The California Surf Museum and Environs

These photographs were taken at the California Surf Museum in Oceanside, north of San Diego. For anyone who admires surfing and is amazed at how humans can ride these huge walls of water, this small museum is great. The docents there are amazing, longtime surfers themselves who have become historians of the sport. They are patient and explain everything in detail so even non-surfers can learn about the development of this activity.

This is the beach nearby.

Not too surprisingly, there are lots of surfboards there!

This old one is immense. It was made from redwood. Several people needed to carry it to the water, like a boat.

And this may be the first trophy awarded in any surf contest (the event began in 1928).

Modern surfboards are carved from fiberglass and painted with colored coatings.

Not far away, this truck was parked on the street as a sign for another business. One can imagine some surfboards in the back where flowers now grow.