Robin Z.
Yelp
Surf City, here we come.
It's official...Huntington Beach is America's "Surf City, USA" (http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/01/27/news/state/14_47_341_26_08.txt). Santa Cruz can chill with the legal challenge, pull on their 4/3 full suits and paddle out to icy cold Steamer Lane while we in So Cal will apply sun block and paddle out in just our bathing suits. Life is always better in the hot sun.
And what would be more natural for a city this large and so steeped in surfing lore than to have the largest, wildest selection of surf gear? HSS is a treasure trove of what gets you off at the beach and into the surf, name it, they got it.
But when they first built this place, I hated it enough to avoid it for years. I saw it as nothing more than a surf-inspired mega-store where history was wiped out for a profit. Even when they began the Surfing Hall of Fame walk, I avoided it. Even when they installed a custom, all-wood, hand-made Greg Noll long board made of rare koa from Hawaii, I avoided the place. And then I got high and went inside and I love the place now...even after getting spooked by looking up to find a huge Great White shark staring black-eyed and remorseless down at me. You can meander around in comfort, cup of coffee in hand, surrounded by the flotsam and jetsam of the sea without feeling like a pariah from inland and being hounded by snot-nosed, bleached blond sales-kooks. These folks are laid back and cool and will talk loads about their personal experiences in the surf without applying sales pressure. "Oh, can't sell you a new board or bathing suit today? No problem! So did you catch any good ones this morning?"
This place is so big, they can afford to have huge sales and every weekend the sidewalks are lined with racks of clothes, wetsuits, bathing suits, trunks, sandals and other items at rock-bottom prices. I don't even have to be high to come in here these days. Just as long as there is surf in Surf City, USA, I'll be around.
P.S., HSS has an annex down in Seal Beach, much smaller but Seal Beach focused.