San Diego and Los Angeles: Gimmie Travel Recs

So in about two and a half months, I'll be heading to a wedding part way between San Diego and Los Angeles. I'm gonna have some spare days, about three before in San Diego, and up to one in LA, and I'd love recommendations on what to do!

While in San Diego, I'll be with my family, and while I can go off to do stuff myself, group stuff would be nice. I'll be there Sunday through Tuesday, so I'm thinking the San Diego Zoo on a Monday or Tuesday is a good idea. What else? I'll be looking up food places (vegetarian), so suggestions there would also be great.

The wedding ends on a Friday, and I'll have the option to head up to LA for a day/day and a half, taking a flight out Sunday if I do. I'm not really a celebrities fan, so initially LA doesn't really appeal to me, but there's gotta be other things to do too, right? Or if anyone in the area wants to show me around/hang out, let me know, as it'll just be me (maybe me and my brother with his girlfriend, depending on their plans, but likely just me).

Anyway, San Diego and LA: what should I be doing?

oh, you gotta narrow that down man. Family fun? Historic locations? Touristy crap? Night life? Museums?

Is there anything you've heard of that you want to see?

No to night life. I like museums or places of interest, something to learn from. I'm fully a geeky, learny gamer, so have no interest in solo nightclub visits or checking out where some movie star touched a light pole this one time while smoking a cigarette (which is still there). As I said, the SD Zoo is on my list, and I enjoy things like hikes and reading the plaques in national parks. But I guess I think about it like me living right outside NYC: I don't find the Statue of Liberty interesting anymore (I can see it from my window), but doesn't mean a visitor wouldn't want to go.

If it helps, everyone going is an adult, about 5-6 in the late twenties to mid thirties, another 4 in the early to mid 50s.

If you like the zoo, also consider the Safari Park -- much more wide open. It's been a decade since I was there, but I loved it.

I miss San Diego, I grew up there, but it's been so long that everything I knew has probably changed. The zoo honestly isn't too bad, and Balboa Park is really nice to visit. If the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center still exists, I always loved that as a kid and honestly as a teenager too, so the younger members of the group might enjoy it (Adults as well, if they enjoy legitimate edutainment).

I am a little sad now because there used to be a chain of vegetarian fast-food places called FaqueBurger and they were amazing, but I don't think they exist any more. If Kung Food is still around, they had really nice food and were a purely vegetarian place. You shouldn't have trouble finding vegetarian options in the San Diego area in general though, unless it's somehow gotten less supportive of the lifestyle as time has passed, which would be bizarre.

In both locations, ya got plenty of choices for beaches, and whale watching, sports, also plenty of hiking options depending on what you want to see while hiking (trees, city skylines, waterfalls etc.).

There's some fun falconry classes. I did this one in San Juan Capistrano. https://adamsfalconryservice.com/falconry-experience/the-experience/

Los Angeles is more spread out then people realize. (You could surf and ski in the same day, but don't) So I'd advise picking one thing that really interest you, and focus on other things to do in that area. Griffith Observatory, Queen Mary, Union Station, a movie studio tour, and maybe Renaissance Pleasure Faire depending on when your visit is.