Aquathon: A Daredevil’s Dream
By Carisa Carlton Grounded in tradition and passion, the Laguna Beach Aquathon is an adrenalin junkies multi-stage non-competitive endurance event involving the completion of sequential disciplines along eight dangerous miles of richly ragged coastline. Limits of courage are vigorously tested on the Laguna course that involves swimming, bouldering, and hiking in immediate succession for 6 to 7 hours. Even when weather and tide...
Secluded Camel Point | Laguna Beach
By Carisa Carlton Camel Point in Laguna Beach is a silver-wing discovery with all the magic of an unspoiled paradise barely known to local explorers. For the traveler seeking escape, Camel Point promises intimacy. Dramatic homes hug the rugged cliff overlooking the white sandy shore, but residents seem to retire early as the beach is desolate at night. With effort comes privacy. The shortest route into postcard-perfect Camel Point is...
The Secret to Secret Cove | Laguna Beach
By Carisa Carlton Secret Cove in Laguna Beach is one of those places that make me feel giddy just reaching it. The journey is mesmerizing. Getting to Secret Cove The first time I visited Secret Cove, I climbed up the cliff from the south end of Tablerock Cove where 20 foot tall boulders jet into the sea. Once I was on the top of the boulders, I could see Secret Cove and the arch that leads to Thousand Steps Beach. I could have swam...
Irvine Cove Glamour | Laguna Beach
By Carisa Carlton Irvine Cove is a mysterious cove of seclusion and beauty reminiscent of an old, Hollywood glamour movie like To Catch a Thief. $10 to $70 million dollar mansions hug the Irvine Cove coastline; the water is rich with world-class opportunities to discover marine life; and, the charismatic beach offers an alluring place to exhibit that French bikini. Every beach in California is public property, though some waterfront...
Hare Krishna Temple | Laguna Beach
Hare Krishna Temple, Laguna Beach aka International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Laguna Beach By Carisa Carlton The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Laguna Beach temple sits two blocks from the ocean in a 1930’s beach cottage neighborhood situated in the heart of an international tourist enclave. The temple itself is a converted two-storey former Baptist church (ISKCON) with vaulted ceilings and...
Scuba Diving Laguna Beach: Beach Cities Scuba
By David Morse So you always wanted to scuba dive (or learn how to scuba dive) in Laguna Beach? The shoals off Laguna, at almost every turn, is loaded with colorful fish, lobsters, eels and more. Available to everyone, quick and easily. Not unlike most people in Laguna Beach I spent my youth and now my “other years,” on the Southern California beaches in the surf and watching the ocean. My love of the ocean never included diving, only...
Whales in Laguna Beach
By Carisa Carlton Southern California has the highest concentration of rare and endangered Blue Whales in the world according to David Anderson, International Wildlife Film Festival award winner, author of “Lily, A Gray Whale’s Odessy,” and owner of Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari in Dana Point. Blue Whale sightings off the Orange County coast number between 1,000 and 2,000 annually. The whale...
Pacific Marine Mammal Center | Laguna Beach
By Carisa Carlton The Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach is a 501(3)(c) permitted facility that rescues, rehabilitates, and releases marine mammals stranded along the 53 miles of Orange County coastline. They provide programs, including school field trips and tours, designed to educate and raise awareness of the marine environment in an impactful manner. And, their research assists marine organizations and biologists...
Laguna Beach Charities and Their Salaries
By Carisa Carlton I went on a quest to discover how much Laguna Beach charities are paying their executives. I expected to find at least one charity paying an executive a ridiculous, unreasonable salary. But, when I began digging into charities with more than a million dollars in assets, I found just the opposite: Laguna Beach 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations surprisingly pay their executives nothing, or the salaries are reasonable...
Laguna’s Giant Aquarium
By Carisa Carlton A marine reserve area (MPA) is a designated area in the ocean that serves to protect marine life, its ecosystem, and habitats. MPAs in California are required by the California Fish and Game Department. Five different California regions were established, and each region plays a pivotal role in the planning process. Laguna Beach’s State Marine Reserve covers 5.88 miles of the Laguna coastline and the Laguna...