Great Pumpkin May Live In San Francisco

Sun., Sept. 14, 1997

Joseph Siano New York Times

Q. We will be in the San Francisco area at the end of next month and would like information on any Halloween festivities.

A. When it comes to celebrating Halloween, San Francisco refuses to play second pumpkin to any other city. The main event in the city itself, Halloween San Francisco, is moving this year to the Civic Center after 16 years in the Castro District, the city’s gay community. If it’s anything like previous years, the costumes should range from the outrageous to the spectacular. And it’s all free. Call (415) 777-5500.

The goblins and ghosts don’t stop at the city limits. Half Moon Bay, a small oceanside town 20 miles to the south, considers itself pumpkin patch to the world. The orange gourds are grown all around the town, and on Oct. 13, the Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off starts the Halloween festivities. (If you’re thinking of joining the many entrants who come from all over the western United States to see who has grown the heaviest pumpkin of 1997, don’t even bother unless yours is over 600 pounds.)

The 27th annual Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival follows on Oct. 18 and 19. There are haunted houses to scare yourself silly (and with its many Victorian homes, Half Moon Bay provides a happy haunting ground), pony and hay rides and displays of works by area artists. Call the Half Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce at (415) 726-8380.

Q. We are going to be in Honolulu for five weeks starting in early December. We have a motel reservation for the first week at $79 a night, but would like to rent an apartment for the remainder of our stay, thinking this would be cheaper. Since we won’t have a car, we would like to be near the beach and public transportation. What can you suggest?

A. Reserve quickly, because the holiday period is one of the busiest in Hawaii.

Try calling a real-estate agent. Discovery Bay Realty, 1778 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, (808) 946-3370, fax 946-3369, has studio apartments that average about $2,000 a month, without a balcony but close to the beach, during the December-March period, which is the most expensive. That averages out to about $65 a day, a savings over your $79-a-night motel room. Apartment rentals are not exempt from the 10.17 percent tax that will be added to your hotel bill. Discovery Bay does require a $1,000 refundable security deposit.

Sykes & Sykes, Century Center, Suite 2203, 1750 Kalakaua Ave., Honolulu, (808) 941-6672, fax 941-1172, has one-bedroom apartments near the beach for about $1,800 a month. A $500 deposit is required and there is a cleaning fee of $60 to $120 for each rental.

You could also call Rentals Illustrated for a copy of their free booklet listing ads from individual homeowners and townhouse owners, although these will probably be more expensive. Call (808) 949-3686.

A longer list of apartment-rental agencies is available from the Hawaii Visitors Bureau, 2270 Kalakaua Ave., Suite 801, Honolulu 96815, (808) 923-1811.

Q. My husband and I are great fans of the Inspector Morse series on PBS’s “Mystery.” In November, we will be visiting Oxford, where the series is filmed. Are there any tours that specialize in sites associated with the television show?

A. According to the British Tourist Authority, Inspector Morse Walking Tours leave from the Oxford Information Center - in the same building as the Old School pub, near the bus station - on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The tour, lasting two hours, follows in the footsteps of the detective created by Colin Dextor, who lives in Oxford.

The tour costs $7.60 ($7.85 by credit card), $5 ($5.30 credit card) for ages 5 to 12. Prices are calculated at $1.69 to the pound. Reservations are recommended, and can be made by a check payable to Oxford City Council.

Regular tours visit at least one Oxford college as well as other locales associated with the show, like the Turf Tavern, which is in just about every episode, and the Pitt Rivers Museum, which contains the dagger used in the episode “The Daughters of Cain.”

Unfortunately, these tours are conducted on a regular basis from February through October only. The two of you can still hire a private guide in November, but you’ll have to pay a lot more.

The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = COLUMN, QUESTION & ANSWER - Travel Q&A

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