Enjoy a Dr. Beach pick with budget-friendly Coronado stay

If Hanalei Bay in Kauai — the No. 1 stretch of sand on Dr. Beach’s 2009 list — is feeling about as accessible to you as Shangri-La, you don’t have to move too much further down the list to find a gem in our own Southern California. Holding the No. 4 spot (up from No. 5 last year), Coronado Beach is a “veritable oasis by the sea,” according to the good doctor, who is actually coastal expert Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, director of Florida International University’s Laboratory for Coastal Research. Read the entire LA Times article here.