How a little-known California surf town hopes to win over luxury tourists

Dana Point, the starting position of California’s Pacific Coast Highway, is currently known, among outsiders, as that place just south of Laguna Beach. But Dana Pointers think their community, which they consider the surfing capital of California and the whale watching capital of the West, deserves greater accolades. For now, though, while Orange County neighbors like Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, and Laguna Niguel revel in the reputation of the California luxe life, Dana Point is largely anonymous.