Surf cities. (Huntington Beach and Santa Cruz in California and Oahu, Hawaii)(includes related article on surfing schools)

At the West's three citadels of surf - Huntington Beach, Santa Cruz, and Oahu - you can meet a big kahuna, eat a great breakfast, and even ride a wave yourself

It is the universe most beautiful pastime. That is surfing's first, essential truth. To guide a board across the translucent green face of a breaking wave is to unit yourself with the ocean's power in a way that goes beyond sport into a dance with the divine. Everything else about surfers and surfing - the swagger, the slang, the bristly pride in athletic prowess - is important but secondary to this elemental grace.…