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Family Day Review at SLO Botanical Garden

August 13, 2025

EXPLORE Feature

For the June/July 2025 Issue of SLO LIFE Magazine, I wrote about Family Day at the SLO Botanical Garden. We mainly hung out at the Children's Garden area. You can read more about our adventure on page 68-69 in the archive.

SLO Botanical Garden Review

Family Day at the San Luis Obispo (SLO) Botanical Garden is free and happens every month! However, depending on the season, you do have to pay a parking fee per car. The cost is only a few bucks.

Prior to writing about Family Day at SLO Botanical Garden, I have visited the garden several times with my kids. See the video reel of my SLO Botanical Garden visit via my instagram.

Outdoor Adventure Supplies:

 

Vacation Review for Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort at Waikiki For Our Oahu Family Trip

July 15, 2025

For a week in July, my family and I flew to Oahu to enjoy a summer vacation in the sun! Here are the places we went and all the things we did.

Polynesian Cultural Center Review

Alii Luau at Polynesian Cultural Center in Oahu

This year for my birthday, my dear husband took me and the kids to Oahu to celebrate! I was quite surprised to find the most famous place in Oahu to attend a luau for tourists is owned by the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I didn't find out until after I had attended the luau. While reflecting afterwards, I was intrigued and was wondering how much a talented luau or hula dancer makes there because I was so impressed. Turns out not as much as I thought and by accident, I found out it was owned by a "mormon" church. It's a nifty fact so thought I'd throw that out there first.

Polynesian Cultural Center Roasted Pig

I really had an amazing time walking around each cultural area and all of the activities! I attended my very first luau here on my actual birthday! My husband booked the Aliʻi Lūʻau package for the 4 of us in the family. It costed a total of $804.22 (including taxes and fees). It was pricey and it may costs more over time from the day that I am posting this. There were many different types of experiences to pick from. The Aliʻi Lūʻau package included the following:

  • Group guided tour through 6 authentic island villages
  • Enjoy award winning Aliʻi Lūʻau buffet with live entertainment
  • Gold level seating at "HĀ: Breath of Life" show

During the luau, they found out it was my birthday, so they brought out this special chocolate cupcake with white frosting for me. Since the luau buffet already had several dessert options and I had taken advantage of that at this point, I didn't finish all of my special cupcake but I thought it was still very kind of them to do that. Here is the cupcake they gave me in honor of my birthday.

Birthday at Polynesian Cultural Center

I think the real highlight of it all for me was the "HĀ: Breath of Life" show. Sure, the luau made me very full and it had a great line up of food but what I think about when I reminisce about my birthday night at the Polynesian Cultural Center is the "HĀ: Breath of Life" show. It took place after the luau and was so memorable! We're not allowed to take any pictures during this show so I don't have any pictures of it to show you so, you will have to take my word for it.

Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort

Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort Review for Family

For the week-long summer birthday trip, my husband booked us at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort. It's a famous resort and many famous people have stayed here. We stayed at the Rainbow Tower on the 18th floor. There were several pools for guests and a lagoon. We had the opportunity to swim in all of them except, we decided to not go to the 18+ only pool because we have kids with us. We enjoyed all of the pools that we did go into, and they each had certain things that made each one of them a little unique. We went down slides, went in the hot tubs, and enjoyed the complimentary towel system.

Hilton Hawaiian Village Shops in Waikiki Hilton Hawaiian Village Oahu Pictures

There were several great restaurants and shops within the village of the resort in cool Asian architecture. We never had to walk very far to get water or something to eat. I was very impressed with all of the ABC Stores nearby. I could get a bowl of ramen for just seven bucks or a spam musubi for less than $3! To my surprise, if there is a food budget, it is very doable as long as there is a few ABC Stores nearby.

Chee Hoo Patisserie & Brews at Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort

Chee Hoo Hilton Village Waikiki Review

For one of the mornings there, my husband brought back a couple of pastries from Chee Hoo Patisserie & Brews that's located there at the resort and next to our Rainbow Tower. Their pastries were so amazingly special, especially the charcoal one. I devoured the fluffiness and great balance of its taste and weight. It was pricey, but worth it for a special treat.

View From my Balcony at Aloha Tower at Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort

We stayed on the 18th floor at the Aloha Tower. Every day was a gift when I stood outside on my balcony and took in this amazing Waikiki view. We had a view of the lagoon, dock, and ocean!

View from Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki

Here's another look of our view from later on the day.

Lagoon at Hilton Waikiki

On Fridays, the resort lights fireworks. While we were there, this weekly fireworks brought hundreds of locals and tourists from other resorts to the beachfront to view the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort's fireworks. It's quite a spectacle!

USS Arizona

USS Arizona Pictures at Pearl Harbor
Names Who Have Fallen at Pearl Harbor at USS Arizona

It was a sad and meaningful experience when we visited USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor National Memorial. Seeing the names of the servicemen who passed away on the wall really hit me. It's a very popular place to visit as a tourist and there is a great reason why. There were a lot of tourists coming here in waves and getting tickets for it is quite a process. You have to book for a particular time and if you were not able to secure tickets ahead of time, you can come and be on stand by.

USS Arizona Pearl Harbor Sinking Battleship Pearl Harbor Pictures in Oahu

They don't allow you to bring a bag in, unless it's a clear bag. Fortunately, I was carrying a clear bag the entire week! I do this because going through TSA for airport travel is much easier with a clear bag since I always have small liquids like hand sanitizer with me. If you don't have a clear bag, they will ask you to check it in the bag check area near the restrooms or another option is to put it in your car and return. Once you go through gate, you can only line up to get on the boat when it's within your time opening. If you're too early, they will ask you to get out of the line until it's time. The process is very strict, but it's well worth the visit to visit this historical grave.

Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay

Hanauma Bay Pictures

It was such a hot summer week when we were in Oahu and snorkeling at Hanauma Bay was the most perfect adventure out there. Instead of renting snorkeling gear, we brought our own gear in our suitcases on the plane. They were bulky but we figured it would make us feel more comfortable using our own gear. It was a perfect call for our family of four.

Hanauma Bay for Kids Review

What I particularly liked about Hanauma Bay is you could see fishes within 3 feet from the shore! They were amazing! So, if your kid is just getting used to snorkeling as a beginner, this is good perfect place to get your kids interested and feeling safe. There were also lifeguards out there on watch the entire time. A bonus is we saw a monk seal right when we got there! Of course, you or your kids should still be a good enough swimmer if you want to be snorkeling out there.
Monk Seal at Hanauma Bay
Monk Seal Picture in Oahu

Hiking to Waimea Falls

Waimea Falls Review With Kids

I swam in Waimea Falls with my kids and they really enjoyed it! There were life jackets there to borrow for free. I recommend bringing your water shoes because it's a rocky walk down. I wore my water shoes the entire hike to prepare for jumping in the falls and felt confident climbing in and out of the water. I saw some adults and kids getting nervous in the water. Life jackets are a requirement to enter the falls so if you're already a confident swimmer, you should have no issue swimming in this one. The trickiest part is getting in the water through the rocky path, but that is still manageable without water shoes if you're careful.

The hike going towards Waimea Falls was easier than some of the hikes that my kids and I had went on in San Luis Obispo County so I would say it is pretty family-friendly. I saw some families brought their strollers with their babies.

Oahu Restaurant Reviews

While in Oahu, we ate Hawaiian Plate lunches, drank great craft coffee and explored interesting restaurants. See pictures of the food I enjoyed during our family vacation below.
Aloha Coffee in Oahu

  • YYK Dim Sum

    YYK Dim Sum Review Oahu YYK Dim Sum Siu Mai

    YYK Dim Sum was located in Ala Moana Mall's Food Court on the second floor! They had dim sum, noodle soups and tea. I thought for express dim sum, it was pretty good! The only odd thing is if you ask for black pepper, they would say they didn't have it.

  • Blue Water Shrimp Grill

    Blue Water Shrimp Grill Oahu

    Blue Water Shrimp Grill was located within the Hilton Village in Waikiki so it was a very short walk to get food here. The line could get really long. Thankfully, they had an online ordering system so I ordered online from my phone and then, showed up 30 minutes later to pick it up on the mobile order line. Their seafood and Hawaiian plates were delicious!

  • McDonald's in Waikiki

    Breakfast at McDonald's in Oahu

    McDonald's in Waikiki and in Hawaii are very different than the McDonald's in the other 49 states of USA. They serve rice, spam and Portuguese sausage here, in addition to the traditional menu that I'm used to! We ordered McDonald's for breakfast one morning and my sons enjoyed getting rice from McDonald's. It's like a novelty.

  • Leonard's

    Leonard's Malasadas

    Leonard's was the place we chose to get malasadas! Malasadas are donuts that kind of remind me of very upgraded sugar round donuts that you'd typically find at a mega Chinese buffet. I only like the traditional kinds but my husband really enjoyed their jelly-filled ones too!

  • HK Cafe

    Wonton Soup HK Cafe Oahu HK Cafe Review in Oahu Kid Friendly Restaurants in Oahu

    HK Cafe was located in the basement of a building that was in the unique food court of a dozen other restaurants. It felt like I undiscovered a hidden secret. I ordered a wonton soup with noodles and it was so satisfying! They also had a kid's menu that was very well portioned. Their leaking milk dessert is worth a try if you're not lactose intolerant and have room for sweetness at the end.

  • Starbuck's Coffee in Waikiki

    Starbucks in Waikiki

    Starbuck's in Waikiki was in abundant! I like to do mobile order so that I don't have to wait around too long. I ordered for a location that was about a 10 minute walk from my hotel and that's usually how long it took for them to get it done during a busy morning, anyway. When I got there, I found my drink in the pick up spot and discovered that they drew a flower on my cup. It was a very sweet surprise. I walked back to my hotel along the Waikiki shore and had a fantastic walk, coffee in hand.

Aloha Stadium Swap Meet in Oahu

Aloha Stadium Swap Meet Review

The swap meet at the Aloha Stadium only takes place on Sunday so we took advantage of it! We went there with the intention of just looking around, but I we needed up getting matching Aloha al fits, islander food: like lumpia, spam musubi and meat on a stick, a ukulele, 3D art, and souvenir t-shirts!

filipino food at Aloha Swap Meet

I even saved the spam musubi that I bought from the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet to the pool at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort.

Spam Musubi from Oahu Swap Meet

I really felt like it was a fun swap meet shopping and eating experience there. It was really cheap for entry too. I think they only took cash for entry so make sure you have cash in your wallet before pulling up tot he gate. My kids were free entry because they were under a certain age.

Flying Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines

Hawaiian Airlines Plane Picture

Flying from San Luis Obispo (SBP), California to Honolulu, Oahu, we had a layover at in San Francisco (SFO). However, our first flight from San Luis Obispo to San Francisco was unexpectedly delayed! So, we we were going to miss our second flight from San Francisco to Honolulu. We were supposed to fly using United Airlines both times. However, we called United Airlines about our options for our connecting flight and they said they work with Hawaiian Airlines and there is later flight through them that we could hop on for no extra charge. We didn't hesitate and agreed. Well, it was probably the best surprise ever because Hawaiian Airlines still gave everyone a complimentary meal for long flights like this one that we did from San Francisco to Honoluly. I got a free sandwich and adult beverage too. Yes, all complimentary.

Hawaiian Airlines Review for Family

I thought my complimentary sandwich that I received on the Hawaiian Airlines plane tasted before than the sandwich I picked up at Bun Mee while at SFO Airport!

Bun Mee Review at SFO Airport
 

Art Class Review at Art Central in San Luis Obispo

June 15, 2025

EXPLORE Feature

For the APR/MAY 2025 spring issue of SLO LIFE Magazine, there's a feature that I wrote about an art class instructed by Jason Knox that I took at Art Central in Downtown San Luis Obispo. It's now an archive so you can view the digital version on page 72-73 in the APR/MAY 2025 issue from SLO LIFE Magazine archives.

SLO LIFE Magazine Review

At Art Central, art classes are available for adults or kids. There are many options and dates to pick from.

The cover of this issue was especially eye-catching in black and white with a splash of yellow.

To view a behind the scenes reel from my point of view while I took the art class, go to my instagram reel for Art Central.

Read my latest EXPLORE Feature that I wrote for SLO LIFE Magazine by buying a printed copy from the stands of Boo Boo Records in San Luis Obispo.

Suggested Artist Supplies:
 

Lure Fish House in San Luis Obispo Review

March 28, 2025

Lure Fish House is a newer seafood restaurant in Downtown San Luis Obispo with bold architecture and a wonderful fresh seafood menu that will make you feel like you're somewhere else! It's a nice escape. Upon doing a quick research online, I realized they've been open for a year at this point now!

Lure Oyster Bar in Downtown SLO

With high ceilings and posh service, I'm reminded of all the amazing restaurants that I've visited in the last few decades. Besides creating delicious dishes, Lure definitely knows how to find the right servers to provide memorable service!

Tabletop at Lure in San Luis Obispo Waiting for Food at a Restaurant

Service is an art. There may be little science like learning a list of things to absolutely not do nor say, but what each server says right and the timing is most definitely art! I've dined here twice and both times, I've been impressed with the charming confidence and quick wittiness of both of my services from two different servers.

Menus for Lunch at Lure

For this particular blog post, I'm primarily focusing on my lunch experience at Lure Fish House in San Luis Obispo after a busy Thursday morning for work in March. Thursdays are good days for me as I've intentionally set my schedule to work only half days on Thursdays; an agreed schedule that I sorted out with the software company that I'm temporarily helping out with a couple of roles right now. Therefore, after finishing work on Thursdays, I usually have this mini celebratory feeling after vigorously completing tasks for a few hours on the computer. After I disconnected, I made my way to Lure. It was a quarter past noon and also happened to be Spring Break for some schools! I always enjoy the opportunity to walk around a couple of blocks and see happy tourists and locals roaming around downtown in good moods.

Downtown San Luis Obispo

The week day lunch crowd is definitely a big contrast to my prior visit for dinner on Valentine's Day weekend at Lure with my hubby. For lunch, I was seated immediately after the hostess made her way in the front and asked me how she could help me. I said, "Seat for one, please".

They seated me at a table closest to the host stand, which I didn't mind. Hearing people coming and and going through the main entrance sometimes gives me random insights about out-of-the-blue subjects that I didn't intend to learn, but was happy to accidentally acquire information about.

I decided on a Berry Mule as a drink and I was so hungry that when the server came and asked me for my drink order, I asked her if the Crispy Calamari under the Shared Plates list was big in portion size. She said it's a good size if you're just eating it for lunch. I thought I could also box any of it up if I couldn't finish something so I told her, "I'll have the Crispy Calamari and the Lure Coppino. If I don't finish anything, I'll box it up so I can save room for dessert!"

Come to think of it, I skipped breakfast that morning so it's no wonder how hungry I was! Lately, after adjusting the clocks for daylight savings a couple of weeks ago, time have seem to be flying so fast that every morning is like a feverish race against time as I simultaneously try to help my sons and get myself ready for school and work.

To add to the morning tight schedule, I have this mental checklist to aim to throw in one load of laundry and wash all the dishes by the time I'm clocking in for work at 9AM in the morning. Why I set that out to complete in the midst of packing my sons' lunches, putting make-up on and calling orders to my sons to put on their socks and shoes? I'm not sure, but it helps me feel like I had started my day right whenever I'm able to accomplish those to-dos.

My Crispy Calamari Starter and Berry Mule

Crispy Calamari and Berry Mule

Boy, this was a great combo! My server brought out my Berry Mule, while another lady, who was at the stand earlier, brought the Crispy Calamari starter at the same time to my table! The dynamic teamwork here really got me pumped up as they delivered my much needed fuel and refreshing libation to me!

The Berry Mule had just the right balance of sweetness and tartness that felt so perfect for spring. The light breading and flash fry of the Crispy Calamari on my plate helped lifted up any cloudiness of the day as they gave satisfaction to my taste buds. It was the first bite of food that I had that day and it felt like the wait to finally break my fast was all worth it.

There's been many times I thought over the years that if I were to only have room in my schedule to eat once a day, it should be a nice feast in the middle of the day just like what I was having here.

Crispy Calamari San Luis Obispo

I particularly liked how the Crispy Calamari came with two sauces and the presentation of the half lemon in the center of my plate gave unity and purpose. I definitely squeezed the lemon all over my calamari. Both sauces were both great with the red marinara one more acidic and the other pinkish aioli one providing a base to calm any spiciness that may be too much heat for any bite.

I felt accomplished as I finished all of the delicious calamari from my starter. I really should have taken a picture of my plate after I had gobbled it up! Shortly after I finished my Crispy Calamari, my Cioppino arrived!

Lure Cioppino

Cioppino in San Luis Obispo

The sun was finally coming out of the clouds around the same time that my Lure Cioppino arrived at my table! The opened clams and mussels were inviting me into their shells with the little fork that was provided to me on the entree in the center of my dish! It was such a beautiful and colorful entree! Aside from the nice sized mussels and clams, there were also shrimp, scallops and fish. I'm going to say it on this post: this is the most beautiful cioppino that I've ever had in my life! The stew really shined with the fresh basil that tasted like it was freshly plucked from a healthy garden minutes before! All of the seafood was fresh and cooked just right. The stew is a little bit more spicy than I'm used to, but it was so robust with flavor that I just drank more water so that I could continue devouring it.

Lure Cioppino Review

Every clink of the empty shells that went into my silver bucket that Lure provided for me was like a festive activity in my space. Although I was so full when I ate about half of the portion, I made sure that I, at least, finished all of the shellfish! The sourdough slice of bread that accompanied the Cioppino was so well made and baked. I looked at the grains closely and it definitely gave me the inkling that it was locally made. I asked the server if they made their own bread in-house and she said it was from Edna's Bakery, a local San Luis Obispo bakery. Ahh, no wonder!

As I was down to the last two bites of my toast, with envy, I looked over at the table next to me and saw that they had several slices of bread that they didn't touch, which I did not have. I think the ladies saw my eyes wandered over there because they paused their conversation and started looking at their own bread as well. I shifted my eyes back. No matter, I was so full and my stomach reminded me that I've had enough food for the hour! Before I threw in the towel and while I was still staring at my Cioppino while chewing, the server remembered that I wanted dessert so she asked if I'd like to look at the dessert menu now. She was so efficient and smart! I quickly said, "yes" and within a couple of minutes, she was back to present to me a nice small "SWEETS" menu. 

Desert Menu for Lure

The last time that I was here dining at Lure at this exact location and coincidentally, maybe same table, my husband and I had shared the Sticky Toffee Pudding. He let me picked the dessert, but he also wanted to try the Flourless Chocolate Cake. Even though he's at work while I was enjoy a nice lunch at Lure for this occasion, I ordered the Flourless Chocolate Cake and thought of him. How sweet of me, right?

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Flourless Chocolate Cake at Lure Desserts at Lure Downtown San Luis Obispo

To my surprise, the scoop of vanilla ice cream that came with the dessert was larger than my flourless chocolate cake and I'm not complaining! The dessert was quite a nice portion. Another surprise is there were cocoa nibs on the dessert, but it wasn't noted on the menu. They looked like nuts, but are not! I'm not allergic to nuts, but at this point in my life, I've personally met more than a handful of people in my life with a nut allergy and since I care about them, I'm just more well aware now and wanted to note that they are not nuts! However, the texture of the cocoa nibs definitely was needed to round out the dessert.

Aside: If you have allergies, this mama is going to preach and suggest that you mention it to any server at any location ahead of time, even if you don't want to draw extra attention to yourself.

The sweet flourless chocolate cake is quite thick so the vanilla ice cream is a great accompaniment. After a few bites of the flourless chocolate, I knew there was no way I could finish this whole dessert. I ate all of the ice cream and asked the server if I could box up the rest of the chocolate.

I asked for the check and another to-go box for the dessert. My leftover Cioppino was already boxed up earlier. Checking the time of my phone, I realized I still had 45 minutes until my meter time would run out, but it's time to end my lunch feast. So, after I left Lure, I walked into the street and crossed the crosswalk over to Boo Boo Records that's only down the street before marching up the hill to find my parking spot on the street to drive home. 

The downtown location, sleek ambiance, professional service and top chef-made food at Lure will bring me back here again. Next time, I'm going to try their happy hour!

Lure Fish House Address: 1101 Monterey St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

See my quick instagram reel from my lunch visit at Lure Fish House on my instagram.

[ Like what you've read? See all of the pictures I've taken at restaurants and my reviews for them under the 'Restaurants' category! ]

 

Best Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Sugar-free Cookies That I've Ever Made

March 27, 2025

Surprising to many, one of my kids rather have cookies without chocolate chips. We had some gluten-free flour lying around so I concocted a batch of cookies that uses Monkfruit Sweetener with Erythritol instead of sugar, so it's also sugar-free. I also used vegan butter instead of regular butter. All in all, I really like how the cookies taste with monk fruit and vegan butter. It has a very rounded flavor with a hint of fruitiness that I very much enjoy.

My son boasted that it's the best cookies I've ever made!

They came out so fluffy and yummy. [ Image is coming. ]
 

About Me


San Luis Obispo Mom Originally from San Diego, California, I'm a San Diego State University alumna, veteran's wife and mom of two kids who were born two years apart. After living on the East Coast for 6 years, we now reside in San Luis Obispo County and here, the exploration continues. In between work and momming it, I like to exercise.
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All photos (except for ads) on SanLuisObispoMom.com including: homepage, 'Family-Friendly Things to do' page, 'SLO Restaurants' page,'Mom Groups & Childcare' page, and 'blog' page were taken by me so they are my original content and belong to this blog/website.

To find family-friendly activities in the SLO area, go to the 'Family-Friendly Things To Do' page.

Some of the links are just useful local information that I'm sharing for free and some are commission-based products that may help me earn a small commission for each sale to upkeep with the fees of running this local blog.

Are you planning on relocating to San Luis Obispo County from a different place?

Suggested Supplies for Your Big Move