The Surfing Museum...

DH's cousin A, had heard of a Surfing Museum in her hometown, Huntington Beach, and suggested that we might like to visit. We checked the opening times on the website and headed off. We found a park just outside but then discovered that the museum was closed. There was no 'be back soon' sign on the door, but I checked around the back and the actual back door was open but with a security screen door closed. Cousin A called the mobile (cell) number which was on the sign on the door, but we got no response. We figured that if we strolled around the town for a while and come back, we might find it open.

Interesting sign seen on our stroll...

DH's cousin is a keen photographer and wanted to take some 'fun' photos with us!
She got us to pose in front of a shop window...

 On the footpaths there were brass plates honouring various surfers...

 We wanted our photo taken with this surfer's plaque.

 And on the side wall of the Surfing Museum, there was this mural...

After our walk around the block, when we got back to the Museum, it was open. So we spent the next hour or so in nostalgia mode, although none of us had been surfers.
We are standing in front of a bust of the 'Father of Surfing', Duke Kahanamoku from Hawaii.

Those early surfboards were big and looked like planks! :-)

Now some boards that look a bit more like the modern ones...and a cute little statue.

Looks like this man made his name as a surfboard maker extraordinaire...

A surfboard with a light?

An alcove had lots of old posters of Surf Bands. Remember Jan and Dean's hit, 'Surf City'? Well Huntington Beach was known as Surf City.

Painted footprints on the floor featured 'surfing facts'...

In that alcove with the posters was a set of shelves...there was a hotchpotch of bottles sitting on the shelves.

The lady who ran the museum said that the bottles were filled with sand from all over the world...it started a while ago and the collection has just grown. There was a vegemite jar in the collection so Aussie sand is there! lol The French one had a charming 'bib' on the jar.
Talking of Australia, on display was also a jacket worn by Aussie Team members competing at HB...in the 60s I think it was.

There were videos on surfing to watch...

 And movie posters...

There was also the cornerstone from the old Huntington Beach Pier...

It's a pretty 'laid back' sort of place, this museum. The lady in charge didn't blink an eyelid when A talked DH into picking up a surfboard from the display, so she could take a photo...

As Museums go, it wouldn't be the 'flashest' but it was lots of fun looking around.

And DH did not buy a Tshirt at the museum!