One of the many spectacular views offered at The Hilton Waterfront Hotel.
Surfing up sun fun
By John Esther
Long considered Surf City USA, Huntington Beach, California, sits along the Orange County coastline 40 miles southeast of Los Angeles or two hours north of San Diego. Each year 16 million people visit one of Huntington Beach’s three beaches for some of the best surfing, boogie boarding, skating, bicycling, leisure and pleasure anywhere in the Golden State.
Home to the US Open of Surfing and training center for the US Surf Team, rather than wait in long lines at nearby Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, Huntington Beach vacationers take advantage of the steady weather with visits to the smaller Bolsa Chica State Beach; Central Park to pick up a game of volleyball (there are 30 courts) or watch some of the best volleyball players in the country; visit Huntington City Beach, which is the area’s epicenter; or a bicycle skate on the boardwalk running the full length of the city’s shoreline.
For visitors with canine companions, Dog Beach is a one-mile stretch along the shore where dogs can ruff it along the beach without a leash. Run by Huntington Dog Beach, a nonprofit organization, volunteers at Dog Beach are on doggie doody duty.
Then there is the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. Offering five miles of trails, footbridges, paths on the east side of Pacific Coast Highway, have the opportunity to watch 300 species of birds, including Long-billed Curlews, Ospry, plover, turns, pelicans and pigeons (in case you miss the big city).
Of the many accommodations available in Huntington Beach we highly recommend The Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort. As eco-friendly as Huntington Beach can probably be with the city’s numerous oil drills (the city has a dumb luck story regarding its discovery of oil) and Boeing (Huntington Beach’s largest employer) the 19-consecutive-years AAA Four Diamond hotel offers the latest in ecological technology. From "The Green Room" to compact fluorescent light bulbs in the vending area, "pet beds" created out of damaged bed duvets, unused or old furnishings going to a local shelter, and other excellent ecological exercises the hotel has promised to reduce its carbon footprint by 20 percent by 2014.
The place is also pet friendly, too. Whether you enjoy one of the hotel's "It's A Wonderful Life Package" or not, an entire hotel floor has been designated for dogs and humans to bunk together (I have been assured by a Hilton representative that barking dogs will be dealt with quickly).
With many amenities and views you would expect from an oceanfront hotel, The Hilton Waterfront's proximity to ocean sounds and breezes offer serenity whether you are on vacation or have just been upstairs in one of the plush Dolphin Series rooms where topnotch visual and audio technology are available for meetings or social events. And the hotel's Serene Beds provided some of the best sleep I have had in years.
Fortunately one of the best restaurants in the area is inside The Hilton Waterfront, Shades Restaurant. Winner of the 2009 Wine Spectator Award for Excellence, Executive Chef Jeff Littlefield offers up healthy food and fine wine inside, outside on the Shades Patio (fire-pit seating available) or by the pool looking out at the ocean. However, I recommend avoiding the overpriced $23.00 buffet and the signature Bloody Marys that come with strips of bacon.
Out on Main Street a plethora of restaurants are available, but every visitor with a Mexican food and margarita void needs to hit Fred's Mexican Café for some K.A. Margaritas (limit three per customer...I think) and the Fred’s kick booty Veggie Burrito (Portobello mushrooms, yellow squash, eggplant and black beans, topped with suiza sauce and fresh avocado).
Of course no Huntington Beach dining experience would be come complete without a meal at Duke's Huntington Beach. Named in honor of legendary surfer, Duke Kahanamoku, who is credited with bringing the sport surfing to Southern California, the famous beachfront dining establishment offers great views of volleyball and the Pacific Ocean. Big on portions of fresh local fish, prime steaks, island favorites, appetizers and Hula Pie my dining companions testified to the quality of the food. As a vegetarian I was not as impressed with the food, but everything else sat well with me.
In addition to sun, fun, eats and sleep, the International Surfing Museum is one of the few museums in the world offering documentation and eyewitness to history of international surfing. And, as long as you do mind looking at a lot of vulgar architecture, you can also get the lowdown on the city's history and politics with a tour by locale expert local, Chris Epting.
So if you want to get away, Huntington Beach has a lot to offer at and with its close proximity to airports in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Santa Ana (John Wayne Airport), and public transportation it is easy to get to without having to do much. Of course, you can always take a splendid cruise along Pacific Coast Highway to your Huntington Beach destinations.
For more information on Huntington Beach go to www.surfcityusa.com
For Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve go to www.bolsachica.org
For Chris Epting go to www.chrisepting.com
For Dog Beach go to www.dogbeach.org
For Duke’s Restaurant go to www.dukeswaikiki.com
For Fred’s Mexican Café go to www.fredsmexicancafe.com
For The Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort go to www.waterfrontresort.com
For the International Surfing Museum go to www.surfingmuseum.org
For Shades Restaurant go to http://www.waterfrontresort.com/
