Huntington Beach is wonderful. Probably my fav beach in Southern CA. I don't remember the name of the resturant we ate at that was so good, but it was a seafood place right on the beach. Excellent food, great view. I wish I could remember the name, as there are probably several there. One day, we just got hotdogs at Wienerschnitzel and took them to the beach for a little picnic.
There was a bicycle rental place on the beach also. We rented bikes and cruised down the shore. That was a lot of fun. The rental guy said we could ride to Newport, as it's not very far away, but we chose to stay in Huntington. Now, we always say if we go back we will ride down there.
Mostly, we laid on the beach and watched the surfers. It's called Surf City USA after all
I'm from the midwest, so laying on the beach is my ideal vacation. You can rent chairs & umbrellas to lounge in, rather than just laying on beach towels.
Sorry I'm not more help, I just basically wanted to tell you Huntington is beautiful, and you'll have a great time.