Dawn Patrol:

My neighbor and I were talking about surfing and he told me about his days as a Huntington Beach local and some of the characters he knew.

It occurred to me that I hadn’t spent much time in HB lately. I learned to ride waves at the pier on my belly board before I started stand-up surfing, but apart from a dog surfing contest I watched this summer, we’d been strangers for a few years. So a little road trip north sounded like a good idea.

I headed out mid-morning, waiting for a big high tide to ebb, and paddled out north of the pier. The waves were small but fun. It seems like Huntington always has something to ride — they’ve got a lot of beach. I checked out some other breaks and watched a pack of guys trying to ride this tricky wave that would sometimes peel perfectly along the inside of the “new jetty” at Bolsa Chica. I had some fun rides and met some friendly surfers, so I thought I’d check out Main Street.

I had breakfast at the Sugar Shack, one of several Main Street restaurants where you can dine inside or al fresco on the sidewalk. One thing HB has done better than her neighbors is create a cohesive old town area with atmosphere. A place where people can walk around and enjoy dozens of diverse shops, restaurants and bistros without a lot of traffic or overzealous police. Somehow they’ve made it work and it’s a good vibe.

I’d never been to the International Surfing Museum so that was next on my list. It’s a small place in an old Art Deco building just around the corner of Main and Olive. I knew I was going to like it when I walked in and found a mini movie theater showing “The Endless Summer.” It didn’t matter how many dozen times I’d seen it, I couldn’t help getting sucked in for a few minutes.

One corner was about surf music and had a lot of Dick Dale memorabilia. That brought back memories of my days as a Del-Tone in 1974. I remembered the Campbell brothers of “Bonzer” fame and their friends who came to see us at The Wagon Wheel Inn. They loved Dick’s music and invited us to surf Oxnard Shores with them. Dick had this 10-foot paisley-deck monstrosity and everyone else had short boards, but he rode the waves on it and everyone was stoked.

I also liked the exhibit on the 1968 World Contest in Puerto Rico, the cool scrapbook in the women’s section, and an interesting piece about the 70s “Hole In The Wall Gang,” Gordie’s surf team, where I recognized Bill Rainforth, an old Laguna surfing acquaintance.

I walked through a couple of the big surf shops which are really today’s department stores. The bounty of goods available is incredible. You can feel you’re at the epicenter of this mega-industry and the “Surf City” nickname is a natural.

There was more that I’ll have to save for another time, but it was a fun day and I felt like I reconnected with an old friend.

JOHN BURTON’S surf column appears Fridays. He may be reached by e-mail at [email protected].