Rainy Day by the Ocean

We’re having another storm come through the area this weekend, bringing more much-needed water to the area. Now, for those of you who live in regions with actual weather, rather than mere climate, “storm” in this case really means “series of showers, and maybe some wind”. We almost never get the raging downpours and gale-force winds, never mind any thunder and lightning, that hit the northeast or midwest. Still, I’m happy for any showers we do get, since for eight months out of the year it’s Eternal Summer here.

We drove over to Half Moon Bay this morning for breakfast. We parked across the street from the Main Street Grill and noticed an ambulance and fire engine outside. We waited until they were done taking a guy away in the ambulance before heading in. (I wondered why an ambulance always seems to be accompanied by a fire truck; Debbi thinks it’s because the firemen have the equipment and knowledge to extract people from difficult spots if necessary, while the EMTs are there for their medical expertise. Seems plausible to me.)

While the Grill was reasonably busy (though hardly packed), the rest of downtown Half Moon Bay was pretty dead. We walked down Main Street and I don’t think we passed anyone else walking around, although there were a few people in stores. I think Half Moon Bay is driven by a vacationers economy, and it’s had plenty of turnover of retail stores since I started going there; I wonder how hard it’s going to be hit by the recession.

Afterwards we drove over to Half Moon Bay State Beach and just sat in the car for a couple of hours reading, listening to the rain, and watching the waves roll in. There were a handful of other cars in the parking lot, and one minivan disgorged a family who walked down to the beach – mostly in shorts and carrying beach shovels and buckets – and who later returned and left. The rain came in waves but never completely stopped.

Now we’re home and winding down for an afternoon and evening inside (assuming we can figure out what to do for dinner). Considering I went into work yesterday, that’s pretty much all I want to do today.