to the north of the city you find the la jolla peninsula (going there by bus is a nice ride whereas going by car it can be tricky to find parking space during rush hour).
the inhabitants of la jolla are on the richer side, so this part of SD is IMHO the cleanest with the fanciest shops (lots of antique furniture and arts shops).

in the vicinity of cafes and botiques you find one of the largest cave systems of southern california. some crazy painter (who's name I have forgotten, sorry) made a couple of poor slaves dig up the entrance to an almost underwater cave. It took them YEARS
... and in the picture you can see the result... anyway, very impressive if you stand there and look out on the water.

la jolla also is one of the few places in southern california where there are still "wild" seals.
"wild", however, means something more like semi-wild or almost domesticated, as the seals get food and protection on the northern tip of the peninsula.
and the sand in the picture also is imported as the currents are so strong that they annually wash away tons of sand - which in turn means that the surf's quite good there!

it's quite funny to watch the seals who lazily populate the rocky coastline and enjoy the warmth of the stones.
And... no, that's not a seal, dimbo! that's my wife Irmi. the seals are in the background!
BTW: the other place san diego is famous for is seaworld, but who wants to watch imprisoned animals when you can have "the real thing"?
that doesn't mean that seaworld isn't any fun, no, it's just nicer to ride around in a car and watch FREE animals...

as a typical tourist I couldn't get around making a david hasselhoff like picture with me leaning onto a baywatch-rescue car ;-)
only comment of the on-duty guard: "nice picture" (insert semi-stupid smile here).

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