Father's Day in Half Moon Bay

Have I mentioned I live in the Bay Area? Born and raised. I moved to Southern California for graduate school and stayed for 10 years. Then as Josh, my husband, and I talked about having our second child, we knew we had to move back so our kids would know their grandparents. We haven't regretted that decision since.

Living in Northern California has allowed us to drive to the beach within an hour or the mountains in 3-4 hours. We go to Monterey, Santa Cruz, Tahoe, Sonoma every 2-3 months either as a couple or family. Back in December we decided that we were going to go to England, Scotland and Norway during our winter break. I originally wanted to go to Norway so I could run the Polar Nights Half Marathon but I saw the date and knew it wouldn't work with my work schedule. We spoke as a family and knew we still wanted to go on this trip. However, with current events, we highly doubt we will be able to venture beyond California in the next year. This breaks our hearts because we love exploring new places, learning about the history and culture as well as eating at locally run restaurants.

We were planning on heading to Monterey for our spring break but our trip was cancelled due to COVID-19. With SIP and our summer vacation to Oregon cancelled, we needed a day trip to escape the walls of our house. I decided that we were going to surprise Josh with a trip to Half Moon Bay. Two days leading up to Father's Day, I checked what traffic would be like driving out there because, well, it's the Bay Area! I packed our wagon the night before, had our food prepped so when we woke up on Sunday we were ready to go. The kids couldn't even keep the secret a secret anymore. At one point Gideon said, "I'm wearing my water shoes because we will be at the beach". Insert face palm emoji here!

Kids were a little bummed that it was overcast but their free spirits didn't let that stop them from enjoying the waves or sand. It felt amazing to hear the waves crashing and to feel the ocean breeze on our skins. We social distanced at the beach and since we were there earlier in the day, it wasn't hard. After a few hours, we decided to venture to the main strip to explore the shops and grab a bite to eat. The kids, of course, gravitated to the bookstore were we bought them new books to add to their personal libraries; we are avid readers in this house! Serafina found a shop that only carried fair-trade goods and she loved the story of the 3-legged pig from Chile. She used her own money to buy herself one and then bought Gideon a triceratops figurine. Whenever we go to a new destination, the kids have to get a souvenir - we may have to buy a bigger house to store all of their mementos.

I don't know about your kids but when mine get hungry they go from "kind of hungry" to "hangry" in nanoseconds! I took them to the van where they were able to watch a movie while Josh waited for our food to be made. Once tummies were full and no funk was radiating from the kids, we headed home. Even though it took us almost twice a long to get home due to traffic, it was well worth it. The ability to go somewhere even for a few hours to take a break from our new norm was beyond needed. Hoping to continue day trips throughout the summer.

P.S. Don't mind my COVID-19 hair. I am standing in solidarity with the hair salons that have not opened in my county. I am also too afraid to use box dye!!!