Since I myself am based in Southern Califronia, by far the easiest sites to travel to for me are the ones in the southern part of the state. San Diego, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, etc are all within two hours from my house. Because of this I often find myself making my way down to San Diego to take in the awesome Gas Lamp district scene as well as the beautiful beaches that line the southern coast. My personal favorite beach by far is that of La Jolla. Located 30 minutes north of San Diego, this quite town is home to some of the best beaches, sea life, and scenery that you can take in on the west coast. It is home to one of the best places on the west coast to snorkel, which is saying a lot for California and our cloudy water. It also has caves that you can kayak through and seals that you can watch as they lounge in the sand and splash sand and water on each other.
All of these sites are within walking distance of each other, and a day can easily be spent walking around without a car in La Jolla. I have been told by friends that you can even snorkel with sharks, the kind that wont bite you, during the end of summer when they enter the cove.
If you are interested in seeing La Jolla, by far the best time to go would be around the end of the summer, it is still warm enough to kayak or swim, there are less people, and if you feel lucky you can always snorkel with the sharks. Its a great location to visit to miss the San Diego crowd while taking in better sites.
I would fully recommend making a trip to La Jolla if you are in the SoCal / San Diego area. Check out the rest of the pictures and leave me a comment if you feel inclined. 
