If you ever wanted to see the sun's south pole, well now you can, earthling https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyqry9ppl9o.amp
The chaotic waves of the Wedge in Newport Beach, CA. Never made it down here myself, and even if I did I wouldn’t be going in the water.
I was on Balboa Island a couple years ago and brought my fins since the Wedge was a short ferry and bike ride away. It was awesome. Similar to the steep beach break at Sandy's on Oahu.
Fairly certain I was down there at some point with a boogie board. If I was, never got that close to the rocks, partly because of the rocks, but also because of the surfers.
We used to go to Corona del Mar on the other side of the channel behind the jetty. Really pretty beach, and the waves were good but much more manageable. Even there I had days bodysurfing in a big set that tested my limits.
Most of my time was at Huntington Beach because that is where we went for summer cross country training. But I've been to most beaches from Seal Beach down to Dana Point. But the latter was only a two or three times when we had a Saturday cross country invitational at DHHS and would spend a couple out at the beach after. Thinking about it now, it's kind of amazing that those I knew in high school might hit the beach anywhere from Zuma to San Clemente for a day trip.
From the mid-70's, visitation weekends were at a place right on Venice Beach. Started out for me pretty seedy, not the crap-tastic tourist Mecca it has become, though "progress" started happening.
I think you are a bit older than me. By the time I was getting down to Venice Beach, it had pretty much been cleaned up. There were still a few weirdos, but they had mostly been replaced by the skaters.
The Oar House Venice was a great hang out. Creedence and black light. Hot pants and/or no bra got the ladies a free drink. This was early 70s before the US turned prudish again. Next door served a 10” hamburger. Their Hungry Mutha special and chilli fries.
Yeah, Zuma was my older brother’s favorite, I went with him once when I was a kid and was like “you drive all the way out here?” Santa Monica was our go-to when I was little and then Huntington later on. Until we discovered Corona and how pretty and chill it was compared to Huntington. Though we still went there a lot too, it was kind of the standard for group beach parties.
Ya know, I swapped Huntington with Manhattan. Huntington is where I would go to hang out and get in the water, and see people. But where we went to run, and where I thought was more chill, was Manhattan. Yeah, there were a couple of guys I knew in HS who surfed, and they either headed up to Zuma, or caught the train to San Clemente (that was the place, right? Not Carlsbad?).
Yeah the train runs right by San Clemente. Carlsbad is San Diego County so that would be a major jaunt, San Clemente is already way down there at the southern tip of OC.
And between those is Oceanside, whereat many Marines from Pendleton would embark headed north to LA. Rode the hell out of that train going from UCSD up to LA. One night before a holiday break the train was halted near Oceanside by a felled tree. Fortunately I was holding a 12-pack.
We finally know how Roby spends his days besides being on BS https://youtube.com/shorts/ynoDql0R__o?si=27leUyYT-HA71QK7