2 much in 2 weeks?!

That's a lot for 2 weeks but here's my attempt offhand.

Into barcelona, 4 nights, with day trip by train to figueres
Flight or long train (night?) to granada for 2 -3 nights
Bus/train early for One night in Nerja for your coast time.
Bus to Córdoba in AM. 1 night
Train to Seville 3 nights
Rest split between Madrid and at least 1 night in Toledo. So 4 nights total?

That's longer than 2 weeks and still has too many 1 night stops for my taste. It's up to you where to cut. Your desctiption makes me think you'd like Barcelona and Granada best. Also Seville. I'd cut nerja, but I'm not a beach fan. Could shorten Madrid - iTs nice but not as atmospheric as the others. It's great for art museums, though.

I am kicking down the time in Madrid and maybe throwing Toledo out. Sevilla is a must for husband and I want to get into the Mediterranean - maybe I need to figure out a different place to do that...

This is a busy plan but 'do-able' ...

Fly into Barcelona - 3 nts (Girona+ Figueres day trip ??)
Fly to Granada - 2 nts (pick up rental)
Drive to Nerja - 2 nts
Drive to Sevilla - 3 nts (drop off rental)
AVE Train to Cordoba - 1 nt
AVE Train to Madrid - 3 nts (Toledo day trip ??)
Fly out of Madrid

Okay this is such a wonderful exchange - thanks David and Mira and hope to hear from others.
David, the only time we rented car in Europe was to drive around aimlessly around Tuscany for a week - low key and fun. Arriving in Sorrento was the most harrowing. How cautious should we be regarding decision to drive Granada to Nerja to Sevilla? and, If we ditch Toledo, would that decision be regrettable?

I am not one to advise on driving in Europe as I have always relied on my European friends to do that for me.
Being from Australia, where we drive on the left, I have never had the courage to 'take the plunge'.
If you are hesitating then I would say not to, and use buses and trains instead.
Granada to Nerja by bus.
Nerja to Malaga by bus.
Malaga to Sevilla by train.

I guess Toldeo depends on the time you have available in Madrid, and how much of an art lover you are.
The art in the big museums are what consumes most peoples time in Madrid.

Driving the roads in Spain is easy. The problems are when you try to drive in the cities. I didn't have GPS and struggled driving out of Seville. With GPS, it would have been easy. Using David's suggestion of Granada-Nerja-Seville by car makes sense. The car return in Seville is a little tricky. I used Europcar and the cars are in the public parking lot, the office is inside the station. As long as you find all this out before you go, it should be easy. With a car you'd be able to drive through the hills and see some of the pueblos blancos on the way to Seville.

Barcelona I would allow more than 3 nights. You'll arrive after a longhaul (probably night) flight, and be sleep-deprived and jetlagged. Even your second day, you may not be up to speed yet. Barcelona deserves more time. Going to the Dali Museum in Figueres will use up most of a day. The most popular day trip is to Montserrat, and takes 1/2 day with a tour or on your own. Then there are lots of great sights to see in the city itself. Take a couple of the TI walking tours. Eat lots of tapas and drink the local vinos.

Granada The Alhambra is the top sight in Spain for good reason. You need 2 nights in Granada to see it. The rest of the sights are not as worthy as what you'll see in your other cities. My understanding is the only train that goes all the way to Granada now (engineering works on the tracks around Granada) is the night train from Barcelona, Trenhotel. If you do that, you could spend just one night in Granada, then pick up the car the next morning and head to Nerja. I haven't been there.

Cordoba and Toledo are my 2 favorite Spanish cities (Barcelona is a completely different experience - loved it too). I think it's well worth spending 2 nights there, even if that only gives you one full day. If I had to choose between the 2, I'd go for Cordoba. However, you can see it as a day trip from Seville or as a stop on the way to Madrid (check bags at the train station for the day). The Mezquita is the second best sight in Spain.

Toledo You can visit as a day trip from Madrid. If you want to stay a night or two, you can leave your luggage in the Madrid train station and just take an overnight bag. The only train service to Toledo is from Madrid.

Madrid is the least "funky off-beat" place I've been to in Spain. If you want to see wonderful art museums and/or a great palace, spend time there. Otherwise, skip it. If you have an early morning flight out, you'll want to spend your last night there. If your flight is closer to or after noon, you could go to the airport from Cordoba or Toledo by train.

Trains Anyone who is 60 or older can buy a Tarjeta Dorada (gold card) and get discounts of 40% on Mon-Thurs, and 25% on Fri-Sun. You can buy the cards as soon as you get to Spain for about €6 per person. With only a month before your trip, you may not get better rates by buying now in advance. Before you use the Renfe website, read this article which explains everything you need to know about the trains in Spain. I don't know if the Trenhotel is eligible for the discount and you may (probably?) need to book in advance. In general the earlier you book (for flights too) the cheaper it will be.

Since you want to see the shore, you might really enjoy Marbella. While the new sections of Marbella are very bling and, well, rich....the Old Marbella section is quite charming. We would recommend La Villa Marbella...check them out on www.tripadvisor.com The hotel is an easy walk to the newer section of Marbella (where you will find the beaches), and it's a super-easy cab ride to where all the yachts dock. Old Town Marbella has charming lanes to wander, good small restaurants, shops, etc. We found it a rather calming atmosphere.

If you don't want to rent a car, but need transport from one place to another, contact Emily with South Ole Spain Tours....which you can also check reviews (link below). Emily can even put together your entire trip, and she highly recommends trains where possible. She arranged a driver for us from Granada to Ronda to Gibraltar to Marbella, with a private local guide in Gibraltar. She is excellent with follow-up to insure all connects perfectly.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187441-d2302101-Reviews-South_Ole_Spain_Tours-Granada_Province_of_Granada_Andalucia.html

Agree with the poster above who recommends more nights in Barcelona. We stayed 4 nights there....perfect for a quick overview of the sites, etc. We stayed two nights in the older section (Bari Gotic sp?), and two nights in the Examplia (sp?) area..........both very different, but both very nice. You might enjoy the tapas tour with Food Lovers Tours. Lots and lots of delicious food, fun guide explaining traditions and what you are enjoying (you will not go away hungry), all drinks included and fun fellow travelers:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187497-d5953405-Reviews-Food_Lover_Tour-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

Lots to see and do in Spain. Safe travels.

I would like to buy wine for everyone! I have searched enough this morning to determine that Trenhotel 894 Alhambra is no longer running ..... it was a great idea

What about:
4 nights in Barcelona.

train from Barcelona ->Sevilla stay 3 nights
pick up car and drive to coast 2 nights, then Grenada 2 nights, drop off in Cordoba -stay 2 nights
train to Madrid, 2 nights with trip to Toledo

(this would mean turning the Sevilla, coast, Grenada thing upside down)?

Still not sure where to put my toes in the Mediterrannean... RS guide makes Marbella sound too much like a resort. We are not "polished"!

Can we get from Toledo to Madrid airport the day we depart at 11:15 am?

thanks, everyone, for hanging in there with me

Melany,
Yes, the new part of Marbella is very, very HUGE-resort-like and very high-end, such that Trump would feel right at home :o But, the Old Town section of Marbella is charming, and normal people would feel right at home and embraced. The beach is really not far (very easy walk...we did it), and normal people would feel very comfortable there. If anyone asks, just tell them you got tired of being cooped up on your 400 ft yacht....giggle, giggle. But, it is fun to watch some of the big ones come and go, guessing to whom they might belong.
I can't advise on other beach areas in Spain, as we did not visit/see any others, but I'd guess there are many nice ones.
You are very lucky to have two weeks.
Once you are back, though, please let us all know where you experienced the ocean.
Enjoy!

GrEnada https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenada
GrAnada https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granada

Melany,
Four nights in Barcelona and take your beach time in that region. It will still be of sufficient temps to lay out in the sun and dip your toes in the Med. take a deep dive in exploring options to lay out your to do list as this is an area offering a wealth of activities. Public transport is great.
Strongly recommend you fly to Granada and spend two nights. The area around Granada can offer quite a bit of quirky funk in the mountain villages, but........ How much time are you willing to "give" to meandering about looking for the funk?
We base out of Malaga and have a car, but find first time visitors have a travel angst to max getting the most out of the travel dollar and time. So the idea of meandering and exploring gets overhwlemed by the "need to see".
Highly recommend going by bus from Granada to Ronda and spending a night then a bus into Seville.
Three nights in Seville then AVE to Madrid w a stop over in Cordoba.
Final nights are in Madrid, but take a day trip to Toledo.

I was also going to suggest beaches in Barcelona. I'm not a beach person, so no first-hand knowledge. Then you could do the rest of your trip by train/bus. Maybe fly to Seville, then bus/train to Granada, bus/train to Cordoba, trains to Toledo.

Another thought. From Barcelona, go to Cordoba, then Seville. Get the car for Nerja and Granada and drop it in Toledo.