If you're looking for a meeting place or a good stop around ½ or halfway between Santa Monica and Laguna Beach, you can try Los Alamitos, CA, which is about half an hour southeast of Santa Monica, or about half an hour northwest of Laguna Beach.
About ¼ or a fourth of the way, you can stop at Hawthorne, CA. This is about 15 minutes southeast of Santa Monica.
About ⅓ or a third of the way, you can stop at Torrance, CA. This is about half an hour southeast of Santa Monica.
About ⅔ or two thirds of the way, you can stop at Fountain Valley, CA. This is almost an hour southeast of Santa Monica, or about half an hour northwest of Laguna Beach.
About ¾ or three fourths of the way, you can stop at Costa Mesa, CA. This is almost an hour southeast of Santa Monica, or about 18 minutes northwest of Laguna Beach.
If you drive straight through without stopping at all, the total distance is 62 miles. The distances shown above don't include local roads to get into each town, so if you're planning a long road trip, make sure you factor in traffic and road conditions, rest stop breaks, and interesting detours along the way. If you're in a rush, you can do the trip with zero stops, and your total travel time would be around 1 hour, 9 minutes.
