PISMO BEACH, California -- At the end of last year, Charlotte Russ and her family took a trip to Pismo Beach along California's Central Coast. "My kids they thought they were collecting seashells, but ...

Charlotte Russ' experience last November was hardly a day at the beach Anna Lazarus Caplan is a writer-reporter for PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work previously appeared in ...