Blog: Half Moon Bay
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Half Moon Bay - Monday, April 28, 2014
The wifey and I celebrated our second year anniversary over in Half Moon Bay this past Saturday. Only a 45 minute drive from our home, it's a lot closer than I thought. We'll have to go there more often!
Our first stop was Spanish Town on Highway 92 at the entrance to HMB. There we found large dinosaur statues, a ton of fountains, statues, pots and birdbaths that, according to a shop attendant, are handmade from around the world. Pretty cool place, and it was fun seeing rows and rows of unique stuff and finding more rows around every corner.
We made our way over to Half Moon Bay State Beach and paid $10 to park right at the edge of the beach. It was chilly outside, so we sat in the car and ate sandwiches while we watched people flying kites and a large group of Asians congregating for a BBQ.
After lunch, we walked south along the HMB Coastal Trail and sat for a few minutes at Poplar Beach, a small self-serve beach with no amenities. We continued past the Wavecrest Open Space, a large empty grassy area, until we reached our destination beach - Redondo Beach (not to be confused with the city by the same name in LA County).
Redondo was my favorite beach - somewhat secluded due to not being directly accessible from the road due to steep cliffs, with beautiful long stretches of white waves and squiggly patterns in the sand. There was a beautiful country club mansion resting atop the plateau that I really enjoyed as part of the scenery.
After the beach, we took a walk along downtown (Main Street), stopped at a coffee shop for Priscilla to get her caffeine, and rested at the quaint John L. Carter Memorial Park. We stopped briefly at a soap/fragrance/gift shop for Priscilla to look around, and we wanted to go to a feed shop that had a sign saying "The best place in town to pick up chicks", but sadly they had closed when we passed by on the way back. Lastly, we found the Spanish Town Historical Society Jail a small block off Main Street. The jail was built in 1911 and was restored in 1990 as a museum, with visiting hours unknown. Inside are only two jail cells, harkening back to a time when things were smaller and simpler.
For dinner, Priscilla had bookmarked two places: Mezza Luna, a nice Italian place, and some low-key Indian restaurant. We'd decided ahead of time on Mezza Luna, and we were glad we did, because on our walk along Main Street we passed by the Indian restaurant which was run out of an old-looking house that did not look too appealing. Then again, you know what they say about judging a book by its cover, so maybe next time.
We really enjoyed the food at Mezza Luna. Priscilla had alfredo with chicken, and I had a healthier form of chicken stuffed with vegetables. The mussels we ordered as an appetizer were flavorful and fresh, and the broth they came in was great for dipping bread into. For dessert, she ordered a chocolate cake and I ordered a mango gelato. Both were great, but each of us liked the other's dessert more than our own.
We took a short walk around the marina after dinner, and then it was time to head home. Dinner including tip was $82, meaning we spent a total of $92 on our anniversary trip. Not too shabby, considering we had a great time and were able to do/see lots of things. Till next time, Half Moon Bay!
Our first stop was Spanish Town on Highway 92 at the entrance to HMB. There we found large dinosaur statues, a ton of fountains, statues, pots and birdbaths that, according to a shop attendant, are handmade from around the world. Pretty cool place, and it was fun seeing rows and rows of unique stuff and finding more rows around every corner.
We made our way over to Half Moon Bay State Beach and paid $10 to park right at the edge of the beach. It was chilly outside, so we sat in the car and ate sandwiches while we watched people flying kites and a large group of Asians congregating for a BBQ.
After lunch, we walked south along the HMB Coastal Trail and sat for a few minutes at Poplar Beach, a small self-serve beach with no amenities. We continued past the Wavecrest Open Space, a large empty grassy area, until we reached our destination beach - Redondo Beach (not to be confused with the city by the same name in LA County).
Redondo was my favorite beach - somewhat secluded due to not being directly accessible from the road due to steep cliffs, with beautiful long stretches of white waves and squiggly patterns in the sand. There was a beautiful country club mansion resting atop the plateau that I really enjoyed as part of the scenery.
After the beach, we took a walk along downtown (Main Street), stopped at a coffee shop for Priscilla to get her caffeine, and rested at the quaint John L. Carter Memorial Park. We stopped briefly at a soap/fragrance/gift shop for Priscilla to look around, and we wanted to go to a feed shop that had a sign saying "The best place in town to pick up chicks", but sadly they had closed when we passed by on the way back. Lastly, we found the Spanish Town Historical Society Jail a small block off Main Street. The jail was built in 1911 and was restored in 1990 as a museum, with visiting hours unknown. Inside are only two jail cells, harkening back to a time when things were smaller and simpler.
For dinner, Priscilla had bookmarked two places: Mezza Luna, a nice Italian place, and some low-key Indian restaurant. We'd decided ahead of time on Mezza Luna, and we were glad we did, because on our walk along Main Street we passed by the Indian restaurant which was run out of an old-looking house that did not look too appealing. Then again, you know what they say about judging a book by its cover, so maybe next time.
We really enjoyed the food at Mezza Luna. Priscilla had alfredo with chicken, and I had a healthier form of chicken stuffed with vegetables. The mussels we ordered as an appetizer were flavorful and fresh, and the broth they came in was great for dipping bread into. For dessert, she ordered a chocolate cake and I ordered a mango gelato. Both were great, but each of us liked the other's dessert more than our own.
We took a short walk around the marina after dinner, and then it was time to head home. Dinner including tip was $82, meaning we spent a total of $92 on our anniversary trip. Not too shabby, considering we had a great time and were able to do/see lots of things. Till next time, Half Moon Bay!