Less than an hour by car south of San Francisco is Half Moon Bay, a little beach town. This past Christmas, we had a family reunion here to celebrate the holidays and also our niece’s sweet sixteenth.
Surfing at Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay is known for the surf break about two miles out from Pillar Point Harbour called Mavericks. Back in the 60s, three locals, Alex Matienzo, Jim Thompson, and Dick Notmeyer, surfed this spot. Matienzos’ white German Shepherd, Mavericks, sometimes would try to follow them. German Shepherds are not exactly known to be a water dog! And this surf break can gets humongous. And so for his safety, they tied Mavericks to the car.
Why is Mavericks such a challenging and powerful wave? The beast comes to life when huge swells come out of deep water and onto the submerged rocky ledge that lies a few hundred yards in front of treacherous rocks that protect the local lagoon. As the wave feels the reef, it rises and forms a tall A-frame peak with a thick lip.
Surfer Today (mavericks-interesting-facts-about-californias-big-wave-spot)
One of the biggest waves in the world, heights can top sixty feet and the “real thing” is already between 15-30. feet. Winter weather and storms create large swells. Since 1999, an by-invitation-only contest has been held here, when the conditions are right. Surfers have about 48 hours to get there, from around the world. Women first received invitations for the 2017-2018 season, when World Surf League obtained the rights to the contest. (They cancelled the event in 2019).
The movie “Chasing Mavericks” is based on the true story of Jay Moriarity, a young surfer who asked Frosty Hesson to train him for his quest to surf Mavericks. During filming, Gerard Butler who played Frosty was under for two waves and recounted his experience in an interview published December 5, 2019 on Men’s Journal. He said, “I told myself, ‘Remember what this movie is about. Fear is healthy, panic is deadly.’ And because of that thinking I survived a two-wave hold-down, and it sounds cool just to say that.”
More Friendly Surf Spots
Mavericks isn’t for everyone. Other spots you can check out are the Half Moon Bay Jetty (Surfer’s Beach) and breaks along the beach north of the town.
Landscapes driving north to Half Moon Bay
Eating Out in Half Moon Bay
We went to Half Moon Bay to spend the holidays with family and so we had most meals at someone’s house. Christmas Eve was a Danish traditional dinner and Christmas get-together was a Mexican feast.
We began the festivities with a traditional pastry and gløgg. This is mulled wine with liquor and almonds.
Then we sat down at the dining table, beautifully set with a red tablecloth and traditional Danish tableware. We started with pickled herring, eaten with a choice of three sauces. This was my favourite part – I love herring. I knew the main course was ham and roast pork so this was my main. I don’t eat pork.
Dessert was Risalamande, a Danish rice pudding made with almonds and topped with cherry sauce. The game is to leave a whole almond in the pudding and see who gets it. That person gets a present. The idea is to continue eating the pudding until we have a winner and the “trick” is to hide that you’ve got the almond, goading everyone else to eat, eat, and eat some more. That’s how it was explained to me.
It is also a Scandinavian tradition to celebrate Christmas on the Eve. And so the kids opened their presents that night.
Pho Banh Mi & Juice
The first place Wade and I tried in Half Moon Bay was Pho Banh Mi & Juice for lunch Christmas Day. The place was fully packed when we arrived, both outdoor and indoor tables taken. I would have loved a fishcake sandwich. This is what I usually got in Vancouver at Bon Café, located at Main and 33rd. Unassuming and nothing fancy, with good food. I often shared a Vietnamese Coffee here with my dad.
Pho Banh Mi & Juice unfortunately only had a pork sandwich. There’s a pretty big menu at Pho Banh, aside from the usual Pho. As with many Asian menus, lots of their food actually had pork so you may want to ask. We waited for our meals with our lime juice.
Pilot Light Café
The 27th was a big day – our niece was turning 16. We met her and her parents for breakfast to start the day. Being the holidays, many of the cafés near where we were staying were closed. We ended up at Pilot Light Café.
By the time Wade and I arrived, the others had already ordered. The birthday girl, all bright and smiley in the wool toque we got her for Christmas, was munching on a breakfast burrito, which looked delicious. The platters were big and actually at 9:30 in the morning, I was not quite ready for food yet. So I just ordered a drink and avocado toast and tried some of Wade’s Eggs Benedict. It seemed like a popular place, with several tables of people and a few people in the lineup.
Granola’s Coffee House
We left Half Moon Bay on December 28 and wanted to stop first for a bite of breakfast. On the way out, we discovered Granola’s Coffee House.
This cute (and very busy) gathering place offered a variety of house-made baked goods and an interesting coffee and tea menu. Look at the specials. The food was pretty good, like the bagel and lox we had. Wade had a coffee and a smoothie. There were also a lot of gluten-free options. The coffee house has a variety of seating arrangements. We sat at a window counter, some of the last seats available.
With coffee in hand, we were ready for the drive home.