San Francisco - Alison Bing [221]
The town of Half Moon Bay is an old Victorian beach resort and the main coastal town between SF and Santa Cruz. It’s most famous for pumpkin patches, roadside fruit-and-vegetable stands and garden shops. The annual Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival (www.miramarevents.com/pumpkinfest) culminates with a competition for the biggest pumpkin, which usually weighs upwards of 1500 pounds. (Yes, you read that right.) Up and down the coast in October, you’ll spot pumpkin patches gussied up with bails of hay, corn mazes, giant scarecrows and huge stacks of pumpkins and gourds. This is the place for a pre-Halloween family outing.
Downtown HMB is good for a stroll and to refuel on sandwiches, but the shopping is nothing special. If you want to hit the water, contact Half Moon Bay Kayaking ( 650-773-6101; www.hmbkayak.com; Pillar Point Harbor; rentals s/d per hr $20/40, guided trips $65-150), which rents kayaks and leads stellar guided wildlife and sunset paddles. The main beach in town is OK if you have little kids who constantly have to go to the bathroom, but it gets way too crowded; keep going.
If you’re here on a weekend, don’t miss the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society ( 650-726-4143; www.bachddsoc.org; 311 Mirada Rd, Half Moon Bay; admission $25-35) and its stellar salon-style jazz, classical and world-music concerts at Douglas Beach House. This is where locals hang. Performances start in the late afternoon. Kids welcome, but if they’re fidgety sit outside. Drinks and finger foods are available, or bring a picnic.
Eating & Drinking
Sam’s Chowder House ( 650-712-0245; www.samschowderhouse.com; 4210 North Cabrillo Hwy, Half Moon Bay; dishes $12-32; 11:30am-9pm) In the tradition of big Cape Cod waterside fish houses, Sam’s makes a mean bowl of chowder, whole steamed crab (in season), traditional lobster-clambake with all the fixins, and a knockout lobster roll – to find better, fly to Maine. There’s a full bar and great ocean views.
Barbara’s Fish Trap ( 650-728-7049; 281 Capistrano Rd, Princeton-by-the-Sea; dishes $8-32; 11am-9pm Sun-Thu, to 10pm Fri & Sat; ) Generations of families come to this ramshackle harborside seafood shack with checked tablecloths, fresh-fish specials, fish and chips and a near-constant line out the door. Always good, never great.
Flying Fish Grill ( 650-712-1125; 99 San Mateo Rd, Half Moon Bay; dishes $4-10; lunch & dinner; ) This tiny fish shack makes delicious, inexpensive fish tacos and other seafood plates to eat in or to go.
San Benito House Deli ( 650-726-3425; www.sanbenitohouse.com; 356 Main St, Half Moon Bay; sandwiches $6; 10am-5pm; ) Our favorite place to pick up homemade-bread sandwiches. Simple, straightforward, fast.
Cameron’s Restaurant & Inn ( 650-726-5705; www.cameronsinn.com; 1410 S Cabrillo Hwy, Half Moon Bay; dishes from $9; ) Eat pub grub, swill beer and shoot darts at Cameron’s, a century-old, atmospheric English-style pub with more garage-sale junk pinned to the walls than you’ll be able to take in.
Moss Beach Distillery ( 650-728-5595; 140 Beach Way, Moss Beach) During Prohibition illicit cargoes of whiskey were smuggled in here, and celebrities drank with local politicians, who ensured raids never happened. Today it’s still best for drinks: snuggle beneath blankets on the waterview deck, but skip the food.
Sleeping
San Benito House ( 650-726-3425; www.sanbenitohouse.com; 356 Main St, Half Moon Bay; r without bathroom $70-100, r with bathroom $70-130) Folksy, modest, Americana-style rooms