Tag Archives: Half Moon Bay

The Real After Shock? No Tsunami in Half Moon Bay

Well, one out of three isn’t so bad.

Of my three predictions yesterday, only the final one came true: Rick and I now have an additional 317 fabulous wave photos in our archives.

We’re gonna need another external hard drive.

There was plenty of drama, but it was more of the “sun streaming through the clouds on breath-taking back-lit scenery” than the “tragedy at sea” type.

There were lots of people down at the coast, many choosing a safe perch from which to peer into the horizon for signs of the monster waves. The front yard of the Ritz Carlton is about 75 feet straight up from the beach.

It could be anywhere from 40 to 100 feet of cliff. I’m bad at guesstimating that kind of thing. But it’s up there.

See? Safe.

Some settled for the mid-span viewing zone. Adventurous, yes, but still within the “not likely to need an at-sea rescue” margin of sanity.

Others? Not so careful.

Of course, if you’ve traveled all the way from South Carolina and never had a toe in the Pacific ocean before and this was your only window, and you were only going to be down there for five minutes…

… well, there are always a thousand stories beyond the yellow tape.

P.S. This morning, March 1, there are reports of devastating tsunami damage and loss of life along the coast of Chile. Our hearts go out to all who are suffering as a result.

Lunch At The Flying Fish Grill

We drive by it on every commute over the hill, just a tiny place, tucked in beside Tom & Pete’s Produce and the Half Moon Bay Fish Company.

Last Saturday we were hitting the fish market anyway, so what the heck?

It was gray and threatening soggy. Otherwise, we would have sat on the wee patio.

Inside it was teeny and informal, and comfortably packed with friendly staff and unhurried grazers… the kind of place a gal can refresh her lipstick right at the table.

From my side of the table, it was a toss up between the crab melt and a fish taco. The Landshark beer was a no brainer.

Rick always goes for the lager.

Decorated in a quirky blend of retro-Hawaiian and coastal funky, the net result is “not-trying-too-hard” fun.

Yup… fresh.

Fresh, friendly, fast, fabulous, and almost free. Really… my grande fish Taco (the “grande” upgrade for 30 cents gets you cheese and avocado) was $4.15.

You gotta know that any dining establishment stocking malt vinegar at each table understands fish.

Rick heard “fresh halibut, just in” and hit the buzzer.

In minutes, Jeanine delivered to him a generous portion of perfectly pan-seared fillet, which came with more fries than pictured here. However, I had a hard time holding him off long enough to let the waitress traffic die down in front of the window so I could get the shot. The fries kept disappearing between each attempt. I finally settled on this and released the poor man to his lunch.

Didn’t seem to upset him too much.

Pelican Point Therapy

You know those days that start out ordinary and just stay that way from the first morning speed bump in the parking lot to the last tomato truck in front of you on the uphill drive home?

Soon followed by the unwelcome reflection, “So, this is it? Is that all there is?”

Fluorescent lighting overhead, an itchy tag in your sweater you didn’t notice until the second meeting of the day, a lunch hour spent in a slo-mo line at the post office…