HUNTINGTON BEACH

Huntington Beach was immortalized by singers Jan and Dean in their 1960s hit "Surf City, USA." It has even been suggested that they trademark Surf City for promotional purposes, but the city leaders are now looking for a more upscale crowd that can afford to pay Hilton beachfront rates. Surfing is an exciting sport, and the surf is up at Huntington Beach, which hosts several international surfing competitions. The International Surfing Museum at Huntington Beach includes a history of the sport, profiles the great surfers during the heyday of the 1950s and 1960s, and provides information on current events and champions.

Huntington Beach is also a popular place to watch the running of the grunion. These small, silvery fish are the only ones that live in the sea and lay their eggs on the beach. Spawning (the grunion run) occurs at night during full moon (spring) tides from March through August all along the Pacific coast from Morro Bay in Monterey County to the California Baja. It is truly a sight to behold as the female twists and turns to drill into the damp sand to lay her eggs, while the male curls himself around her and releases his milt, which fertilizes the eggs. During the next spring high tide some 14 days later, the little fish break out of their eggs as the waves wash away the sand, and they swim out into the ocean with a fighting chance for life. Timing is everything in life, especially for these little fish. Grunion can be hand collected by persons having a valid California fishing permit, and are good to eat when smoked like herring.

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