Beach Yoga with Elin is seven days a week right now and starts promptly at 8 a.m. near the Venice Beach Pavilion. She also offers sunset classes Monday through Thursday, starting at 7 p.m.

The 44-foot, 77,000-pound male sperm whale died Monday on Venice Beach after becoming beached on a sandbar over the weekend. Crews used two boats, a rope and a crane to move the whale off the shore.

But there’s a new surf shop like no other, and it’s in Venice Beach. Mami Wata is the first African surf shop in the country. Selema Masekela is a surfer and has stepped into a wetsuit many times.

The friendly beach town boasts over 400 miles of waterways, many leading directly to the Gulf of Mexico, making it a favorite ...