Surfing Waves

I'm coming from Canada to visit a family friend in San Diego, I am an avid snowboarder and skim boarder but I have never touched a surf board in my life. I'm nervous as to go alone surfing, should this be a concern?

Reach out slowly touch the surfboard then carry it respectfully to the surf.
You will be an absolute beginner , and THAT is OK we all were but you are right please go with somebody who knows the surf and how to teach you the first steps.
If there is nobody, find a surf school.
Have an absolute ball, amid the humbling experience it was for all of us in our first times

Absolutely get a lesson. Even if its a friend who is willing to sit with you and go through all of the basics - a lesson is not 'here is the board, paddle when the wave comes and then stand up'. I realised that when I lent a friend (who is a good bodyboarder) my longboard and the first wave that came he put the board in front of him to jump over the white water (like you do bodyboarding) and ended up with the board smacking him in the head and then being rag dolled back to the beach. Totally my fault for not giving him some instructions - proper teachers will know not to do this!

Otherwise its like taking someone who has never snowboarded to the top of the mountain, strapping on the board and saying 'see you at the bottom'. No fun for anyone and may well cause injuries (to the novice and to other people).

Ive never heard of anyone not enjoying their first surfing lesson. Its the most fun you can have while being totally frustrated

When you wipe out snowboarding you won't drown, you won't get swept away by a rip current or pounded into a reef or a rocky shoreline. Admittedly the wipeouts snowboarding are worse than surfing in general, just in the impact but once they are over if you can walk away you do and if not you won't drown. There are no bunny slopes to learn to surf on. The ocean conditions change and a break might be good for beginners one day and dangerous to them on the same day. People who know how to swim in a pool die in the ocean due to lack of knowledge of currents and waves so yeah there should be a concern about surfing alone

jm,
ya gotta do it! San Diego has a hunert surf breaks facing every which way. It's Summer. Surf will be small. Water and air temps will be warm. He who hesitates is lost. If there is surf at San Onofre (San O [north San Diego county]), then you MUST surf there. One break at San O is called "Dog Paddle" because the surf is so perfectly easy, even a dog can learn to surf there. Also, check Swami's. Even if you only go to look, it's a hoot because of the building that gives this break its name. If you stay in San Diego proper, then impress your friend by asking, "How's the surf at Scripps and PB?"
billie

( true story )
Visitor - hi, I want to rent a board
Me - do you want to take a lesson first ?
Visitor - nah, I'm a really good snowboarder
Me - okay I guess you'll be needing TWO lessons then.

I learned to surf at Pacific Beach SD, i had no idea and took a 8" foamy out, it's nothing like snowboarding in my opinion.
Just watch out for people, keep a lot of room to prevent accidents and learn the etiquette, but even then we are all human.