We had our very first PSEA camp experience at one of the cabins at Camp Del Monte over the weekend to visit Monterey! It was such a neat experience and we felt like it was an appropriate place to stay during our 3 night vacation. The cabin had a full kitchen, 1 bedroom, a bathroom and also two twin beds and a futon in the living room. It was a great set up for 6 people and we maximized our space. We're a family of 4 and also invited a couple to stay one night during our weekend. Here are the pictures that I took below from our trip.

(front of our cabin)

My husband booked on the PG&E's PSEA website for our cabin a few months ahead of time and there were only 2 cabins left that were not reserved for Veteran's Day weekend so we chose Cabin #7 among the last two that were left. They had parking spots inside near the transformers and some of the cabins had room where you could even park right next to it. We opted to park on the street facing the front entrance as it felt like a more homely welcoming. Cabin #7 didn't really have enough room to park behind it. However, parking parallel to the street was perfect for us.

As we were entering through the sub-station driveway to get to our cabin, it felt like I was part of the movie Divergent where we're fenced off from the world around us since we arrived around 6:30PM and with the time change, it was pitched dark when we checked in. 


But I assure you, it is a completely feel during the daytime. See the pictures above to see the difference between the look of the sub-station near night time and then seeing it during the day. There's also a Santa Maria grill and a picnic table outside for campers to use.

A great amenity for families with kids is a playground on the camp with a baby swing, 2 normal swings, a long slide and a couple monkey bars. It was great for the little ones. 

There were also plenty of plastic shovels and toy buckets you can borrow from the main check-in cabin for the kids to play in the sand with. That was a nice surprise for us. We also saw that there were horseshoes that you could borrow for the grown-ups to play with and even DVD's. Just remember to return them back there when you're done using them.

Inside of the cabin, it felt more like a true cabin compared to the blue exterior of the cabins. Inside, the brown wood of the walls and roof surrounds us. It was a comforting feeling and truly made our experience much more original.
(living room area with futon)
(futon pulls out to become a double sized bed)
(kitchen had dishwashing detergent and scrubber left behind or maybe provided by the camp hosts)

The kitchen was fully stocked with utensils, dishware, pans and even a wine bottle opener and of course, for loaning, during the stay. We were reminded to wash everything and stow them away at the end of our stay for the next campers to use.

There were also paper towels provided but I also brought my own kitchen towel to use during the stay so that helped me keep the kitchen space cleaner.

(twin beds also located in the living room)

The twin beds were perfect for the kids and with the cold nights, the portable heaters in the room (provided by the camp hosts) were lifesavers to make our evenings more comfortable. There were 2 portable heaters in our cabin: one large and another one smaller. We put the large one in the living room and the smaller one in the bedroom. Remember to bring your own linens, blankets, pillows and bath towels to stay here. You're supposed to bring your own for sleeping and bathing.


The bedroom has a full sized bed, a dresser, nightstand and also leads to the bathroom. There is only a shower and no bathtub.

(large heater)
(small portable heater)

Even though they had a Santa Maria grill that I could use, it seemed like a big task to heat charcoal in there for just roasting marshmallows and one of my goals during this cabin trip was making s'mores for the kids. I opted to experiment with the oven instead, using one of the pans that's already provided in the cabin.



It turned out pretty good and the bonus is it helped warm up our cold cabin as it was about to get colder. 


The first night at our cabin was tiring for the kids and my husband since our 2.5 hour drive to Monterey from SLO was right after school and work. My husband fell asleep around 8PM and one of my kids fell asleep around 9PM. So I opened a can of beer and sat next to my older son on his twin bed while he was on his tablet. It was a nice, relaxing first night at the Camp Del Monte. 

I sat there staring at the chandelier for a while. Even though one of the lightbulbs went out, I really liked it. It gave me inspiration for making something like that out of old parts of unused furniture.

One of our main things on our itinerary was going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (See pictures that I took of Monterey Bay Aquarium on IG.) We found a corporate discount rate from the PSEA website for PG&E workers and my husband's ticket was also free because of Veteran's Day weekend. The aquarium was giving all veterans a free ticket that particular weekend in honor of the holiday. That was a very nice promotion for our family.

However, we also stayed in for a good amount of time and watched some Disney movies that were on TV. We watched Finding Dory, Mulan, Captain America, and more. 


After coming here, there are a few things I would do differently. We opted to eat out for breakfast instead of cooking but I felt that it would have been much easier and enjoyable if I had cooked in the cabin for a couple of our breakfasts because it had been harder to get my 3 year old to sit still in the restaurants during this particular trip. Even if he grew up in a couple of years, I think it would still be nice to stay in our jammies through the late morning and just chill there and eat. It has all the cooking utensils you need and since the groceries were just a couple of blocks away, it would have been easy to get a carton of eggs, a package of bacon, a loaf of bread and bag of potatoes for our stay. 

(row of Camp Del Monte cabins in Monterey)
(our cabin from the backside)

Looking back, I really enjoyed our cabin stay at Camp Del Monte. It was super kid-friendly and also great for just a group of friends to get-together too. We'll try to get cabin #7 again in a couple years when we return here to Camp Del Monte to enjoy another trip in Monterey and hopefully start a tradition.
Address of Camp Del Monte: 401 Kolb Avenue, Monterey, CA 93940

See my latest and other adventures and blog posts by visiting the blog page: http://www.sanluisobispomom.com/blog.php

I'm a veteran's wife so every year I always go on a list hunt ahead of time to find free things for my special veteran on Veteran's Day. This will be the very first time we are here in California for Veteran's Day since my husband finished his last term in the military.

I've come to find that the major chains are usually very consistent with offering freebies for veterans and active military on Veteran's Day. Here is the list I've compiled for San Luis Obispo, California so far. I hope that this helps you and your veteran too. 

Veteran's Day is Mon., November 11, 2019. Please be ready to show proof of military service or veteran's status when requested by any of these companies for your freebies. *If there is a (To be confirmed) note next to the freebie listed below, it just means that I haven't seen the company's actual website publish their freebie announcement for 2019 but it is usually an ongoing annual offer that they do. 

1. Free haircut at all Great Clips places for veterans on Veteran's Day. They do this every year and my husband has been able to taken advantage of it most of the time. If the veteran comes in that day and can't wait too long to get a haircut that very day, they will hand the veteran a free haircut card to use. 
2. Free ticket to a veteran and 1 guest at Knott's Berry Farm from Nov. 3 - 21, and Dec. 2 - 19, 2019. Now that we are here on the Central Coast, we can drive a few hours south to Knott's Berry Farm in Orange County. This is so great that they give you a date range. Show your Military I.D card or DD214 at the Knott's Berry Farm main gate to redeem this offer. Additional discounted tickets may be purchased at the ticket booth. Restrictions apply.
3. Free pancake breakfast to veterans and active duty at IHOP on Veteran's Day, Nov. 11, 2019 at all participating IHOPs around the nation from 7AM - 7PM. 
4. Free wings for veteran's on Veteran's Day at Buffalo Wild Wings. They usually don't post it on their website ahead of time but will publish a PR announcement or post on facebook a couple of days before about this freebie. (To be confirmed)
5. Free meal to veterans and active military on Veteran's Day at Applebee's. They usually require you to show proof. Sometimes it's from a special list so do tell them upon order that you are a veteran or active military and they will let you know what's the freebie offer. 
6. Free meal to veterans on Veteran's Day at California Pizza Kitchen. They usually don't have an announcement until early in November about their offerings but it is usually an ongoing annual offer from a selected menu (like pizza, salad or pasta, etc) for the veteran to pick from. (To be confirmed)
7. Little Caesar's pizza will offer a free $5 hot and ready combo during the hours of 11AM - 2PM to any veteran or active military. Must mention offer and like the rest, be ready to show proof.
8. Free meal to veterans at Olive Garden from a selected menu. They usually don't market this freebie until a few days or during the first week of November but from my experience, it is not always on the actual Veteran's Day but close to it. (To be confirmed.)
9. All veterans and active duty get a free meal from Chili's from a selected menu on Veteran's Day. There's a list of 7 this year: https://www.chilis.com/restaurant-events/veterans-day.
10. All veterans and active duty get a free Build Your Own Grand Slam at Denny's. From what I've seen, it is not always offered on Veteran's Day. Sometimes it's offered a day before or after depending on the year. For instance, last year in 2018, the offer was a day after Veteran's Day. They usually won't announce which date until a press release is out early in November. (To be confirmed)
11. All veterans and spouses of veterans get a free tall coffee at Starbucks on Veteran's Day. To be honest, I've never taken advantage of this freebie on Veteran's Day as a veteran's spouse because the line is always so long! They always offer this freebie but don't announce it until the first part of November. (To be confirmed).
12. All Veterans & Active Military get 25% off at Fish Tales & Bar and 50% off any boat or water toy rental in the store at Lopez Lake from Oct 1 - Nov 15, 2019. No limit on days or amounts of uses. Lopez Lake is located in Arroyo Grande, part of San Luis Obispo county. 
13. Veteran's Day at the Vineyard: complimentary wine tastings at Riverbench Vineyard and Winery in Santa Maria. At Riverbench, past and present military service men and women receive complimentary wine tastings year round. For Veterans Day weekend, we're toasting to those who served. Visit either Riverbench tasting room anytime on Saturday (Nov 9), Sunday (Nov 10) or Monday (Nov 11) for a special library sparkling wine pour added to any tasting. Even though Santa Maria is part of Santa Barbara county but it is really close! Address of Riverbench Vineyard: 6020 Foxen Canyon Rd, Santa Maria, CA 93454
14. Free entry for veterans and active military at Aquarium at the Pacific between Nov. 9 - 15, 2019. FREE for veterans, military personnel with service ID. Otherwise, general admission, free for Aquarium members. Aquarium of the Pacific is not in San Luis Obispo county and located in the LA area (3 hours drive south of SLO) Address: 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, CA 90802. See pictures of Aquarium of the Pacific.
15. Knott's Berry Farm is offering free entry to Active, Retired and Veteran U.S. Military Personnel themselves and one guest from November 3 - 21 and December 2 - 19, 2019. Must show proof by Military I.D. or DD214. Knott's Berry Farm is not in San Luis Obispo county but is about a 4 hour drive South from SLO. Address: 8039 Beach Blvd, Buena Park, CA 90620. See pictures of Knott's Berry Farm.
16. Monterey Bay Aquarium is offering free entry to veterans, active duty, retirees and reservists during Veteran's Day weekend (Nov. 9 - 11, 2019). Must present active military I.D. Address: 886 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA 93940

Sometimes I feel like my kids are not growing fast enough, i.e. delayed potty training progress, and other times I feel like they are growing way too fast! 

My five year old has just competed in his very first pumpkin contest. Since he is only five, there is no carving involved and we did it as a family. It was a fun activity that all of us enjoyed. My son got to pick what color eyes our pumpkin should have and other features too. He was very adamant that our lion pumpkin should not have ears! We left the hot gluing task to me, as his grown up, adult mother.

 (Lion pumpkin DIY no carve)

I think it turned out pretty cute. We used yarn for the lion mane, felt for the tongue, fuzzy balls for the eyes, nose and legs, pipe cleaner for the mouth area and black permanent marker for the whisker dots. 

We hope you're having a festive fall so far. To see free family-friendly activities in the San Luis Obispo area, go to: http://www.sanluisobispomom.com/family-friendly-events.php.

Today, we visited farms animals at Windmill Farms in Arroyo Grande (AG), California. (Arroyo Grande is part of San Luis Obispo County). We have farms all over this beautiful county which gives the kids many opportunities to visit farm animals.

Upon arriving Windmill Farms, I was instantly impressed by how well kept the farm is.

The place is so beautiful, I did not take a single bad picture! We were allowed to feed lettuce to the farm animals. Just ask the workers there at Windmill Farms if you could purchase some lettuce. We saw tortoises, goats, pigs, turkeys and ponies.



It was really amusing to hear the turkeys gobble, gobble every time we would pass by! It was so perfect to be around all of this during the fall season.

They also had a picnic area which got me thinking that this could be a very nice place to host an intimate wedding reception! Address of Windmill Farms is 1275 N Thompson Ave, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420.

Read about our visit to another farm called Avila Valley Barn in Avila Beach (also part of San Luis Obispo county).
Find a Hotel in San Luis Obispo.

Over the weekend, we attended a wine release party at Vina Robles Vineyards & Winery in Paso Robles, California. (Paso Robles is part of San Luis Obispo county.) I'm still daydreaming about it because the food and wine pairings were fantastic. It was free for wine club members and that is so wonderful because sometimes other wineries still charge a fee for these release parties.

Ever since we've moved here, we've became wine club members for two wineries, Vina Robles Vineyards and Tolosa Winery (Edna Valley). We haven't gone to a wine release party for Tolosa Winery yet so this one at Vina Robles Vineyards & Winery is our very first wine release party ever! 

The wine release party was from 11AM - 2PM. By the time we have arrived in Paso Robles, it was about 11:10AM and there was a line to enter already. About 30 - 40 people were in front of us. It was over 100 degrees that day so it was going to be a very hot day! The staff members there were very polite and professional. Now looking back, next time we will arrive at 1PM because we'll still have an hour to go through all 6 tasting stations and the line by that time to enter was non-existent!

Although there were 6 different wine & food pairing tastings, as a bonus, you can try their blind tastings and those were another 3 red wine tastes.

It was such a wonderful event with chef worthy dishes, fantastic Vina Robles wine and a wonderful ambiance outdoors during a summer day. I really can't wait for the next wine release party here!

If you're looking to go to a concert, Vina Robles also has an amphitheatre where many famous bands perform here!

We watched Counting Crows when they came here! As another perk as a Vina Robles Vineyards club member, they let you join their pre-concert party! Entry to this pre-show party is only exclusive to wine club members. All of the concerts have pre-show parties if they are performing here at the amphitheatre. The amphitheatre only opened a couple of years ago so the place is beautiful and new. My husband and I shared the braised beef entree at the pre-show party for Counting Crows.

If you're not a wine club member, the main areas of the venue also have many different stations of food to buy! This is for every Vina Robles Amphitheater goer and there were a pizza station, another area to buy sandwiches and burgers, desserts and of course wine! You can also get beer here! Address of Vina Robles Vineyards & Winery and Amphitheatre: 3800 Mill Rd, Paso Robles, CA 93446

Find a Hotel in Paso Robles.

After moving to San Luis Obispo county, we were recommended by a local to try Parent Participation. Two of the main ones are city-site run programs for parents with kids ages 0 - 4 years old (and sometimes five depending on which location you look at). To see more information about Parent Participation and other Parent & Me classes, go to the Mom Groups & Childcare section.

The one closest to our home is the one at Oceano Community Center in Oceano, California.

The Parent Participation programs for this area are categorized under South County (Lucia Mar) and offer four different class groups: 0 - 12 months old, 12 - 24 months old, 24 - 36 months old and 3 and 4 year olds. Each age group meets once a week for 3 hours. During the 3 hour session, we start out with free play time, clean up, circle time on the rug with songs, snacks (volunteered and snacks donated by parents), auditorium play while parents have an educational discussion about parenting, clean up and then ending with a nice story at circle time. Parents definitely participate in this class as they help assist the kids with clean up and participating throughout the organized day. These classes are a great way to get kids used to social play with kids within their age group. I paid $90 for the 6 week period (7 sessions). You can also add a younger sibling for a discounted price. If your child is not ready for preschool, Parent Participation is really a great transition to preschool since the parent gets to there with them the whole time.

Today is the third session I've attended among the 7 sessions included in the $90. My child really likes the program so far and refers to it as 'school'. He always gets so excited to come play, sing songs, learn letters and be a part of a classroom setting. When we came during our first day, both my little one and I were overwhelmed because we have just moved here earlier this year so we're newbies while most of the parents and kids have been a part of it together before. By now, we've gotten used to it and these classes are mainly for the little ones to thrive so it's all with positive intent. We have a planned field trip soon next month and we're really looking forward to that!

Other Parent Participation programs are located at San Luis Coastal Adult School (city run) in San Luis Obispo, California and another one not run by the city by Playtime Discoveries in Atascadero, California.

San Luis Obispo county has so many kid-friendly things to do and parent & me (mommy & me) type programs for the little ones. You can find all of these classes under the Mom Groups & Childcare section. 

Here's a list of free or cheap family friendly events in Pismo Beach Area and nearby for the Fall and Christmas season of 2019: 

Ever since moving to San Luis Obispo county, we've gone to about 10 different tasting rooms and we haven't even reached our 1 year milestone as residents. Wineries and San Luis Obispo county go hand in hand. If you're a wine enthusiast, you're definitely in for a treat when you visit SLO! The wine culture here is amazing.

When it comes to wine tasting, it's better than San Diego (Temecula), LA and in my opinion, San Ynez Valley too! The weather here, proximity to local things to do and the people make The Edna Valley San Luis Obispo wine tasting experience so special. 

Did you know that Edna Valley is located in San Luis Obispo, California? I mean, not just San Luis Obispo county but actually in San Luis Obispo, California and near the airport! Their central location makes it wonderfully close to downtown, the beach areas and with the best weather! And in Edna Valley, there are over 12 different wineries! You're not going to get scorching hot summer weather like Paso Robles (also in San Luis Obispo county) so if you're afraid of the heat, go to Edna Valley for some wine and cooler weather and then hang out at the beach (15 minutes from Edna Valley) afterwards. 

Today, I'm going to put the spotlight on Tolosa Winery. They don't know who I am nor paid me for my opinion so everything that I write in this post is from my experiences as a local mom who lives here. I've tried many wines and been to many wineries and oh boy, Tolosa Winery has impressed me so much. 

Just the drive to Tolosa Winery from the entry point towards the parking lot has always wowed me. You feel like you right inside the winery and not just on some side road. The vineyards engulf you as you continue towards the parking lot. Here's the video that I took (non-edited and not a boomerang-type effect) from our drive from entering the road.

I've been to this winery over a handful of times and each time, the enticement creeps up through this wonderful road for some tastings.

Each and every time we've visited Tolosa Winery, there is always a host or hostess in front of the double doors outside to greet you and take your name down. This personalize experience makes you feel like you're entering into an elite group of wine enthusiasts, whether you are a club member or not. Whomever made this a standard as the Tolosa Winery service to greet you, no matter if it's a slow weekday or a busy weekend, deserve a big star! It's impressionable. It's a no wonder that we decided to become wine club members. We know we can rely on Tolosa to deliver excellent service. 

As the host or hostess seat you or usher you into the tasting room, you'll be presented a tasting menu with a few options. The lowest tier is $25 and includes 4 different tastings. This may seem high compared to some of the other places but it's really not for the service and quality of wine you get. You'll be happy with the size of their pours. I just found out recently that in Napa Valley (about 4 hours north of San Luis Obispo), the tastings at some wineries there are $50 now! Compared to Napa Valley, the tasting cost and experience here in Edna Valley, and specifically Tolosa Winery, are truly just a better choice. There is also still a lot of pride in winemaking and delivering a good wine tasting experience here. You can just tell. 

If you have a question about a specific bottle of wine, the Tolosa Winery staff there is very knowledgeable, friendly and always eager to answer your questions and give you their thoughts. The chardonnays are refreshing and the pinot noirs are full of body and teasing to the tastebuds. You won't be disappointed. I'm normally more of a red wine girl but here at Tolosa, their chardonnays are so amazing that I'm an everything girl when I'm here!

Their cuvee is still my number one favorite among my tasting list right now. 

If you're tasting inside, don't forget to walk go outside near the patio area to enjoy the pretty vineyards view with the mountain backdrop to take a picture for memories. We've taken 3 different couples here at Tolosa Winery within the last couple of months and they've all enjoyed it and appreciated visiting us for this experience.

As part of our membership, we can go to the membership lounge to enjoy our tastings but we haven't had a chance to experience that yet because kids are not allowed to go there. We've mainly enjoyed our tastings outside at the patio, which makes sense because our kids can be rowdy. I've seen others brought their kids and set out picnics out here. However, in order to enjoy the picnic that you brought, you have to sit in their picnic area and order bottle service. I learned this from calling them and asking ahead. The bottle service requirement for picnicking is one bottle per 2 guests. We've always just done tastings here. Address of Tolosa Winery: 4910 Edna Rd, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

We haven't gone to a special Tolosa Winery event yet and our membership tier is on the low side and most of the membership events require a fee for us to attend. When we get to experience our first special event here, I'll continue this post and add that here. Cheers!

Find a Hotel in San Luis Obispo.

My first-born is starting kindergarten next month. Back in May 2019, he had his round-up (something that they have around San Luis Obispo county for the little ones who are about to start kindergarten in a few months) where they tested him on at least 10 things: like drawing a picture of himself, writing his name, counting to 20 and more! I was surprised that they were testing them on all that because I was expecting a 'round-up' to be like an orientation. My son passed all of it, thankfully, but I saw another little boy cry while he was being tested. Talk about pressure! I truly feel like kids can't miss preschool like the old days or else they'll be behind. Before we left the round-up, one of the school staff members gave me a big packet for my son to work on over the summer before he starts preschool and a list of what my child should know before his first day of kindergarten. Here is the list below:

What Your Child Should Know Before Kindergarten

Reading:

• Recognize 26 of the 52 letters (upper and lowercase)
• 10 letter sounds
• Readers read left to right
• All letters in their first name