Swapping salopettes for swimwear, Huntington Beach is 8.5 miles of aviator-clad surfers’ paradise. Offloading my ski jacket at the Kimpton Shorebreak Hotel check-in, slipping straight into my Havaianas was done without hesitation. Seeing the ocean glistening from a balcony that overlooked Huntington pier never felt more like home.

Judging by the solid lycra-to-wetsuit ratio, Huntington Beach is an aggressively active place. I rented a Public bike from the hotel so I could venture along the boardwalk, soaking in the beach volleyball courts scattered on one side and dodging the daisy-duke-wearing rollerbladers in situ. Harmonica players dotted the promenade providing an idyllic backing track while classic cars cruised along the Pacific Coast Highway. Gulls calling, distant nattering and BBQs sizzling – all moments that confirmed California really is like it is in movies.

With a climate facilitating an endless summer, there’s no better place to catch waves than the Surf City of the USA. It would be unjust to say my surfing career took off without significant aid from California’s longboarding legend and ‘waterman’ Rocky McKinnon. I did actually manage to stand up, though it’s impossible to say if this wasn’t incentivised by a seafood lunch at Duke’s post-surf.

You’d think by this point there would be nothing left to see. You’d be wrong. The trip concluded by hopping aboard a Sunset Wine Charter: nothing beats a crisp Californian chardonnay aboard a classic teak cruiser, especially when you can have a nose at the splendid houses that dot Huntington Harbour. Blankets were provided for when the sun set, and better yet, I still made it back in time for fireside s’mores at the hotel.

How to surf, ski and city break all in one week in California this winter