Itinerary: Surf’s Up!

Surfing and Southern California go together like Frankie and Annette. But, like most things here, surfing is actually an import. When the Pacific Electric Railway completed a line to Redondo Beach in 1907, owner Henry E. Huntington hired Irish-Hawaiian surfer George Freeth to draw a crowd to the beach. He wowed the masses with his wave-riding feats on a 10-foot, 200-pound wood board.

By the 1920s, regular groups of surfers dotted the beaches of Los Angeles and Orange counties--and the sport exploded again in the ‘50s and ‘60s as synthetic materials made surfboards lighter. Today, anywhere along the coast, if the swells are up the surfers are in the water.

Friday

Early surfboards weren’t just big, they were heavy. So surfers adopted the predecessor of the sport utility vehicle--the Woody--as the vehicle of choice.

The exhibition “Surf’s Up! The Great American Woody” opens Friday at the Petersen Automotive Museum (6060 Wilshire Blvd., Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. $7; $5 students/seniors; $3 ages 5-12. [323] 930-CARS), paying tribute to the wood-paneled cars. Built primarily in the 1940s by all auto makers, Woodies deteriorated quickly if they weren’t painstakingly maintained. Thus, they quickly became cheap used cars, perfect for hauling 10-foot surfboards. The Petersen has 20 cars on display, not all of them surf-style. There’s also a customized convertible owned by western actor Leo Carrillo, and another owned by Liberace.

Saturday

Hit the beach--Surfrider Beach, just north of the Malibu Pier; just beware of the water. One of the most-surfed beaches in L.A. County, it’s also one of the most polluted. Heal the Bay and local surfers complain that sewage in Malibu Creek is polluting the lagoon and ocean.

Go south for dinner to Rusty’s Surf Ranch (256 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica. [310] 393-7437.) You won’t see much surfing from their patio, but inside a collection of pre-1970 long boards hangs from the ceiling.

On your way home, rent “Endless Summer” (1966). The documentary by Bruce Brown, in which he follows two surfers around the globe in search of the perfect wave, is the definitive surf movie. Its 1994 sequel follows the same pattern, but benefited from a bigger budget.

Sunday

Spend Sunday in Surf City, USA--Huntington Beach. Huntington Beach may not always have the biggest waves, but it has consistent waves, which is why it’s home to the U.S. Open of surfing and the International Museum of Surfing.

The museum (411 Olive Ave., open daily noon-5 p.m. $2; $1 students. [714] 960-3483) just put up a Con Surfboard exhibit and a tribute to local surf champ (and father of the NBA player) Jack Haley. “Surfboards: Unique and Unusual” is a display of historic boards, and “Reincarnation of the Surfboard” is a board transformed into art. Every Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. there’s a concert in the parking lot. This week, the Nocturnes--a just-reunited surf band from the 1960s--will play.

It’s a four-block walk down to the Huntington Beach Pier, which provides a good view if the surf’s up. Check out the two big surf shops at Main Street and PCH--Huntington Surf and Sport and Jack’s Surfboard. Both are open until late at night. Then take a stroll along the Surfing Walk of Fame, also at Main and PCH. The first inductee in 1994 was the father of American surfing, the late Duke Kahanamoku. The Olympic swimmer (he won five medals, competing from 1912 to 1924) traveled to swimming competitions--and took a surfboard wherever he could to demonstrate the sport of his native Hawaii.