Take it from me, who lives in California — the Atlantic is better in a lot of ways. San Diego may have swept me off my feet like those weird romance novels my Mom used to read, but the East Coast draws me back each year for blue waters I can actually swim in without …

Whether you’re old school and call it the Gulf of Mexico or have caved to its updated name, the Gulf of America, there’s one stretch between Galveston and Mississippi’s ever-so-trendy coastal hotspots you likely have never uttered: The Gulf of Louisiana. It’s true — the land of Mardi Gras, untamed swamplands, and crawfish boils does …