TWO DAYS BEFORE THE SEA: DANA POINT

TWO DAYS BEFORE THE SEA: DANA POINT Story and photography by Margaret & Eric Anderson
Critics say it's understandable today's Dana Point makes a lot of its association with yesterday's Richard Henry Dana because there's not much else there to talk about. You can't argue with them that the yachting harbor is somewhat generic with a cluster of marina shops, boutiques and restaurants that are not particularly special or different from most coastal areas, and yes, the long breakwater cuts off the view of the sea from below and, indeed, the natural inlet seems spoiled by the concrete slapped all around it, in of all places, the Ocean Institute. And, in addition, there is no old world Main Street as in, say, Seal Beach, 20 miles or so to the north; there really isn't any walking area other than the harbor. But there's still a lot to see and do. Active people can, year round, rent jet skis (800-865-3875), or take a Capt. Dave's Dolphin Safari (949-488-2828) or, from January through March, go whale watching -- one way being on a 32 foot sail boat Wind Dancer cruise (949-395-7187). Catalina Island is only a 26 mile, 90 minute boat ride away from the harbor by Catalina Express (310-519-1212). Those less active can board the replica of the Pilgrim and see what conditions were like at sea in the early 1800s. If they're lucky they'll be on deck when school children come aboard on a field trip, full of enthusiastic questions about the past There are other pleasures too: restaurants on the main drag through town, from Luciana's at 24312 Del Prado, Cannons at 34344 Green Lantern and Jon's Fish Market at 34665 Golden Lantern to surely the coolest Denny's in Southern California at 34242 Del Obispo, created in 1999 in a retro 1950s style.
	Accommodations vary from the sprawling former Dana Point resort now the 363 roomed Marriott Dana point Laguna Cliffs Resort (800-533-9748 & website marriotthotels.com) to the absolute jewel on the coast line, the Blue Lantern Inn built on the very cliff itself (Telephone 800-950-1236 whose website is at foursisters.com).

	The Blue Lantern Inn's sign calls it a Bed & Breakfast but it is more a gorgeous 29-roomed luxury inn with all the touches and attention to guests you'd expect from a well run boutique hotel. The inn, one of the ten or more Four Sisters Inns that run up the coast to Washington state -- and yes, there really are four sisters so the group if family-run -- was built in 1990 with each guest room having a fireplace and a spa tub. Most rooms have a magnificent view of a coastline that, in the evening with the twinkling lights of the harbor below, might recall nights on the French Riviera.