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Huntington
Beach
We're not sure the "two girls for every boy" ratio has any
basis in fact here in Surf City, USA. A mile east of Pacific Coast Highway,
the community of Huntington Beach could pass for a middle-class suburb
in Anywhere, USA, with hundreds of square miles of scarily indistinguishable
rabbit-warren housing developments and an excess of strip malls. However,
as the community's sobriquet implies, the coastal area offers visitors
and residents alike the chance to experience quintessential Beach Boys
and Jan & Dean beach life.
In summer, parking in Huntington Beach's coastal communities is a nightmare,
restaurants are packed, and accommodations are scarce and expensive. BOLSA
CHICA STATE BEACH (714/846-3460), however which parallels PCH from the
town's northern tip to its most southern
edge, and the oft-perfect waves that pound it, are all about California
dreamin'. The southern end of Bolsa Chica is also the location of the
BOLSA CHICA ECOLOGICAL RESERVE (714/846-1114), where many species of marine
life are protected. Anyone interested in the history of surfing will surely
find gratification in the exhibits at the HUNTINGTON BEACH INTERNATIONAL
SURFING MUSEUM (411 Olive Avenue, between Main and Fifth Streets; 714/960-3483),
where the history of the sexy sport is illustrated. Pictures and biographies
of surfing hall-of famers are displayed in the museum, and not far away,
at PCH and Main Street, they're immortalized (a la the Hollywood Walk
of Fame) in polished granite stars on the SURFING WALK OF FAME. Huntington
Beach's visitor's bureau is located in the CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (2100 Main
Street #200, at Yorktown Avenue; 714/536-8888). After a long day of shooting
the curl, hanging ten, and soaking up rays, big kahunas and their wahines
want to party. AMATO'S THE BAR (18862 Beach Boulevard, between Garfield
and Ellis Avenues; 714/963-8341) has pool, darts, and a terrific jukebox.
At the MAJESTIC
(18582 Beach Boulevard, at Ellis Avenue; 714/963-1089), there's ball room
and freestyle dancing during the week, and renowned Vietnamese performers
appear regularly. At GECKOS (7887 Center Avenue, near the 405 Freeway;
714/892-2227) an offhand, all-age crowd bops to Top-40 hits in an unpretentious
atmosphere Thursday through Sunday.
SURFING AND THE CALIFORNIA DREAM
Whether the world's first surfers were Hawaiian kings riding wooden
boards or (as some anthropologists have recently suggested) Peruvian
Indians on reed rafts, no one disputes that the heart and soul-and
booming industry-of global surfing is Southern California.
The sport of surfing was first imported in 1910 to LA'S Manhattan
Beach by Oahu's legendary surfer Duke Kahanomoku. As it gained
popularity among SoCal beach boys, wave-riding not only carved
itself an identity as a sport and a lifestyle, but also evolved
into a two-billion-dollar global industry, shaping the world's
perception of surfing, surfers, and California culture through
the sale of dothing, music, and accessories. Surfers now number
750,000 in California, compared to half that number in Hawaii
and four times that in surflng's other heartland, Australia. But
beyond its devout enthusiasm and sunny climate, the reason Southern
California is the true heart of global surf culture is because
it's fortunate enough to possess surfing's most essential element:
good waves. Along Orange County's coast there are more than 50
prime surf spots, not to mention nearby headquarters of industry
giants such as Quicteilver, OR Gotcha, : Rip Curl, and the sport's
twin hibles, Surfing and Suffer magazines.
For the visitor, the best place to watch suffers ripping into
Pacific waves is off the legendary pier at Huntington Beach, also
known as Surf City, USA. As the longtime host : to professional
surfing contests such as the Katin Challenge and the OP Pro (both
held annually in August), the old pier tends to build up sand
around its piling, which results in consistent and well-shaped
waves. The pier is a safe, dry vantage point from which spectators
can hear the yells of surfers continually attempting to outmaneuver
each other for the best waves, see the spray as riders hit the
lip and carve tight cutbacks, and feel the mist and salt as the
waves smash against the pilings below. From the pier it's only
a few steps across the asphalt of Pacific Coast Highway to Main
Street's Surfing Walk of Fame. Bronze plaques embedded in the
sidewalk recognize surfers influential to the sport, from Endless
Summer flimmaker. Bruce Brown, to six-time world surfing cham.pion
Kelly Slater. And there's a bust of the man who started it all,
Duke Kahanomoku.
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Baby
