Oddyssea | Half Moon Bay

We love to explore our world both at home and far away. It’s important to us that our kids grow up and appreciate the beauty that is around us daily as well as globally.  On weekends when we are in town, we make a concerted effort to get outdoors and get to know the greater San Francisco Bay Area in which we are so lucky to live. Our frequent day trips give us much needed family time, fresh air, and a sense of travel in our own home town.

On a recent Saturday we took a drive up the coast to Pacifica to explore and play on the beach. It was a foggy day we can often expect here on the San Mateo County coast, so we packed our parkas, a frisbee and a football for our day at the coast.  After exploring the town of Pacifica, we had lunch at the quirky Surf Spot, a mix between sit down restaurant and outdoor beer garden.  We listened to live music while having fish n’ chips in the salty coastal air. The SurfSpot has an outdoor sand volleyball court, a stage and both stand in line and sit down service.  Such a fun little find.

We made our way south to Gray Whale Cove State Beach which is an easy drive from both San Francisco and Palo Alto.  A fantastic cove for running and playing with hardly anyone else on the beach.  Even though it was a cool gray day, we had a great time playing frisbee and throwing the football around.  I love walking the shoreline looking for special rocks or shells and running from the waxing and waning surf with my littles.

Continuing on our day to somewhere yet nowhere in particular, we set off further south to Half Moon Bay for a walk around town and a stop for coffee and cocoa at our favorite bakery in town Moonside Bakery.  To be clear as to what a surprise our next find was, we don’t go to Half Moon Bay often, maybe once a year. But this is a town hasn’t changed much in many ways. This is why we were so happy to stumble upon Oddyssea.

The Oddyssea is a two part stop. The indoor shop has something for everyone. The kids love the gadgets and artifacts like the spyglass, pirate flag, selection of rocks and colored pencils.  I love the make-your-own terrarium kits with an amazing collection of moss and air plants.  My husband loved the magic tricks (more on that obsession another day).

Then, you head outdoors to the makers stations and have a field day making one of their many crafts set up in stations around the garden resembling a shipyard’s remains. The day we were there, they had colored sand jars, personalized military ‘dog tags’ and message in a bottle making among others.  In between stations you can also have a little competition at the not so little 20 foot tall marble run, said to be the largest in the world. Best part of the Oddyssea, it’s family run by locals who truly believe in the Maker Movement.  I highly recommend a day trip for locals or adding it to your list of activities for those visiting the San Francisco Bay Area.

Read about more of our family’s Bay Area day trips like hiking Muir Woods, kayaking Elk Horn Slough, or  tidepooling at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and closer to home, biking Stanford’s campus and viewing art at The Anderson Collection.  What are your favorite ways to get out and explore your hometown? Anything in the SF Bay Area we need to put on our calendar?