Day 24: 01/19/2016 – Half Moon Bay State Beach

Destination: Half Moon Bay State Beach

Route: CA 1-N

Mileage 57 miles

Our lightest mileage day by far! Why not push on to Davis and get into our rental? We had an additional visit built in to our itinerary, but it was cancelled at the last minute. Rather than inconvenience our landlady, we opted to stay another night on the road. We have stayed in the area previously and wanted to come back. And the nice thing about a short drive is we can have a leisurely morning.

It rained rather vigorously overnight and we woke up to lots of puddles. Alex had a wonderful time splashing in puddles and just enjoying the morning. As always, good things must come to an end and we need to leave before we overstay check out time. But, we also need to kill time before we can check in at Half Moon Bay State Beach. And it has started to rain again. So what to do with a toddler and rain when all you have is an RV?

We decide to go to the Santa Cruz Children’s Museum of Discovery, located in the local mall. We are there about 15 minutes before the museum opens, so we wander about the mall while avoiding the walkers. Alex discovers that a mall is a fabulous echo chamber, much like Carlsbad Caverns and really exercises his lungs while practicing his screeches. After an eternity, the museum opens and Alex settles in with the kinetic sand and Lego cars and has a really great time. 90 minutes occupied, we head back to Abby and grab lunch. We get to witness two gentlemen yelling at each other in a travel lane after what seems to be a minor fender bender. Nothing like creating a risk of a larger accident so you can chew some one out in traffic.

We arrive at Half Moon Bay State Beach and find our campsite. Be sure to have your reservation number handy, the park ranger actually asked for it upon check in. We get settled and discover that the beach is just on the other side of the dune. Unfortunately, no pets allowed so the pups stay in the RV while we take Alex to the beach. He really does not like sand in between his toes and insists on being carried. We head back to Abby to get Alex’s wagon and take the pups to the dog beach. There is a coastal walking trail that dogs are allowed on and it is about a 20 minute walk to the dog friendly beach. But what they don’t tell you is the coastal walkway is on along a cliff edge that with recent rains, has erode. Nothing to undermine the path, but getting very close to the path and is not safe with a curious toddler that doesn’t want to stay in his wagon. We decide to head back to Abby and play the fun game of ‘Identify the Source of the Dog Urine Smell’. Which just happens to be Buster’s bed.