Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Surfing first hit California in 1914, when Irish-Hawaiian surfer George Freeth gave
demonstrations at Huntington Beach in Orange County. Extreme sports date back to the
1970s when skateboarders on LA's Santa Monica-Venice border honed their craft by
breaking into dry swimming pools in the backyards of mansions, as chronicled in the 2005
film
Lords of Dogtown
.
Over 200 different languages are spoken in California, with Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog,
Persian and German in the top 10. Almost 40% of state residents speak a language other
than English at home.
