How do you read the wave forecasts on surf websites?

I live right near Pebble Beach, CA (not in it, I'm no millionaire) and I found out that there is a big wave spot called Ghost Trees that only breaks in certain winters when the swells and wind are just right. I would love to see giant waves sometime while I'm out here, but I don't know how to tell when they are breaking. On top of that, I can't even drive over and check when I want because the snobs in there charge $9 per car, and I don't want to support that crap. Bikes are free, but it is a longish ride just to check if waves are breaking, when chances are they aren't. I have looked at magicseaweed.com and they even have a page for Ghost Trees, but I can't even begin to understand those wave/swell charts and forecasts. Can someone give me a crash course