Main Beach Park

From our editor — we've been

When we first landed in California this is where we'd go — sit and watch the waves and the volleyball players, get ice cream from the stand that only takes cash, then walk the shops on Forest Ave. Years later it's still where we bring visitors, and we usually end the day at Alessa. It's the beach town at its most itself: energetic, artsy, and right in the middle of everything.