A visitor to the area's Pumpkin Festival would have trouble finding anyone willing to engage in only half of the Festival's many activities. Such a visitor would not want to miss-out on any of the delicious food at the Festival. Every autumn the bakers in Half Moon Bay cook-up delicious pumpkin rolls, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake, all of which are sold at the Festival. In 2006 the Festival planners promise to offer yet another sweet treat-pumpkin fudge.
Participants in the Festival's many contests put their whole-hearted efforts into trying to win the prize. For the participants in the Pumpkin Weigh-off, that prize can mean big money. The contestant with the heaviest pumpkin receives five dollars for every pound in his or her winning pumpkin. Of curse the Weigh-off is not the Festival's only contest. Some Half Moon Bay residents enter the Scarecrow Contest. Other younger residents enjoy the Search for the Great Pumpkin.
To date, no one at the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival has found the famous Great Pumpkin. Still, the Festival features many huge pumpkins, pumpkins displayed before the eyes of the Festival-goers. According to one web site, some of the festival pumpkins are as large as a Volkswagen Beetle. No wonder Half Moon Bay has been called the "Pumpkin Capital of the World."
Yet Half Moon Bay has far more than pumpkins and Brussels sprouts. It also has four miles of beaches. As a result, a visitor to Half Moon Bay can find plenty of water-related activities. Surfing, sailing and fishing all provide hours of enjoyment to many of the tourists who come to Half Moon Bay. An especially lucky tourist might arrive in Half Moon Bay during the week of a surfing tournament.
Seafood lovers find plenty of food to their liking in Half Moon Bay. The area has many seafood restaurants. It also has a number of shops that sell live lobsters. The purchaser of such a lobster would not need to go to a local restaurant for a great lobster dinner.
On the other hand, a tourist might find it difficult to prepare a lobster in a hotel room. A tourist would also have trouble putting-together the ingredients for an Indian or an Italian meal. Half Moon Bay offers easy access to both Indian and Italian restaurants.
The weather in Half Moon Bay only adds to the lure of the area. Temperatures in the area seldom rise to an uncomfortable level, with mists from the Bay keeping things on the cool side. Still, it never gets too cool; the winter usually brings lots of rain, but no snow.
The residents of Half Moon Bay love the weather along the San Mateo Coast. Visitors to the San Mateo area will no doubt agree that the region has some of the best weather in the U.S. Those visitors are apt to return again to San Mateo and to the City of Half Moon Bay.