December 11, Sunday, Day 66

Half Moon Bay SB

Sunrise on our first morning in Half Moon Bay looking east
Sunrise looking west

What a difference a day makes! As soon as I opened the door to head for the shower, I could see the dawn light illuminating the eastern sky. The skies had cleared over night; it was 44F. After my shower, I was able to snap some great sunrise pics from the east and even some to the west! Penny and I rejoiced that there was a sidewalk near our site leading down to the beach that was about 100’ away. The view of the Pacific from the Ship was virtually unobstructed; We were tickled at our good fortune and immediately signed up for 3 more days here, making a total of 5; our 400 mile jump has found us a little warmer and a bit less rainy weather.

The church here was on the same street as the park; we headed for 9am Mass, but found 8AM Mass just wrapping up. The website was not accurate; the next one was at 10AM. We used the time to bring the navigator up to speed on the Gas Buddy ap. She had an opportunity to find diesel here in HMB at a good price and get directions to the station where we bought $50 worth. We checked out the historic part of town, including the Post Office where we mailed postcards.

The priest was also an African immigrant, Fr Joseph. The congregation was diverse, young and old, gringos and latinos, but all friendly and seemingly happy. The message was about the ways we can live out the Gospel call to visit the sick, clothe the poor, and cure the leper! He said today’s lepers are those marginalized folks we see, but would rather not come too close. He gave a number of examples of things we could do to help them. Things such as fast food gift certificates instead of money so that they might buy food instead of booze.

Crazy house up the beach on the coastal trail. Look carefully; it’s spiked!

After that, we went on an 8 mile bike ride north on the Coastal Trail. It was really flay and people were out riding, walking, skating. It was a bit breezy making a wind chill, more on the way north into the wind than south for the ride home. We both felt good about the ride!