If you didn't already know how to surf, how would you learn here in SoWal? Assume you aren't young and have no surfing friends.
Jim has longboards that your granny could ride. They are plenty wide for a walker if you need one. lol
I would wait until spring or summer; it is harder to learn in a wetsuit. Another option is to go to Costa Rica; Nosara in particular; it's an easy wave. There are surf camps that have lessons and there is a lot of surf so you can learn more in a week there than a month here. The shot of me on the left was taken in Costa Rica at Playa Negra.
Don't pass up the opportunity, I have been surfing 30 years and I have done just about every sport out there and surfing is more fun than all of them combined. There is just nothing like it. Good luck and good surfing! Dave