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Kellogg park has a great playground right on the sand shore. My 2 yo loved it.

also, that wasn't helpful..... will you have a car? you can hike around torrey pines reserve with L and end up at the beach after.

I was in that area a couple weeks ago (though I WISH we'd been staying at Torrey Pines!). The aquarium at UCSD is small but DD loved it. It's definitely good for a half-day of entertainment. Right near downtown La Jolla, there's also a beach where tons of seals (or sea lions??) chill -- DD thought they were hilarious. But I probably wouldn't go out of my way to go there, it's just a fun little walk if you're already nearby.

ETA: yes, the zoo is awesome but it's downtown SD, about 30 minutes drive from where you're staying depending on traffic. It's really expensive so unless you can go for a full day, I'm not sure it's worth it...we went for an afternoon and had a great time but my friend had a guest pass for us. If I'd had to pay, I would have waited to take DD until she's older and has the stamina for an all-day outing.

We have been a few times with kids and a few times on our own. In La Jolla there is a fabulous farmer's market that we walked around (without kids tho!), got lunch at, and listened to music. The sea lions in La Jolla are awesome. The aquarium at UCSD (I think called Scripps Aquarium was a huge hit with our kids, and is very easy to do with kids (small!) and priced right. The zoo, as mentioned, is awesome, and when we went with our 2 year old, we spent a full day there and then totally hit the wall around 3 and left. We also wandered around Mission Beach and then went to watch people paragliding at the gliderport in La Jolla. It sounds totally ridiculous but it was super fun to watch and then my husband actually did it, and had a great time.
I love San Diego! Have fun!

I'm out of town I'd pick the zoo. There's also a coffee shop in Bay Park that has a Kid's play area (Bay Park Coffee). There are lots of parks in La Jolla... The Waterfront Park downtown is fun for a little bit...could do with zoo potentially.

We just came back from SD a few weeks ago. DH was working so I was on my own with LO Mon-Fri. We did La Jolla, Mission beach, Old town, Waterfront park, the zoo....I took the bus mostly and it was fine even with the pushchair. Have fun!

How fun! We like the zoo, wild animal park, beaches and Legoland. Have a great time!