Air BnB in La Jolla or Del Mar should be fine. I'd avoid the wilder beaches (PB, OB) for accommodations although we have stayed on Mission Bay and that was ok. The zoo is nice and the Wild animal park (they call it something different now) in Escondido is a great place to walk around. We lived in a Northern burb prior to moving to the pnw. When we go back I'm happy just to enjoy the weather and ooh that sunshine! Just remember much of San Diego is old.lol

I had to go on business quite a few years ago, which included lunch with Steve Forbes of all people, and I brought DH with me. Anyway, we stayed at the Del for a couple of days and then we went to La Jolla and stayed on the beach which was just incredible...I remember being on business calls and having difficulty concentrating as I was watching dolphins playing in the ocean! Especially the sunsets into the Pacific, gorgeous. We did a LOT of sleeping. I think it was the oxygen rich air coming off the ocean that did it. We also froze getting back to our room one night after we hot tubbed under the full moon as the wind off the ocean in January was incredible and the hotel was all open air hallways.

Anyway, if I recall correctly, we did go to Old Town, went to a few museums in Balboa Park which is fun to see in and of itself, hiked around Torrey Pines natural reserve, went to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps (not as good as some). We went to the Cabrillo Nat'l Monument which provides views of San Diego to the east. I remember seeing the naval exercises going on with guys dropping out of helicopters over the water. We'd been to the San Diego zoo before which is a really terrific zoo, esp if you like Pandas. The tram ride is great...seeing the animals happy in their natural habitat.

I'm local in So Cal. This is a nice hotel in La Jolla: http://estancialajolla.com/.

April weather can be iffy, but you just plan for not lying on the beach all day. With the late El Niño rains this year, it's anyone's guess.

Balboa Park has some great museums and lunch at The Prado is nice. I suggest the wild animal park over the zoo. La Jolla is nice for wandering. My husband likes the USS Midway museum. You can combine that with Coronado. Old Town is sort of blah, but Old Town Mexican Cafe is pretty good. Some folks like the glasslamp area of downtown.

Depending on the rain over the next month, Anza Borrego desert may still be in bloom. Locally we're getting green now. You can track it on their website: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=638. It would be a full day, but the desert is spectacular when in bloom.

I went to grad school at U.C. San Diego.

I love both the zoo and Wild Animal Park (now Safari Park). The Safari Park is a about an hour north of San Diego near Escondido. The Zoo is located in Balboa Park, in easy walking distance of the aforementioned museums. There's also an old-school carousel where you can still try to grab a brass ring (at least you could when I was last there).

I like Old Town San Diego. It's a little bit of early Spanish history. Not very big, and probably a pass if you aren't into history. If you are into history, you might also be interested in Mission San Diego de Alcala, especially if you aren't already familiar with California history and the history of the Spanish Missions.

If you enjoy active things, it might be fun to rent a kayak. I learned to kayak at La Jolla Shores, and it's a nice way to see the coast and wildlife. La Jolla Cove often has seals.

The Stuart Collection at UC San Diego is interesting. It is a collection of outdoor sculptures and art installations, including UCSD's iconic Sun God by Niki de Saint Phalle. My favorite is Virtues and Vices. It would be a good excuse for a long walk among the eucalyptus trees on campus.

Ditto what 1929 said about the weather. The rainy season is often wrapping up by April, but sometimes runs into May or even June, and this year has been a weird one for weather with El Nino (February was very dry but March is shaping up to be pretty wet).

We've stayed at the La Valencia Hotel, right in La Jolla. Older, but quaint, with ocean view rooms.
http://www.lavalencia.com/photos.htm

Just make sure they aren't doing any construction! When we stayed they were replacing the elevator thresholds, which involved jackhammering marble at 7 am. We were not happy!

If you like Sushi/Asian fusion, we really liked Roppongi Restaurant on Prospect St, La Jolla.

Check out Siamak Art Gallery, also on Prospect St. Love his landscapes using palette knife techniques and have bought several of them.

Since it is just the two of us, I am willing to take the risk and I want something with real character. I have found the cutest bungalows in LaJolla, but also Sail Bay, Mission Beach and Pacific Beach. Any thoughts on those areas? We will have a car.

I would pick La Jolla from that list. PB would be my last choice.

DH and I enjoyed Old Town last year in April when I had a conference there, and we did a harbor cruise. We were at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, but that was the conference hotel. We had a corner room with amazing views of the water.

My brother lives in La Jolla. Last time I was there I enjoyed the Museum of Contemporary Art. I like to shop on Girard Avenue and vicinity. La Jolla Cove is a fantastic place to walk and see the sea lions and seals at Childrens Pool Beach.

A couple of years ago, we rented a house we found on HomeAway.com in La Jolla for a family reunion. Enjoyed the town and the farmer's markets for food. Went to the Safari Park and toured the USS Midway. Hope you have a great weekend.

We love SD.

Last time we were there we rented bikes from Ray's in Pacific Beach. Head to the "Boardwalk" and ride south to Mission Beach - fun to watch the volleyball players. Cool homes right on the beach. Then turn around and head north to palisades park. We watched the surfers and locked the bikes up and headed down for a walk on the beach. Plenty of little eateries along the way for a nice casual lunch outside.

We we also really enjoy La Jolla. If you don't stay here, visiting can easily be done in 1/2 day. You can start out with a hike at Torrey Pines park - great hike down to the beach. Then head into town for lunch. Plenty of places. We liked Cody's for a late breakfast. You need to check out the seals - but when we were there, there was a stench around the seal rock area. My favorite lunch place, George's, is perched above where the seals are, but there were complaints of the smell so we didn't go there this time.

I love the SD zoo. We thoroughly enjoyed the pandas last time. Haven't been to wild animal park in years, so I can't offer advice there. Skip Old Town. Was too touristy for us.

We also biked over on Coronado Island. We stayed over there for a couple of nights, and rented bikes at our resort.

we had dinner at a great restaurant near Balboa park/bankers hill. I'll try to find it and get back.

Restaurant in SD -- Cucina Urbana. Excellent.

Thank you, JP mom and everyone else. We're leaving next week and it looks like the weather is going to be in the low 70s and sunny, with light wind, and no kids. Did I mention the no kids part?

But isn't that the weather in SD ALL the time? We look at the forecast, from time to time, (mostly in the middle of February). Sure enough, 75 and sunny. Have a great time.

Thanks everyone for your help. We had a wonderful visit. Weather TDF every day. Why is it again I don't live there?

We stayed in an adorable little Air BnB cottage a few blocks from the ocean and a few blocks to downtown La Jolla. Walked everywhere; so pleasant.

We rented bikes in downtown San Diego and biked up to Balboa Park. What gorgeous spanish architecture and grounds ,and perfect to bike around. Another day we went to Coronado and rented a golf cart. So jealous of the gardens there! Another day we just explored LaJolla on foot.

We had some great meals. Highly recommend WhisknLadle in LaJolla, and had a truly memorable tasting menu at Addison's in DelMar.

Glad you had a great time. We have it really good in So Cal, but it doesn't come cheap!!! ;)

Why is it again I don't live there?

Yeah, I've often thought that too. I figure the navy brass have seen pretty much the world, and so many of the retire to SD. Clearly they've figured it out!

We also really liked WhisknLadle. Sounds like you had a great time.

Sounds like a lovely trip. Aren't get-aways like this great?!

My son lived with his dad for a couple of years in San Diego. We would spend the week of Spring Break in a rental house in Del Mar. It was the sweetest house, I made massive floral arrangements just from the flowers in the garden, beautiful evenings with no bugs, walking to the beach every day, having picnics at Powerhouse Park . . . Ahh.