Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
288
Tips
A Special Arts Festival
A tradition for 60-plus years in arts-friendly Laguna, the
Festival of Arts & Pag-
eant of the Masters
is held each summer throughout July and August. It's pretty
large now, and it includes the formerly “alternative” Sawdust Festival across the
street. See the “Los Angeles-Area Calendar of Events” in chapter 3 for details, or
log on to www.foapom.com.
adds less than an hour to the commute—so pick out a couple of seaside destinations and
take your time.
Seal Beach,
on the border between Los Angeles and Orange counties, and a neighbor
to Long B each's N aples H arbor, is geographically isolated b y both the adjacent U.S.
Naval Weapons Station and the self-contained Leisure World retirement community. As
a r esult, the beach to wn appears untouched b y modern dev elopment—it's O range
County's version of small-town America. Take a stroll down Main Street for a walk back
in time, culminating in the Seal Beach Pier. Although the clusters of sunbathing, squawk-
ing seals that gave the town its name aren't around any more, old-timers still fish, lovers
still stroll, and families still cavort by the seaside, enjoying great food and retail shops or
having a cold drink at Hennessey's tavern.
Huntington Beach
—or Surf City, as it's known—is the largest Orange Coast city; it
stretches quite a way inland and has seen the most urbanization. To some extent, this has
changed the old boar dwalk and pier to a modern outdoor mall wher e cliques of teens
coexist with families and the surfers who continue to flock here, drawn by Huntington's
legendary place in surf lore. Hawaiian-born George Freeth is credited with bringing the
sport here in 1907, and some say the breaks around the pier and Bolsa Chica are the best
in California. The world's top wave riders flock to Huntington in July for the rowdy but
professional
U.S. O pen of S urfing
(www.usopenofsurfing.com). I f y ou're ar ound at
Christmastime, tr y to see the gaily decorated marina homes and boats in H untington
Harbor by taking the
Cruise of Lights,
a 45-minute narrated sail thr ough and ar ound
the harbor islands. The festivities generally last from mid-December until Christmas; call
&
714/840-7542
(www.cruiseoflights.org) for schedules and ticket information.
The name
Newport Beach
conjures comparisons to Rhode I sland's Newport, where
the well-to-do enjoy seaside living with all the creature comforts. That's the way it is here,
too, but on a less grandiose scale. F rom the million-dollar Cape Cod-style cottages on
sunny Balboa Island to elegant shopping complexes like Fashion Island and South Coast
Plaza (an über-mall with valet parking, car detailing, limo service, and concierge), this is
where fashionable socialites, right-wing celebrities, and business mavens can all be found.
Alternatively, you could explore
Balboa Peninsula's
historic Pavilion and old-fashioned
pier, or board a passenger ferry to Catalina Island.
Laguna Beach,
whose breathtaking geography is marked by bold elevated headlands,
coastal bluffs, pocket coves, and a very inviting beach, is known as an artists' enclave, but
the truth is that Laguna has became so “in” (read: expensive) that it's driven most of the
true bohemians out. Their legacy remains with the annual
Festival of Arts & Pageant of
the Masters
(see “A Special Arts Festival,” above), as well as a proliferation of art galleries
mingling with high-priced boutiques along the to
11
wn's cozy str eets. I n warm w eather,
