any great suggestions for free time; food, beaches, etc. we are staying at the Hyatt for a conference; thanks! (a fun, active 50 year old couple)

They Hyatt is a beautiful hotel in a lovely water location. Almost right outside your door, you have a little area with waterfront shops and restaurants. There are also several boat tours, such as the Duck tour and the Hornblower tours. The Gaslight district is also somewhat close, with shops, Hard Rock Cafe, etc. If you have access to a car, I would highly recommend going over to Coronado.
Very close to the Hyatt, there is also an aircraft carrier that you can visit.
Have a great time. San Diego is so beautiful!

There's also the World's best Zoo less than a 10 minute ride from the hotel. Try Tin Fish which would be great for an outside meal across from the Convention Center (near you): combination of New Orleans and Mexican and seafood. Try the bar at the top of the Hyatt for one of the best views in town in the afternoon/early evening. Bella Luna for Italian downtown on Fifth Avenue(short walk from your hotel). If you have a car, I agree that Coronado is worth driving over for the beaches in front of the Hotel del Coronado.

I realize it sounds like a kid's activity but I love SeaWorld. I've been there several times with my kids but I'd gladly go back without them.

If you have a car I second going over to Coronado. You can eat on the patio at the hotel Del and enjoy a beautiful view of the ocean.

Also, I would go over to Old Town for great Mexican food. There's lots of great places to choose from.

In Little Italy I would go to Filippe's (sp?) for great pizza.

Also, Balboa Park, where the zoo is located has alot of gardens and museums. If you have a free day the Wild Animal park is wonderful. It's about 30 minutes from downtown San Diego.

Several people recommended Croce's in downtown for great food. We never made it over there so I can't say from personal experience but alot of people seem to think it's good.

The USS Midway Aircraft Carrier was very interesting. We also did the harbor cruise and enjoyed that as well.

Point Loma is a beautiful area and just across the bay from Coronado.

Enjoy your trip. San Diego is beautiful.

i used to live in the UTC area (UCSD) and on Bankers Hill in Hillcrest and one of my favorite places to go is Extraordinary Desserts on Fifth Ave. near Balboa park. It's really popular now, so I would recommend going for a cup of coffee or tea and dessert in the afternoon when you can actually get seated. Their desserts are to die for and it's a quaint little shop. Maybe you can visit Balboa Park and go to some of the museums or walk around the park and then head over for a snack.

I would visit some of the beach towns north of SD - La Jolla, Delmar, Carlsbad, Oceanside( take a walk out on the Oceanside Pier- there is a restaurant at the end- and you can frequently see dolphins from there?
I personally love Carlsbad. There are some nice hikes around Torrey Pines if you like hiking and I loved biking along coast HWY around Carlsbad . Carlsbad also has a great outlet mall if you are into shopping.
In DelMar you can go to the DelMar Plaza - there are several rooftop restaurants and bars with beautiful ocean views- in the summer they have music at happy hour.
You can even take the train from downtown SD to many of the coast towns if you dont want to drive.
In Oceanside we love eating at the Rocking Baja Lobster - fun place.
At Mission Beach we love the Green Flash restaurant - right on the beach and great people watching
In LaJolla , Georges is a great lunch place with beautiful views or less expensive is the Brockton Villa right across from LaJolla Cove.
You wont run out of things to do

Just came back from a long weekend in San Diego with teenage children. The best day was Sunday. We were at the zoo in the morning for a couple of hours and than ate on the terrace at The Prado Restaurant in Balboa Park for lunch.( a long line of prople waiting by noon so we're glad we had reservations). We all agreed it was our best meal. It also helped that we were enjoying our meal outside in the sun while our hometown had wind chills below zero. We checked out a couple of the museums and than headed to Extraordinary Desserts (only a mile away in Hillcrest and open on Sundays)for delicious pastries. It made for a wonderful day!!!

you do not neeed a car to get to coronado. take the ferrry