If you are in the Kearny Mesa area, stop by Ham Radio Outlet. They are located in the strip mall southeast of the I-15/Clairemont Mesa Blvd intersection. The bulletin board has announcements from local clubs and items for sale. The store has new and used gear and books. It is one of the few places in town where you can get some "hands on" actual equipment. My wife tagged up with a class offered by the General Dynamics Radio Club. That helped her learn the code and theory. She passed her Technician Plus exam on the last day the FCC recognized that class of license.
Two big clubs in the area are San Diego Repeater Associate (SANDRA) and Palomar Amateur Radio Club (PARC). Both clubs sponsor and maintain the mountaintop repeaters for 2m, 220 and 450 on Mt Otay, Mt Cuyamaca and Palomar mountain. I was a frequent user of the Mt Otay (146.64/04) SANDRA machine, so I joined and kept my annual dues up to help maintain the equipment. SANDRA also had an autopatch to make phone calls from a 2m radio in the late 70s. Doesn't make a lot of sense with cell phones today, but we helped a lot of stranded motorists that way.