Half Moon Bay
It is barely light when we leave San Jose just before 7 in the morning. The day is bright and the mountains surrounding us were clear and sharp.
Here in the Bay Area most of the trees do not shed their leaves in the Fall so we do not see many trees changing color. Along I280 there were a few trees showing there autumn colors. There are very few shivering Aspen trees here though.
As we approached Hiwhway 92, the sun was beginning to cast shadows on the forest to the west of Crystal Springs. Today the reservoir lives up to its name. Though the level is very low. This is the end of the journey for some of the water from the Sierras via the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct.
I just love this drive on Highway 92 into Half Moon Bay. At this time of the day we have a clear run. Come lunchtime this road will be bumper to bumper, slow moving traffic. Today though it is fun. We climb over the Santa Cruz mountains and as we crest the summit, we get our first view of the ocean.
Coasting down the hill we begin to pass the ecletic businesses along the way. We pass one place selling huge metal sculptures and other displaying carved wooden animals. Then there are the nurseries and fruit stands and even a winery.
Half Moon Bay is the ‘pumpkin capital of the world’ so naturally there are many pumpkin patches with pumpkins littering the ground and covering every surface, each patch vying with their neighbors to provide a better attraction - mazes, tractor rides and pony rides to name but a few. Every year in October they have a Pumpkin Festival here.
At 7.30 we arrive in Main Street. We plan to have breakfast at the Main Street Grill but it doesn’t open until 8 a.m. so we look for coffee. We discover a gem called Coffee Company, just off Main Street. Their special at the moment is pumpkin pie latte but Tom stuck to his regular Fresnch Roast and I had a small latte. It came in a tall glass beaker and looked very attractive with its three layers - milk, coffee and topped with foamed milk. I was looking at the range of teas they serve and it is extensive. Over 36 varieties including Topical fire, Caramel, Rose, Maple and Orange Pekoe.
At 8.20 we turn up at the Main Street Grill. After breakfast we drive to Pigeon Point Lighthouse and returned at 11 a.m when the shops are open. Now there are many more people around.
We took a walk down Main Street between Correas Street and just past Mill Street where most of the main shops are. There are quite a few high end places like Courtyard Gallery , Indo offering ‘treasures from the island of Bali’, Sujaro, African Gallery and Design and Cottage Industries who specialize in Shaker furniture. Of course there are several antique and collectible shops in this stretch of Main Street - Hey Jude, Posh Moon, Quail Run and (our favorite) Half to Have. Half to Have is located on the corner of Miramontes Street and opposite Main Street Grill. You enter through a gate into a yard crammed full of assorted garden ornamentation like fountains, metal sculptures, rustic seats, tile bird houses, stone frogs and tortises. You follow the glass strewn pathway (glass rocks and gravel sold by the pound) through rusty archways and into various nooks and crannies. Tucked away in the corner is the entrance to the shop where all manner of vintage curios are waiting to be discovered.
Two special places have to be sampled. The first is Cunhas’ Country Grocery (and Second Floor Emporium) on the corner of Kelly Street. The original Cunhas’, which was over a hundred years old, burned down in May 2003. Within a year it had been rebuilt and opened again for business. This is a great food shop and upstairs you can browse everything from knick knacks for the home to cowboy boots. The second place is Half Moon Bay Feed and Fuel where we always check out the rabbits and day old chicks for sale and come away with a couple of pounds of nygar seed for the finches.
We can recommend three really good restaurants in Half Moon Bay - Rogue Chefs, Pasta Moon and Cetrella Bistro.
We have to tear ourselves away from Half Moon Bay and make our way home. The traffic was barely moving coming into the town and was backed up all the way to I280. We are so pleased to be going the other way.
October 22 2007 02:38 pm | Neighborhoods
