Q. & A.
Halloween by the Bay
Q.  We will be in the San Francisco area at the end of next month and would like information on any Halloween festivities. -- Marcella Dugan, New York, N.Y.
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. One word of caution, though: 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. The event is so popular that the town's population of 10,000 can swell to 30 times that number. Call the Half Moon Bay Chamber of Commerce at (415) 726-8380.
One event that is definitely for adults only is the Exotic Erotic Ball, a San Francisco party that has grown from 1,000 participants when it started a decade ago to 10,000 last year. Like the Halloween parade, it is also moving to a new site this year -- the Fashion Center San Francisco, at Eighth and Townsend. It draws costumed participants in various forms of dress and undress -- proving that people's inhibitions seem to diminish when they are wearing masks.
The ball is Oct. 25 from 8 P.M. to 2 A.M. Tickets are $48.75 a person, including handling charges, from (800) 225-2277. For information, call (415) 567-2255.
Honolulu Apartments
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? -- Robert Butow, Seattle, Wash.
A.  First, don't tell your friends where you'll be spending December, unless you want to make them extremely envious.
Second, reserve quickly because the holiday period is one of the busiest in Hawaii.
Third, try calling a real-estate agent. Discovery Bay Realty, 1778 Ala Moana Boulevard, 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 Avenue, 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 Avenue, Suite 801, Honolulu 96815, (808) 923-1811. When calling, ask for the information office.
On the Case
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? -- Birute K. Vitenas, Holmdel, N.J.
A.  It wasn't Scotland Yard that solved this who-does-it, but another English organization -- the British Tourist Authority.
According to the B.T.A., 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. There are, however, added benefits with the added cost.
For a private tour for two similar in length to the regular tour, you will have to pay about $85. But, according to Ruth Ward, one of the Morse tour guides, you will have access to many more Oxford colleges (like Brasenose, which apears as Lonsdale College in the show), which the larger regular tour groups cannot enter. Call Marion Owen at the Information Center, at (44-1865) 250 551, to book a tour.
Visa and Mastercard are accepted for bookings. Card information or checks should be sent to The Tours Assistant, Oxford Information Center, the Old School, Gloucester Green, Oxford OX1 2DA. If you cannot book ahead, the tourist center recommends that you call to reserve a place as early as possible on the day you plan to take the tour. The information center opens at 9:30 A.M. on tour days.
JOSEPH SIANO
Q. & A.