California Dreaming
California Dreaming
by Anthony Arthur
by Anthony Arthur
Ah, California. The Golden State is not only the most populated US state, but it is also blessed with the world’s 9th largest economy, rich and varied landscapes, interesting microclimates and some of the world’s best beach cities. If you have lived all your life in California, it’s possible to spend virtually every summer in one beach town or another throughout your growing up years.
There are so many different types of beaches and beach cities that it’s difficult to pick favourites, especially because California is home to one of the most diverse populations on earth. Its coastline affords a multitude of different climates and topography, which have an affect on local weather and water temperatures.
These variations in turn determine the type of people that might be drawn to live and holiday in areas, and the personalities that might develop once groups of people get together and create the neighbourhood vibe. California’s vast coastline can range from scintillatingly hot beaches in Southern California to freezing cold Humboldt Bay shores.
Let’s start in Eureka, California’s north coast beach town and work our way down Highway 1, which travels virtually the entire coastline and is one of the state’s true sightseeing treasures. Located at the south end of Humboldt Bay’s crescent on the Pacific Ocean, the town of Eureka boasts a good-sized downtown area that serves a community of over 30,000 people, as well as anchoring the northwest region of California in arts, culture, governmental functions and higher education.
You won’t find a lot of beach use in this part of California (except for seals and sea lions), as the average year round temperature is 13 degrees Celsius and waters are icy cold. With a local economy built on logging and fishing, Eureka has the look and feel of a working class town but with iconoclastic twists like the historic mansions. With fog shrouding its harbour and beaches nearly all day, when you leave Eureka, you do so with the distinct feeling that it can only get warmer!
Okay, enough of cold beaches! As you wind down southward on Highway 1 you are treated to kilometre after kilometre of rugged Pacific Ocean coastline and beachfronts. Fog seems ever-present offshore, seemingly hovering only to grant brief respites of sunshine. After you drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, things warm up a bit and soon you find yourself in Santa Cruz, located an hour south of San Francisco.
Monterey Bay contains some of California’s most unique beach towns, from urban Santa Cruz itself down to tony Carmel-by-the-Sea. Santa Cruz is liberal, laid back and fiercely progressive with regard to governmental policies, human rights and the environment. Its nickname in the late 20th century was ‘The Peoples Republic of Santa Cruz’- a takeoff on communist China’s moniker. It is considered a retirement centre for many of the 1960’s era hippies, hence its uniquely liberal culture. Santa Cruz boasts one of the largest boardwalks in California, with a beachside amusement park that is almost a hundred years old.
Progressing southward from Santa Cruz, a series of small beach towns pop up: Capitola, with its postage stamp-sized shops and restaurants populating a beguiling downtown; Aptos and Rio Del Mar, each with a charming village atmosphere and wide, sandy beaches. Making your way still further south down Monterey Bay you come upon huge expanses of sand dunes buttressing even larger beaches in Monterey.
Winds are not uncommon in Monterey and the lack of a south-facing coastline means it’s a bit cooler than the northern bay portions. However, it is far more scenic and a lot more upscaler, thanks to its famous golf courses like Pebble Beach and the enclaves of wealthy retirees who have chosen to settle here.
Carmel-by-the-Sea is a small picturesque town that anchors the southernmost tip of Monterey Bay, and is best known for its offbeat community of poets, artists and writers. Many famous American artists have made their home in Carmel, among them Doris Day, Clint Eastwood, Sinclair Lewis, Jack London, Brad Pitt, Kim Novak and Ansel Adams. Venturing further south, you travel through more beach towns, those of the California Central Coast.
Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, and Ventura are all typical of middle coast beach towns. Filled with retirees and young families alike, the central coast is a haven for middle class types that want a lifestyle that fits with the laidback personality of the land they live in. No splashy beach scene around these parts and no eccentric beatnik crowd to politicize local government.
One thing that they do have in common with their beach city brethren is spectacular, unspoilt beauty. Entering the Los Angeles region after exiting Ventura, your trip turns decidedly upscale as you enter Malibu. The Malibu name evokes an almost mythical place, as the playground of LA’s rich and famous.
Malibu is famously private and more than a bit reclusive - you just don’t walk up to the front doors and knock on them to say hello to your neighbour, especially if he’s Jack Nicholson. With 21 miles of coastline, this iconic city is home to Surfrider Beach, one of the most famous surfing areas along the coast.
Moving on down what is now called Pacific Coast Highway, you soon arrive at Santa Monica. A fairly big city, Santa Monica is Southern California’s Santa Cruz, with a very liberal, egalitarian populace. The Santa Monica Pier anchors a beachfront area that includes lots of great shopping and fabulous dining.
By day thousands navigate the curving sidewalks that protect the beach from encroachment, using the entire beach scene as a backdrop for walking, jogging, biking - even rollerblading! Santa Monica’s beach is considered LA’s destination of choice when escaping the sweltering confines of the urban centre, so it gets mighty crowded on hot days.
Venturing further south on the trek, a series of beach towns whiz by, alternating wealthy enclaves, like the yachting fraternity's favourite hangout, Marina del Ray, and industry-oriented zones like San Pedro, and middle class beach towns, such as Venice and Manhattan Beach. Los Angeles County is chockfull of so many beach towns of every stripe and style, but Orange County is home to what are really considered to be California’s best beach towns.
Huntington Beach bills itself as ‘Surf City, USA’ and embodies the classic ‘surfer dude’ attitudes that many associate with the sport. Newport Beach is simply the granddaddy of beach towns: Rich, famous, possessing a great harbour filled with yachts, sailboats and even a small island amusement park in the middle of the main lagoon!
Laguna Beach and Dana Point, up next, offer yet more great beaches and lining the highway running through them are shops and restaurants, which lure inland dwellers for afternoons and evenings of idyllic beachside dallying. The vibe is decidedly upper middle class, reflecting Orange County’s distinctive economic signature.
We finish off our journey through California beach cities in San Diego, a few hours south off the Interstate 5 superhighway. Rolling on down the 10-lane monolith, you pass through upscale beach towns like Del Mar, La Jolla and Carlsbad. Home to mega-million dollar homes as well as modest neighbourhoods, the north San Diego coast does not draw big crowds.
The majority of San Diego beach dwellers flock to Mission Bay, just north of downtown, which is a huge aquatic park seafront. Miles of pedestrian walkways and sandy beaches support all manner of outdoor activities, including jogging, cycling and sunbathing. People camp, sail and jet ski throughout and Sea World, an aquatic animal entertainment park, is nearby.
We end our long sojourn in Coronado, at the world-renowned Hotel del Coronado. Set across from the mainland of San Diego, on an extended, narrow sand island that stretches 20 kilometres in length, the famous hotel has been drawing the upper crust of sunbathers for well over a century, and still stands today as a National Historic Landmark. It is here that it all began in California, where the beach city concept took root and flourished as the state grew more and more populous.
Today there are more than 115 beach cities in California, each with their own distinctive personality and legion of followers. No matter where one lives in the Golden State, you always have your favourite place to go when its time to ‘hit the beach’! Now that’s California Dreaming!
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