It’s that time of year again, when the Grey whales migrate 7,00 miles from the freezing waters above Alaska to southern California to give birth to their enormous 1,500 pound calves. These mammals have been making this journey for thousands of years only to return to the icy waters again in the spring.

If you would like to catch a glimpse of these majestic creatures it’s not to difficult. There are thousands of miles of pristine beach and plenty of tours that go out hourly just to watch as they pass.

The Oceanic Society (San Francisco), a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to protecting marine life, offers whale-watching tours from San Francisco, Bodega Bay and Half Moon Bay. Prices are reasonable and it’s a great activity to spend with the children.

As usual there will be many great whale watching festivals around the area with wine tastings, chowder and seafood, and lots of activities for the little ones. So go out and get your sea legs ready for an unforgettable season of giant mammals.

Sunday, December 21, 2008, Art Show/Sale, Caffe Lucca, Noon to 5 p.m., Hwy 1 at 8th Street, Montara, 728-5229 
 
Claire of Eclarity:  one-of-a-kind necklaces, earrings, bracelets & rings from silver, natural stones and beads
 
Gaia Essentials:  pure, botanical skin therapy products
 
Ana Perez:  hand-crafted, decoupage bath accessories
 
Tede Shawls:  Woolen shawls from Nepal
 
Live acoustic music

Pacifica Art Connection is happy to announce the return of Coastal Quilters to the Quarry Cove Art Gallery. Located in Rockaway Beach, this exhibit promises to be as delightful as their previous exhibit two years ago. The five members of Coastal Quilters, Donna Bachmann, Maureen Liebermann, Jackie Samoluk, Joan Willey, and Kathleen Bahamondes have between them over 80 years of experience quilting.

One of the many quilts being shown is Jackie Samoluk’s Cathedral Window. This large quilt, with its time-consuming and intricate piecing done in blues and whites is an excellent example of this traditional pattern.

These very talented quilters have shown their work at many different locations along the coast including Johnston House and the Pacifica Quilters show.

Coastal Quilters will be hosting an Artist Reception THIS Saturday, December 20 from 2-4pm at the Gallery. As part of their reception, the Coastal Quilters will be having a “Trunk Sale” as well! On sale will be handmade items ranging in size from tissue covers (just perfect for stocking stuffers or Secret Santa presents!) to traditional and contemporary style wall-hanging and bed size quilts.

The Quarry Cove Art Gallery is located at 225 Rockaway Beach Ave, next to Pacifica’s Chamber of Commerce and Avani Salon. If you love quilts, then please come by the Quarry Cove Art Gallery and see this wonderful exhibit of handmade works of art! The Gallery is open during the week 10-6 and on weekends 11-4pm.

The Farmer’s Markets for both Half Moon Bay and Pacifica are—by popular demand—extended this season  to include the first three weeks of December.  

While some of our local farmers are phasing out for the season, a few new folks are phasing in for the final weeks, and our remaining growers have an abundance of wonderful fruits and veggies available that are the perfect antidote for Holiday Indulgence.  But if it’s indulgence you seek, or a great gift for a foodie we have some of those too! Handmade Fair Trade Chocolates, beautiful arrays of dried fruits, new crop almonds, gorgeous german baked goods, duck-breast bacon that when combined with dried cherries or fresh pomegranate jewels and crisp persimmon slices make for a spinach salad that will knock you out. 

The Market operates rain or shine in Pacifica on Wednesday afternoons from 2:30 to 6 PM, and in Half Moon Bay on Saturday mornings from 9 AM to 1PM through December 20th, and we look forward to serving our community for these three extra weeks this year.  

Erin Tormey

It was cold & windy at the annual Lighting of the Boats in Pillar Point Harbor. The lights and the sounds of holiday music were inviting enough to coax Michael & I out of the car, and I snapped a few shots before I turned into a popscicle. A full moon peeked through the clouds teasingly, then emerged in large yellow glory, almost stealing the show.

Santa was there....and there...and there. He was sitting on his throne, with a line of expectant children waiting to have their pictures taken with him.  He was also a “Celebrity Chef” on the Lyndie...

...and his “mechanical” counterpart was performing atop the Barbara Faye.

I heard someone say that there weren’t as many boats lit up this year as in the past, but we had no complaints. To me, they were all winners.**

CLICK for more.

The Tour of California professional cycling race will pass through Half Moon Bay in February. This is so exciting. I can’t wait for more details and the chance to volunteer. I have already taken the day off work! Maybe we should print up some t-shirts - even though we are not quite on the official map.

John Hauer
Half Moon Bay

Stage 2: Sausalito to Santa Cruz (Monday, February 16, 2009)
Start Time: 8:30 a.m.
Start Location: Spinnaker Restaurant at 100 Spinnaker Dr. in Sausalito
Finish Location: Intersection of Front St. and Cooper St. in Santa Cruz

Starting on the northern side of the San Francisco Bay, Stage 2 will cover more than 100 miles from Sausalito to Santa Cruz. The stage will begin with a scenic start in Sausalito on the water and will head south over one of the most iconic structures in the country, the Golden Gate Bridge, and then through the streets of San Francisco. The route will then take the riders west down the California coastline on Highway 1, flanked by the picturesque backdrops of the Pacific Ocean on one side and Redwood forests on the other. This coastal stage will include two long, but moderate climbs on Tunitas Creek Road and Bonny Doon Road, which will be followed by lengthy and fast descents. The sprint to the finish in Santa Cruz will provide an exciting conclusion to Stage 2 of the race.

Seasoned Greetings, Marketeers!

I sure do hope that your first go-round of Holiday Cheer was as rousing a success as mine.  Feature this if you will: I got a pack of Fresno teenagers and some former Republicans to knowingly eat a pie made with spelt, sprouted whole wheat and tapioca flour, and to finally admit, that yes, eating foods from a Farmer’s Market is really a pretty good idea. 
How did such a transformation occur, you ask? Well, current political events seem to have broadened the horizons of many of my relatives ( thank the Lord) and dousing the top of the pie with Go-To Chocolate Company’s brown butter caramel sauce may have been the incentive behind a few former familial naysayers.  That and it was chockablock with Pliny’s Coastside Grown Belleflower apples, picked on the same day I bought them from a farm less than a mile from my house. 

You gotta understand:  I come from a family which, in part, imagines that supporting local farms, buying local products and having a healthy lifestyle to be walking quickly through the mall with a bag of Pepperidge Farm cookies. 

So in order to convince the gentlemen in question that there is another way, I made the aforementioned pie and a spinach salad with Santiago’s pomegranates, Patrick’s smoked duck-breast bacon, and Big Paw’s Apricot/Lavender vinegar with some shavings of Spring Hill Jerseys Dry Goat Milk Jack Cheese with black peppercorns that seems to have altered even old Uncle Ed’s opinion about us uppity San Fran-sicko food freaks, knee-jerk cheese-and bark-eating hippies.

It was a great day!

I feel fortified enough to manage Christmas! And I have plans, yes, yes I do.  And they include wonderful several occasions for two or twenty that feature insane combinations of fruits, vegetables and Tunisian spices, but meanwhile, a supper for two that featured Sweet Potato Pappardelle topped with sauteed butternut squash, sage and chanterelles alongside shaved fennel sauteed quickly with red onion and some of Aaron’s almonds crushed over the top was quite a hit recently, and if you have yet to make a marinade out of the rest of a decent but disappointing Zinfandel, the juice of a fresh pomegrante, the peels of a few tangerines and a handful of dried cherries that have plumped up in the brew overnight, why you are in for one Transporting Christmas Goose, Gloria, and I am not kidding.

And by the way, if you have yet to discover the effect that a thick slice of Brioche’s fig studded sourdough, toasted, and graced with a perfect skrim of Spring Hill Jerseys farmstead butter and served with a tiny glass of fresh squeezed tangerine juice can have on person who, until presented with this combination declared themselves “Not a Morning Person” , I highly recommend you investigate this phenomenon prior to finalizing your holiday gift list.

Happy Hollandaise!

Erin Tormey, Founder
Coastside Farmers Markets
May-December
Saturdays from 9 to 1 in Half Moon Bay Wednesdays from 2:30 to 6:30 in Pacifica
650/726-4895

The Half Moon Bay Library will be celebrating a Gaelic Christmas with Mary
McLaughlin and her friends on Sunday afternoon December 14th at 3:00pm.  Celtic singers Mary McLaughlin and Janet Herman combine their haunting voices with the breathtaking harp work of Steve Coulter for a memorable concert of authentic Gaelic Christmas music.

I hope that you’ll join us for a community Christmas Posada on December 13, 2008.

Traditionally, the Posadas enact the journey of Joseph and Mary, remembering them as they went door to door in search of lodging and safe haven. Their journey reminds us of countless other pilgrims that sought safety over the generations and those that refused them shelter. This powerful narrative takes different forms in every faith tradition as we are reminded that each of us holds the responsibility to bring light to others, even in the darkest times.

I hope that you will join with Puente and our beloved community as we walk through Pescadero asking for safe harbor for the world’s many pilgrims. The procession will be followed by a potluck, singing, games, and of course, piñatas for the children.

6:00 PM The pilgrimage departs from St. Anthony’s Church (696 North Street, Pescadero) and continues to Pescadero Community Church (363 Stage Road)

A community gathering and potluck at the Pescadero Community Church will follow the procession (note this is a new location) will follow the procession at 350 Butano Cut-Off, Pescadero.  There will be piñatas, music, raffles, Christmas songs, and more.

For more information, call Belinda Arriaga or Maria Molina at 650.879.1691

Wishing you and yours a safe journey,

Kerry Lobel

Puente de la Costa Sur
620 North Street/PO Box 554
Pescadero, CA 94060
650.879.1691
http://www.mypuente.org