Some of the reasons I love Pacifica:

* it's close enough to San Francisco to be considered part of the Bay Area, but it's got its own personality: unpretentious, relaxing, comfortable, and it's got the ocean.

* when you're in Pacifica, you can't miss with a meal at Nick's Restaurant, right on Rockaway Beach, just off Highway 1. Follow the link below; turn up your volume, you can hear the seagulls!

http://www.nicksrestaurant.net/nicks_restaurant_sea_breeze_motel_pacifica_ca_001.htm

* for barely $100 a night, you can fall asleep to the sound of ocean surf at my favorite hotel, the Best Western Lighthouse:
www.bestwesternlighthouse.com

Ask for a room on the top floor with either cove or ocean view. Don't plan anything for sunset time because you'll want to take it in, either from your balcony or down closer to the water (but don't let your kids frolic in the waves, there is such a thing as a rogue wave and it can take you right out! be careful!).

It's not a five-star hotel, but it doesn't pretend to be. For me, it's just right.

* the hiking trails and views in Pacifica are outstanding. You can take your dog or your horse! Wildflowers abound, and one sunny afternoon I was hiking on the ridge above Rockaway Beach and came upon a mother bobcat in a den of rocks...that was an unforgettable moment. I spied her from a ways down the trail, we locked eyes, she stared at me as I backed away and headed down the trail quietly. What a beautiful animal!

* you can get on highway 1 headed south and soon you'll be in Half Moon Bay, another great little town with a distinct personality, or keep on going south to Monterey and Carmel, Point Lobos, Big Sur...heaven on earth, in my book.

* hardly anyone seems to know about Pacifica, or if they do, they think it's just some exits on the highway. This makes me love it all the more.