May 16, 2008
A Multipurpose Trip to Half Moon Bay
In an attempt to beat the heat yesterday, I thought it might be nice to head to a cooler clime and chose Half Moon Bay, just over the hill from my house. Less than 25 minutes away (on a good day), we can usually hope for 10-20 degree cooler weather on the ocean side of the mountains. I love this quaint little town, with its eclectic shops, great bakery, the smell of the salt air, and especially all the farm stands. But given the gas prices, I decided to multi-task and make the most of my trip. On the agenda:
1. Stop at Ox Mountain Landfill and drop off tree trimmings
2. Check out some houses for you all
3. Wander the downtown and have a bit of lunch
4. Stop at the farmer’s stalls on the way home for some great fruit and veg
So off we went. My son has made many trips to Ox Mountain Landfill before on my behalf. From our house, it’s only about 5-7 minutes further away than the Belmont BFI dumping station, but is less than half the price ($10 vs. $22). Once you enter the facility, there are stations set up all along the uphill winding road, with collection points for computers, old appliances (except refrigerators), newspaper, cardboard, green waste, and at the very tippy top, all the rest of the crap that you need to get rid of. It actually took longer to get to the top than it did to unload, but it was a fascinating journey (albeit a bit stinky).
Next, I concentrated on homes on the west side of Highway 1, within walking distance to the ocean. Although there are over 70 homes for sale in HMB, I thought that you might appreciate this area, especially with the mercury hovering near/around/over 100. And boy, is there an eclectic mix of homes over there.
First up was an unfinished home on a substandard lot. I thought it might be worthy of consideration, but it is located across from the city school district and an elementary school, one block off the Highway, and the circus is in town. Yes, there was a circus set up in the parking lot directly across the street from this corner home at 489 Kelly. Even the price of $499,000 wouldn’t let me recommend this one to you. Down the street is 344 Kelly (photo right), just about 3 blocks from the ocean. It is located in a mixed area of older and newer homes, of one and two-story height. This particular home is over 70 years old, a single story Spanish style abode, on a 7500 sf lot. The home looked a bit rundown from the outside, but the interior pics are nice. This is priced at $819,000 and has been on the market just over a month.
Between the two homes on Kelly, just off Jenna Street, you can find something a bit cheaper at 406 Laurel. A 2/2 first-floor condo of 1090 square feet, it was in a mixed area of homes, duplexes, condos and apartments. Priced at $369,900, it has been on the market for two months.
A better buy might be the rancher at 843 First Avenue (photo right). It sits amongst an older tract of homes on a corner a few blocks to the ocean. The home, a 4/2, takes up most of the lot, however, and you have virtually no yard of your own (just a public beach down the road apiece).
Last on my list is a gorgeous one-year-old two-story home at 915 Railroad Avenue with a price tag of $1,775,000 (photo below). This shingled-exterior home sits on a 10,707 sf corner lot with a 4-way stop, just on the edge of developable land (Bluff Top Coastal Park begins just a block away). The second story has a partial wraparound deck with a gorgeous view of the ocean, is nicely landscaped, and I imagine that on a clear day you could see forever.
After a quick wander at the beach, we turned the car around and headed into town. Walking from one end of Main Street to the other (and back again) we stopped for a meal at Pasta Moon (buckwheat fettucine with chard and walnuts and a chicken panini, if you must know), grabbed some coffee at Peet’s and headed for the farmstands. We got half a box of strawberries for $6, the scent of which was torturing us all the way home, three types of pesticide-free lettuce and some really large organic beets. All in all, it was a pretty good day. How was yours?
