By Cindy Anderson
My husband and I had been dating for six months and decided to drive from Albuquerque to Laguna so that I could meet his mom and brothers. My first sensory impression when we drove through the canyon was the air: cool, clean, and somewhat humid, but with the smell of the sea. When people think of California, they think of sun and surf, but what they don’t realize is, it gets cold in the morning and evening. And the marine layer can take time to burn off in June. You need a jacket.
On that first trip, we went to the Sawdust Festival. Arts and crafts lined the walls of each booth, and the floors were indeed covered in sawdust. Laguna had an amazing artist community back then, and there was a bohemian feel to the village. Griffith Way is named after one of those artists. Just walking through the eucalyptus tree-lined streets, I loved watching families on their porches with friends drinking wine and listening to music from a not-so-far-off past. Lemon trees and succulents thrived in this environment, and they still do. The difference now is I see fewer families on verandas and miss the small village feel. The camaraderie of neighbors seems lost. Everyone is still friendly, but so many of the locals from the past have left, and we don’t recognize too many people now when we stroll along Main Beach.
Heisler Park still has a wide swath of diversity. Inland families come to the park and cook out, play music, and relax with one another. The variety of flora is remarkable, and the views are the best in the world. The families, the flowers, and the view give way to Pacific Coast Highway. It is crowded and cramped with fast-moving Lamborghinis, Maseratis, MacLarens and Ferraris. Don’t get me wrong. I love the artistic value of a beautiful car, and it is like a parade of the most magnificent mechanical creations on earth. But I can’t call Laguna quaint or even a village.
On my first trip here, I remember my mother-in-law volunteering at the polling center, as well as the library. She embraced her community, and it embraced her. She brought her sons here in the 70s from Albuquerque so that they would have the best schools and a safe environment to thrive in. My husband and his three brothers graduated from Laguna Beach High School, but back then, the sports teams were called the Artists. Now, they are the Breakers. I’m just wondering, did they need a more macho-sounding name? Were the Artists too passive? Can you be a winning team with a name like the Artists?
Somehow our most memorable, simple, and comforting spaces have been overtaken by new faces and sometimes celebrity and wealth. When they took out The Jolly Roger (where the waitresses remembered you and knew you would order the sourdough french toast so that you could get an extra slice), a landmark was erased. Then the Laguna Beach Cookie Company that sold broken cookies at a discount was gone, along with Treasure Island, the artist’s and surfer’s trailer park that was replaced with the Montage. Then Acords Market fell to Whole Foods. Acords made the best pastrami sandwiches in the world, and we would always get one before walking down to the beach. But maybe, just maybe, Bushard’s, my favorite apothecary, will stay on Forest Avenue forever.
The community that was prevalent in the 1980s is gone, and a new kind of Laguna has emerged. Of course, it is inevitable. But what can’t be removed is the slow, hushed glide of a line of pelicans moving gracefully across the sky. There will always be June gloom, which can deter tourists until July, and then that crisp, fresh breath of sea air and a peaceful blanket of marine layer that can make your morning more than a mere meditative moment. It can be a transcendental experience that sticks with you and sustains you even as you return home on the airplane.
Cindy has been visiting Laguna Beach since 1984. She has seen many changes in this beautiful beach town. She longs for those whimsical days that were quaint and comfortable and often wonderful. She now lives with her husband, Dan, in Chapel Hill, N.C. They visit Laguna every year to see family.
What a lovely commentary about Laguna Beach! It is indeed a wonderful place with a fascinating history. However, I wanted to clarify something: the transition from the Artists to the Breakers wasn’t meant to come across as more macho. It was actually a way of acknowledging the team’s original name before it was changed to the Artists, which was aimed at promoting the growing art scene in Laguna. Essentially, it was more about letting go of a marketing label and embracing our roots once again.