As a commuter who starts out in SAN, I would avoid the LAX-SAN leg other than in the AM. I've sat in LAX waiting for hours to get on a Brasilia to SAN.
The route is full of business types who buy tickets last minute as required by their business. The hourly flights are also so spaced together that pax from the later flights often leave on earlier ones. I thought I was going to get a number of times to see a gaggle of folks running to the gate wanting to know if they can make the earlier flight rather than the one they were booked on.
One possibility that might help is LAX-CRQ. Carlsbad is located in North San Diego County, along the shoreline. The loads are not as heavy, but is occasionally weight restricted as CRQ has one short runway.