Surf Ballard, Seattle

Avid surfers and owners of Surf Ballard, Andrew Drake and Jim Simpson fit their customers out with all the equipment necessary for surfing and standup paddleboarding on Puget Sound and have earned a Best Sporting Goods Shop of 2010 title from viewers of King 5. The outfit rents boards, paddles, wetsuits, and booties to customers in search of fun and exercise, no matter their skill level or ability to casually utilize the lexicon of surfers in a college admission essay. Surf Ballard also serves as home to the Washington Surf Academy, which teaches novices and veterans alike how to surf properly, and WASUP Yoga, which allows participants to assume yoga poses on standup paddle boards. Surf Ballard is open Wednesday–Sunday from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m.