001