Coastal Traveler - Spring 2008 - (Page 56)

coastaltraveler Laguna Beach By Robert Plotkin When I was a boy, I would travel between San Diego and Los Angeles, passing through the fragrant orange groves and rolling green hills of Orange County. Sometimes, we would cut through a valley and have lunch in Laguna Beach. Now the small Cesnas which buzzed John Wayne Airport have been replaced with 747s and the hills are covered by housing developments. But once you turn onto Laguna Canyon Rd., Laguna Beach is thankfully the same. It is much like La Jolla, to the south: a series of sandstone coves and a walkable village filled with art galleries. It feels more artistic than Newport Beach to the north, less Republican and WASPY. It is one of those rich towns that clings to a younger, bohemian image of itself, long after it has given up the drum sticks for a tie. This aspirational Bohemianism is a good thing, since it keeps the Orange Countyness in check. Private coves of beach are scalloped out of the shore. The ocean is much bluer and clearer than in Los Angeles. The beaches are more to human scale, without the vast swaths of Santa Monica Bay. Many of the coves are private, gated enclaves, and their waves are guarded. The lucky who own along the coves are successful capitalists, who want a less corporate, more ramshackle beach house. Downtown is compact, with a town green and looping streets of cafes and stores, many of which sell art. There are only a few places along the southern California coast where one can escape the freeway’s hum and pretend you are living in a 70s utopian village: La Jolla, Del Mar, Laguna Beach and Point Dume in Malibu. None of them has changed very much in the last 20 years, as they were already fairly developed. But the land around them has changed, which only makes them more special. Where to Stay Surf and Sand Hotel • 1555 South Coast Highway • 949.497.4477 • www.surfandsandresort.com Vacation Rents by Owner • www.vrbo.com Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel • 1 Ritz Carlton Drv, Dana Point • 949.240.2000 • www.ritzcarlton.com Where to Eat Mozambique • 1740 S. PCH • 949.715.7500 Hush • 858 South Coast Highway • 949.497.3616 Las Brisas • 361 Cliff Drv. • 949.497.5434 56 coastaltraveler spring http://www.surfandsandresort.com http://www.vrbo.com http://www.ritzcarlton.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Coastal Traveler - Spring 2008

Coastal Traveler - Spring 2008 Contents Coastal Connoisseur Coastal Picks Coastal Scenario Coastal Art Coastal Driver Coastal Roadkill Coastal Eco Coastal Hotel Coastal Desert San Diego La Jolla Laguna Beach Malibu Santa Barbara San Luis Obispo Big Sur Carmel Monterey Santa Cruz San Francisco Sausalito Mill Valley Stinson Beach Bolinas Olema Point Reyes Station Fairfax Inverness Marshall, Tomales Sebastopol Petaluma Sonoma Coast Redwood Coast

Coastal Traveler - Spring 2008

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