Things to Do in Seal Beach

First String Sportfishing sails the open seas off of Southern California, taking passengers on both fishing voyages and educational marine tours. Its largest boat, First String, can hold up to 149 people for its whale-watching tours. On board the 93-foot boat, you’ll find two 9-ton fish holds, two radars, a large-screen television, and a dolphin-to-English dictionary. First String Sportfishing’s other boats depart for both Californian and Mexican waters on fishing excursions. These trips typically yield shallow-water rockfish such as Sculpin and Whitefish and larger varieties including yellowtail and barracuda.

The Golf Academy/LA's savvy instructors impart tee-to-green golf wisdom to help duffers improve all aspects of their golf games and golf-specific fitness goals. Lessons harness the latest teaching aids and technology, which allow golf aces to analyze each of their client's swings with verifiable data gleaned from 3-D sensors, slow-motion video feedback, and caddies returning from a mulligan-free future. Instructors advocate the importance of physical fitness and custom-fitted clubs to the development of a well-rounded game, which can be achieved and attained within the academy's three locations.

Water splashes up against their toes, which are firmly planted on the board. Arm and back muscles tighten as they push themselves forward with their paddles. Thus do novice paddleboarders from Long Beach Adventure Tours ride slowly glide their way across Long Beach, from the shore of the Hotel Maya to the behemoth hull of the Queen Mary. But they aren't the only patrons out for fun in the sun. On the beach nearby, students carrying surfboards rush into the water to catch their first waves, as a certified instructor shouts out encouragement and instructions behind them. Further out in the water, a colorful arched sail cuts through the air, sending the kiteboarder holding the reigns jumping and twisting into the air. Whatever the sport or activity, instructors that live and breathe water activities unleash their expertise onto both novice and experienced students.

The Motion Auto Show showcases souped-up compact sports cars and products from vendors such as AEM, Edelbrock, Hurst, and Mobil 1. Bikini models stand beside the custom rides, posing for pictures and gesturing toward the cars to prepare them for future encounters with crossing guards.

Jeannine Carter got her first taste of yoga class in a community yoga studio 20 years ago. Her first simple stretches slowly grew into a full-blown passion and she opened her own studio, Aquarius Yoga, with a mission to make the exercise form accessible to everyone.

To this end, she holds community-member classes on Saturdays at a discounted price and rewards environmental do-gooders with an even deeper discount for those who ride their bikes or falcon-drawn carriages to class. That's hardly the only class time available, though. With nearly a dozen instructors in her employ, Jeannine makes sure students can attend class every day of the week, including morning and evening sessions. When the sun sets on the hardwood-floored attic space, candlelit classes set a meditative tone as students strive to emulate the flowing flexibility of the tiny flames by bending through asanas or eating handfuls of wax.

George Moore is the third-generation owner of a family business that opened more than 60 years ago. True to its original purpose, the shop still sells sewing machines, cabinets, vacuum cleaners, and ceiling fans, but now aims to acquire equipment that is eco-friendly and ultra-efficient.

Alongside its retail branch, Moore’s nurses the machines it sells back to health and leads crafting classes. Expert stitchers lead hands-on sessions in everything from quilting to correctly taking the measurements of a restless scarecrow.