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Welcome to
Huntington Beach,
one of California's Surf Cities. Traveling
the state of California, our staff can
testify that there are many fantastic
surfing locations and communities not to be
ignored for their amazing surf culture,
waves and passion for the sport. San Diego,
Encinitas, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Newport
Beach, Hermosa Beach, Malibu, Ventura,
Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Half Moon Bay
and Santa Cruz are a few of those places. In
Huntington Beach, surf culture is really a
part of every day life for many who surf.
They may walk past the statues and tributes
without ever thinking about them.
As
children, they may take a surf lesson from a
parent or go to surf camp as young as age 4
or 5. As they grow in the educational
system, they can compete in school surfing
teams under the direction of world class
surfers who have children of their own or
simply want to share the techniques and
traditions as coaches. Like soccer,
baseball, basketball and other sports, there
are competitions with the top surfers moving
faster in the ranks till they qualify for
the bigger contests.
In
Huntington Beach you'll surfboards out the
back of cars, on racks, on bikes, in arms
and just about everyplace you go. Barefoot
and wet, you'll see girls and guys, women
and men walking along in wetsuits carrying
boards in hand.
But for
those who do notice this phenomenon and who
marvel at the culture, history, legends of
the sport and the surfers today who are out
on the ocean riding the waves, here's a map
to guide you through an easy 1-hour tour of
surfing. You can begin by visiting a
Surfing Museum. It's the only International
Surfing Museum, they say. Next, look at and
photograph several statues created by a
famous surfer and sculptor, Edmond Shumpert.
Then place your feet and hands in the etched
cement shapes made by legendary surfers
honored at the Surfers' Hall of Fame.
Finally walk out to the Huntington Beach
Pier for a bird's eye view of surfers who
carve their paths through the waves.
Seeing
expert surfers in Huntington Beach is an
amazing experience. They can take a small
wave and turn the ride into an amazing
ballet or water dance, so it appears. You
need to relax and wait patiently as they
wait on their surfboards below for the waves
to come. After you've completed this
journey, you may find the excursion
compelling and decide to try surfing.
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