Half Moon Bay

When driving down to Fremont to visit Z's parents, we always passed by the off-ramp to Half Moon Bay while taking the San Mateo bridge.  My curiosity continued to grow as I asked Z tons of questions about this bay since his family usually went there for special occasions, such as Mother's Day. I had also heard through the grapevine of people heading down this way to pick up pumpkins for Halloween and then Christmas trees in the later seasons.

One day, Z surprised me and we took a day-cation to the mysterious (at least in my eyes -___- ) Half Moon Bay. Growing up, I have always lived near the beach. My younger days were spent exploring the beaches of the Central coast (my favorites), then off to the warm sandy beaches of Oahu in Hawaii (since my father was in the Air Force), and then finally the crowded beaches of Southern California.  I must say that my beach is more along the lines of the Northern Pacific coast where the beaches only get prettier and less populated. The times I did go to the beach in Southern California were for bonfires, sunbathing, reading, and of course--people watching. Now I mostly like exploring beach caves and climbing on rocks. It's nicest for me when it's a bit overcast even, because if it's too sunny and hot, I can't hike around as much or I get all sweaty and gross.

Located 35 minutes south of San Francisco along the Pacific Ocean, Half Moon Bay is a stunning slice of the Golden State and boasts an unrivaled combination of coastal town friendliness, charm, and natural beauty. After checking out all the cute boutiques that the town had to offer, we decided to check out the tide pools at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach. The reserve stretches for 3 miles and is an underwater park designed to help conserve and protect ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems. We arrived during low tide and were able to view sea anemones, mussels, hermit crabs, and other beautiful creatures hiding among the rocks.

After exploring the beach, we stopped at Barbara's Fish Trap for lunch. It is a small seafood restaurant overlooking the water serving delicious Italian dishes, sandwiches, and of course--the essential clam chowder or fish n' chips basket! I forgot to take photos of the food for everything was much too delicious to stop and snap a photo. Half Moon Bay is truly a beautiful place to visit when you want to escape from the busy hustle of the city for a while.

Lobster Bash

After a long, tiring, and lonely week (Z was away at an academic conference in Michigan), the weekend was a nice needed break. I picked up Z from the airport on Saturday and we headed straight for the Santa Cruz harbor to meet up with his family for an annual Lobster Bash. What is a Lobster Bash and is it really just as violent as it sounds? Well, it is a group of friends coming together and cooking food, eating lobster, drinking, gossiping...nothing much to it. All I know is that there is just so much butter flowing that Paula Deen would be there in a second if she could. This year, the weather in Santa Cruz was amazing! It reached the 70's and there was no cloud lingering in the sky at all.  I forgot to take pictures of my outfit or actually just anything else at all because I was too excited for the beautiful ocean/beach background and the yummy lobster feast. 

Outfit Details:

White & Black Strip Cropped T-shirt // F21

Black High Waisted Jeans // UO

Red Punch hole sandals // Madewell

Brown Leather Backpack // Thrifted

Down below is the huge lobster tail I received along with a nice Caesar salad, garlic bread, clams (not pictured), roasted potatoes, and endless butter. The surrounding harbor was so picturesque with sail boats, kayaks, and little motor boats zipping by while we sat on the beach. This was not my first time participating in the lobster bash. Z and I went a couple years ago. You can see some of the photos I took here.

After the Lobster Bash, Z and I headed back home to San Francisco. Z was pretty tired from going straight from the airport to the Lobster Bash so we had a nice lazy Sunday back in the city. For dinner, perhaps in honor of the last episode of Break Bad, we decided to eat at El Pollo Supremo located in the Outer Mission. It was delicious and cheap--which means that Z and I will definitely be back for future meals. After picking up dinner, we came home to a lazy pug lounging about on the couch. He woke up briefly to play with his new favorite toy (a plush soccer ball) and to eat, but that was the extent of his activity for the day. Oh man...what a life!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend! What did you guys do? I'm hoping this work week will go by quickly! Pugs and Kisses, Sam. 

Camp Virgo

Last weekend, my cousin (it was his birthday too!) and a couple of friends headed up the coast to go camping in the little town of Mendocino. Mendocino is located about 3 hours north of San Francisco and the drive takes you on windy roads through Redwood forests and cliff-dropping coastlines. Along the way, we stopped in a cute little town to pick up supplies and then a winery for some free tasting. The weather during the weekend was gorgeous but the nights dipped down as low as in the 40's. Our campsite was located off Caspar beach and we were able to camp in a forested area within walking distance of what seemed like a private beach. Around the area, visitors could go hiking, kayaking, or play some arcade games in the near-by general supply store. I spent the weekend eating a bunch of good food, drinking, listening to ghost stories, and sitting close to the leaping fire for warmth. Sometimes living in San Francisco, I do not really get a chance to view the sky at night to see the stars twinkling bright, but when you're in the middle of nowhere there really is not much fog or city light to compete with.  I had a really great time with fantastic company. I could not have asked for anything more for a birthday weekend. 

Above are some abalone divers getting their kayaks ready. We camped next to a bunch of these divers and they had left-over abalone and eggs to give us for breakfast one morning. It was delicious! These guys were so used to the great outdoors that they had no tents and simply slept on mats at night. They must have laughed at our camp's "glamping" set up. Such amateurs! 

I'm already restless since I've caught the camping bug. I can't wait to set out for another camping adventure.