Huntington Beach

Another weekend, another beach. Huntington Beach is well-known for being surfer paradise, so I ventured southward to see surfers in their native habitat. I wasn't disappointed. The density and quality of the surfers was impressive. The ocean was filled with surfers, who were further from shore than I am used to seeing in Venice, and many were extremely good! It was fun to watch the surfers ride the waves for long periods of time.

The beach was filled with volleyball courts and people, including a few who were flying kites, such as this super-cool shark kite. (Speaking of kites, I saw a totally awesome macaw kite at the local beach recently.) The Huntington Beach pier was surprisingly nice. It was clean, spacious, and for some reason (possibly my imagination) seemed to have an especially expansive view of the ocean. I also witnessed a fisherman catch an odd-looking sting ray, which flipped upward to reveal its mouth before curling up and showing its dorsal fins. I'm guessing it is a thornback ray. And I finally got a decent picture of a sea lion, who was swimming near the pier.

The touristy area around the beach was small, consisting of a Surfer's Hall of Fame with statue in front, a Surfer's Walk of Fame, and ~2 blocks of restaurants and shops, many of which were named after Duke. I didn't see it, but apparently there is also an International Surfing Museum. My main regret, however, is that I just missed the Duck-a-Thon! Damn, that would have been fun...