Half Moon Bay

If you like seafood, you have to stop at the pier and pick up some fresh Dungeness crab. Inexpensive and DELICIOUS.

Really picturesque little downtown. Makes a good day trip if you live in “urban” San Mateo County.

This is the most gorgeous beach I’ve seen. If you stand on top of the small mountain you can see the Pacific to one side and the Bay on the other. You can actually watch the fog roll up the mountain and move over you. It is breathtaking.

A great place to meet the ocean. I want to live here.

My friend Ryan and I passed through here on our bicycle trip down the Pacific coast. We camped near the town, and poked around town in the rain until we found a lovely little restaurant, whose name i forget, to eat breakfast at. While there, all suited up in our cycling gear, we got to talking to a nice middle-aged couple who were sitting next to us. They somehow managed to talk to the waiter without our noticing, who, soon after bringing it, snatched our bill away. I think it’s the only time i’ve had a stranger treat me to a meal.

Pretty place with a “quaint” downtown, if you’re into that sort of thing, but also one of the first places to stop if you’re biking from San Francisco to LA.

Great beaches, mild weather… watch out for sleeper waves, though!