Jacqueline’s Jaunts: SLO

Showing posts with label SLO. Show all posts

Sunday, April 2, 2023

2023-03-30 Thursday Pismo Beach Oceano Campground

We decided to visit the Pismo State Beach Monarch Grove, and the Reynolds went to Morro Bay. The grove is only about 5 minutes from our campsite. Monarch Butterflies hang (no pun intended) in this area from October to February. We saw a few small ones at the tops of trees, but they were too far away for a photo.

Our walk from Monarch Grove to
the dunes and back

We followed a fast-flowing creek from the grove to the dunes and the ocean. We are still amazed at how much the storms have damaged the beach. Nevertheless, it was a nice, quiet walk while listening to the ocean. Pismo is still a beautiful beach; hopefully, we will visit again.

Next, we decided to drive through some of the neighborhoods around Pismo. We went on the other side of the freeway and drove up into the hills—huge expensive homes with fantastic views. On the way back, we drove through older neighborhoods on the other side of Amtrak's train tracks: some nicely redone homes and some not. Finally, we took W Grand Ave. down to the beach so we could drive the beach, then up Pier Avenue, and back to camp—nothing like driving on the beach.

Oceano Campground to Monarch Grove
and back via the beach

The tide was way out today, and we watched a few kite surfers. The weather was beautiful and very clear.

We had leftover Pizza as a snack and hung out at camp. Barry pulled out the awning so it could dry. The weather report says no rain for the next week, so much for our timing. We ate early; dinner was steak and broccoli for Osos and a halibut fillet for me. After dinner, we climbed into J & K’s jeep and were off to downtown SLO.

We hooked up with Reynold’s friends again, Chris and Liza, at the Farmers Market in downtown SLO. The market is every Thursday except for the rain. We have never experienced a Farmer's Market this large. It went on forever. What a great event. All kinds of vendors, fresh produce, kettle corn, corn on the cob, caramel corn, candles, cookies, edible cookie dough, oils, soaps, peanut butter, and more. All the vegetable colors were so bright. Just unbelievable.

One of the best was F. McLintock Saloon & Dining. They had large BBQs grills outside with beef, chicken, kabobs, and veggies. Just the smell alone enveloped your entire body. The other best food stand was another brewery (I forgot the name) with half-cut cheese wheels under ceramic heat lamps. It melted the top layer of cheese and then was scraped onto a meat sandwich or baked potato. What an incredible idea. We should have eaten dinner here. I was so fascinated that I posted a short video below. We will be back from the end of June to the middle of July and not planning on eating on Thursday nights. Instead, we will head to the Farmers Market in SLO.

Cheese under a ceramic lamp. Doesn't it look amazing!

F. McLintock boys horsing around.

We were home by 8:00 PM and picked up a little since we were leaving in a few days. Tomorrow I will get to fly my new kite. I can’t wait. I am hoping for kite-flying dreams.

On a non-trip related item, we received a text today from Elton, our nephew, with his graduation information from UC Hastings Law school. I'm so upset because we thought his graduation was in June, so we planned our Utah trip in May. I even tried to see if there was an airport nearby so I could fly to San Francisco to attend. We are so proud of him and can't believe it has already been 3 years since he started.

Elton Scott Rushing - Love this kid!

Goofy kid!

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Walk to the dunes from
the Monarch Grove

Some kind of ground cover
on the dunes

Fresh water flowing
into the ocean

Cool business logo. If you blow this
up each Octopus arm has a tool.

SLO Farmer's Market and according
to Liza, this is a small crowd.

I want these doors in my house.

Thursday, March 30, 2023

2023-03-28 Tuesday Pismo Beach Oceano Campground

Today was a day of looking for neighborhoods, and homes K & J may want to move to. We went along for the ride to check out the cities and towns around Pismo Beach. We left around 10:30 AM and stopped at Starbucks in Grover Beach on the way to Arroyo Grande. Ken stopped at a real estate office, and Jan went inside to see if she could get any information about neighborhoods and home prices in the area. She did get quite a bit of information from one of the agents. They exchanged contact information, and we were on our way. Jan and the agent texted most of the day. He was immensely accommodating all day.

The first place the agent said to drive through was the neighborhood behind the real estate office. The homes were older homes and well-kept. All the houses had such character; you could tell they were well-maintained. Barry and I loved the area. K & J want a place with some property so they can store their motorhome and pontoon boat on their property, so this neighborhood would not work. When and if we move, that is what we want too.

We drove east per the agent's suggestion. He said to stay on the road the real estate office is on and follow the signs to Lopez Lake. This is still in the city of Arroyo Grande. There was one neighborhood we stopped and drove through. It was a gated community but a UPS driver leaving gave us the gate code....so much for security. These homes were huge, and most had great views. Prices were over $1.2M. No trees, so I was not a fan. We drove around and then headed back down the hill to Lopez Lake.

The lake is full, and the surrounding area is beautiful. It has a great campground and marina. You can waterski and fish. In the summertime, there is an adventure park, zip lines, and a water slide park. It would be an excellent place for our family summer picnic if it was not so far. We may have to check it out in the summer. Here are the links:

Lopez Lake Marina and Campground

Vista Lago Adventure Park and Zip Lines

Mustang Water Park

We also drove through other parts of Arroyo Grande, but honestly, we drove through so many areas I can't remember. We all decided we liked Arroyo Grande, especially the renewed downtown area.

I need to back up here. In yesterday's blog, I mentioned Jan's paternal grandfather was buried somewhere in the area, and I would research FindAGrave.com to see if I could find anything. I found he is buried in Los Osos Valley Memorial Park, Los Osos, San Luis Obispo County, California. I gave Jan the information this morning, and she was off to the races. She was unaware of FindAGrave before, but now she started looking for other family members this morning. I created a monster. The cemetery was only about 42 miles north of our campground. The plan was to go after Arroyo Grande.

After driving around Arroyo Grande and back from Lopez Lake, our next stop was the cemetery in Los Osos (the bears). We headed north, found the cemetery, drove in, and parked at the office. Jan and I went in to get information about where her grandfather was buried. The attendant that helped us was so lovely. She gave Jan a map of the location for the future. Then, she wanted to get out of her office and walk us to the plot. I asked her if it was possible to get any burial or funeral information for Jan's grandfather. She said, of course, and would get everything they had after visiting the gravesite.

Next to Jan's grandfather was her uncle, and Jan had no idea he was buried there. It was an emotional moment for her, and she shared a few stories about her grandfather. I was so happy to be a part of this event. After cleaning off the gravestone and taking photos, we returned to the office. The attendant met us in the lobby and had a folder for Jan. Inside was the card with the burial plot number, the forms filled out by her father for her grandfather's funeral, the funeral service card, and two newspaper obituaries. I was thrilled for Jan. It was everything a person wanted, especially me as a genealogist. With tears in our eyes, we thanked her for everything and for making today a special day.

The next stop was to find the house Jan's grandfather owned in town. He also had a ranch somewhere in the area. We found the home, and she was able to reminisce a bit. You can tell she loved her grandfather. From here, we found another neighborhood to drive through. It was a great one, and we drove around for about ten minutes. The unanimous vote was this neighborhood was the best one of the day.

Stopped for gas at Costco, you must ensure you have a Costco nearby wherever you live. It is just a thing and an unwritten rule. Now home to cook dinner.

I cooked White Bean and Chicken Chili for dinner. My sou chef, Barry, helped with baking the cornbread. It was an excellent meal for a rainy evening. After the four of us spent a few hours talking, it was off to bed. We had another busy day planned, driving through areas again.

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

2023-03-27 Monday Pismo Beach Oceano Campground

Today the four of us headed for REI in SLO. Their sale ended today, and K & J wanted to take advantage of their coupon. We already did, but we can always find something at REI. Ken needed new tennis, and Jan wanted inserts for her hiking boots....getting ready for our Utah trip! All of us bought what we needed and more. LOL!

Next on the agenda was to go visit K & J's friend's (from the other night) new house they are still moving into. It's a new subdivision in SLO. Beautiful homes and a lot of building still happening. They were on the waiting list for this subdivision. Great dog, Finley. He is two years old and loves Barry. Great view from their upstairs balcony. They still had a lot to unpack, so we only stayed about an hour.

By this time, of course, we were hungry. We decided to go to Central Coast Brewery. We passed it earlier today. Great looking brewery outside and inside. In the outdoor seating area was a vast carved-out redwood log made into a fire pit; see the photo below. Guess what we ordered? Of course, you got it, fries, onion rings, and this time we added a pizza. The weather today was perfect, and eating outside was a no-brainer.

I would love one of these in my backyard.

Great Sign

Beautiful Bar

Since Jan could not get a cobbler yesterday, we headed back to The Barn. This time she had her pick, cherry, peach, olallieberry, and mixed berry. She ended up with a cherry. It did not matter what she chose; they all sounded tasty! We also bought bananas, avocados, and pickled eggs. I saw the pickled eggs yesterday and did not purchase them. I thought about those darn eggs all day. It has been years since I have had pickled eggs.

For my friend Renee

Ice Cream to go with the cobble

Two rams sparing over lettuce

I can't wait to bite into these!

We decided it was getting a bit late, and Jan was baking a lasagne tonight. It would likely take an hour or more to cook since it was in the fridge all day. Once the lasagne was in the oven, we just sat around conversing about different subjects. Jan was telling us about her paternal grandfather from this area. She was not sure where he was buried. I told her I would check Find A Grave in the morning and see what I could find. I had to explain what Find A Grave is. Before we knew it, the lasagne was done. She made it extra cheesy, which made it gooey. It was piping hot and delicious. Better than any bought lasagne or restaurant version.

After dinner, Barry and I returned to our RV so he could build a fire. Then, we wanted to eat our cobbler and ice cream by the fire. It was chilly outside but still great weather to sit by a fire. And eating cobbler with ice cream made it even better. Jan was such a happy camper she finally got her cobbler. She said she has been dreaming of one of these cobblers since we camped in the KOA across the street last year. That is one heck of a long wait!

Again, we ate and conversed for a few hours before the weather turned really chilly. At that point, we headed into our nice warm RVs and our warm beds.

Jacqueline’s Jaunts