Spring Break for grown-ups

Del Mar, Calif.

This is California the way it used to be: a two-square-mile seaside village of single- and two-story buildings, many dating from the '30s, when Jimmy Durante and his Hollywood buddies made regular summer pilgrimages to play the horses at Del Mar Racetrack. Just 30 minutes north of San Diego (and a two-hour drive south from L.A.), Del Mar has fine weather nearly year-round. It sits atop a modest-size bluff, is planted with scores of old-growth palms and towering eucalyptus trees, and has excellent open-air restaurants and coffeehouses. But the main activity is soaking up the sun. There are two wide beaches: At what locals call Dog Beach, mutts can run leashless; at Del Mar Beach, there's ample surf and a view of the rocky cove leading to nearby La Jolla. Or go hiking in Torrey Pines State Reserve, a relatively undeveloped palisade with well-maintained ...