Half Moon Bay, once known as San Benito and Spanishtown, is a coastal city south of San Francisco and west of San Mateo.
To get to Half Moon Bay from the East Bay, we took the California State Route 92 (CA 92). This highway only has one lane in each direction, so it can get backed up during rush hour and accidents. However, the entire drive is very green and scenic.
I read about the metal dinosaur structures and the first ones we saw on CA 92 W were from Sun Studios. They have a few on display but unless you are also interested in gardening supplies, you should head further down the highway to Spanish Town.
The dinosaurs are located right in the parking lot of Spanish Town, so you do not have to pay to see them. After snapping a few photos, we headed to Pillar Point Harbor for a late lunch.
Pillar Point Harbor is immediately north of Half Moon Bay. Fun fact from Wikipedia - it is not actually part of the city!
There are quite a few restaurants in Pillar Point Harbor
and of course, boats.
There are so many beaches in the Half Moon Bay Area! The bigger and more popular beaches have designated parking lots but you would have to pay a fee. We went on a weekday, so we found plenty of free parking on the streets. We stopped by Vallejo Beach.
The California Coastal Trail connects to this beach and we took a short stroll to explore the area. On the trail, we saw a large tree (that J wanted to climb, of course),
a little free library (first one for me),
and a bench with a romantic message.
Pictures taken June 2019.