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It's only a couple more months until Thanksgiving is here. If your kids are like mine, they usually get bored at home by the 2nd day of any consecutive break; and then they end up getting upset with each other. A few hours a day at a vacation day camp can really help them have a more exciting break and still have time to relax at home.

Luckily, there's a few regular places around the county that usually run break camps. Here's what I've found so far for Thanksgiving Break Camps. More will be posted as they are announced on the web.

1. Boys & Girls Club of South San Luis Obispo Fall Break Camp and it runs for 3 days from Nov 22 - 24, 2021. (Enroll between Nov 1 - 5, 2021.)
2. Youth Evolution Basketball Thanksgiving Camp (Lev2/3) in Paso Robles for age between 5 - 12 years old. Dates: Nov 22 - 24, 2021 from 3:15PM - 5:45PM at Centennial Park run by the City of Paso Robles.
3. Basketball Camp: Youth Evolution Training between Nov 22 - 24, 2021 at two different parks (Rancho Grande and Strother Park) in Arroyo Grande. There are 2 ages groups: 5 - 7 years old and 8 - 11 years old. It's 3 hours a day and you can pick from either 9AM - Noon or 12:30PM - 3:30PM. Cost is $100. You register through the City of Arroyo Grande's Recreation website.

There are 3 piers in Avila Beach but Port San Luis Pier is my favorite of the bunch. It's located on the farthest right if you're facing the ocean and driving into Avila Beach from the road. It's past the PG & E plant and lighthouse.

You'll see some campers parked there. Don't be discourage. Just keep driving and you'll see a free parking area. That is when you'll see the Port San Luis Pier. You can go fishing on this pier without a fishing license and also see sea lions from this pier. They like to hang out around here.

I really love coming here with the family. Like any fishing pier, it can smell seafoody but if you love seafood, it won't bother you. When it's cloudy, I feel like I'm in heaven as the fog hangs really close.


Here are more photos from Port San Luis Pier on a sunny day last year. The restaurants was just opening again from the pandemic and we decided to come here as they have restaurant with an outdoor area to enjoy our meal.


A lot of boats were roaming around the bay. 


After walking around for awhile, we enjoyed a lunch at Mersea's, which is a seafood restaurant located right on the pier! I had their tacos while I enjoyed this fantastic view.


All photos, even pinned photos from Pinterest are original from SanLuisObispoMom.com. Please give credit if you plan on using them. 

Enjoy your day!

More about Avila Beach:
Avila Beach is located in San Luis Obispo County and is one of many beaches in the area. They have farmers markets, a lot of restaurants and shops and a great playground for kids. See more pictures of Avila Beach.

Avila Beach T-Shirts:
Avila Beach California Vintage Retro T-Shirt

Here are some of my favorite Pismo Beach t-shirts that you can find online for under $20 and save that energy to enjoy the ocean.

 

There's not a shortage of souvenir shops in Pismo Beach that sell t-shirts but it can be overwhelming to search through hundreds of them to find the right one. Upon going on a hunt to find Pismo Beach T-Shirts or 805 T-Shirts as a gift, I was getting a bit tired already after just finding a decent parking spot at the beach. I wasn't tired physically, just mentally tired. Then, stopping in one-by-one through a swarm of tourists was another obstacle. That is why I am such a happy online shopper. I'll happily go to the beach to put my feet in the sand but shopping for a t-shirt makes me a bit light-headed. 

Hey Transplant Mom,

I understand your pain, uncertainty and a bit of emptiness as you wait by the gate to retrieve your child and hear a group of moms chatting it up. You think, "I'm just going to focus on my child" but deep down, you wish to be in that conversation. The way they wave to each other and go on outings together to talk about mom life is something you only get to do via zoom with your close friends from a distance. That group over there is maybe an established group that took a few years of growth or maybe less, but it took a good leader.

You've only lived here for a little while, still acclimating to everything while adjusting to the pandemic life. One adaptation to another, you reflect back to think of the all things you've achieved while you're away from your close friends hours away, states away or even countries away. I get you. I am a transplant mom. Friendships take time. If you're an introvert like me, then it'll take a lot of time!

So, how do I get around to coping with the thought of wishing my bestest friends live close to me? I created a blog. This one to be exact. I went exploring with my kids and focused all that energy on them, playing with them and being a kid again. What I lack, I made it up in other areas or at least I try to. I started joining in educational zoom meetings versus scrolling through social media feeds. I'd post content but not look at others' content. I did more creating and less observing. I took more pictures of my scenery, picked up hobbies like learning how to sew a fabric mask. (See blog entry here to see the masks I created.) And it's because I had more time to be creative and kind of learn about what I'm good at. Sometimes I think the reason why I have a great relationship with my husband and 2 kids is because I spend less time complaining about them (mainly because I have no one to complain to) so I tackle issues head on!  And I'm just trying to live the best life that I can with the circumstances that we have.

So what are you good at, or want to be good at? Start there and maybe with what you're good at, you can find others who share the same hobbies. Or maybe you'll become so good at something and it makes you so happy that it has filled a void in your life? So let's think about it. If you're not sure what you're good at, then what is your favorite hobby and when was the last time you were hobbying? Let's start creating something soon. And if you're braver and wiser than me, you can be the leader and build your own mom group.



Love,
SanLuisObispoMom.com


Other things:

• See my Mom Groups & Childcare page
• Read my Preschool Reviews

This summer, we took my sons to the Boomers in Santa Maria for the first time. It was a drive to the next county over but we always enjoy going into a big town again.

There's never an admission fee to go inside however you have to pay for the rides, mini golf and playing on the arcades. I think that if the kids are still little, they can skip the rides and just enjoy the indoor arcade. They also serve food so you don't have to worry about being hungry last minute. They have burgers, pretzels and other interesting Southern items too. This Boomers location also has local beer on tap so the adults can have an adult beverage if they want to as they are playing games.

We started out at the arcade as that's the main entrance anyway. You can buy an arcade card at the counter or from their self-serve machines.

Aside from getting an arcade card, we bought a pass for each of us so that we can each go on 3 activities, which you can pick mini golf as one of the options. I think if your child is still a toddler, it may be hard for them to concentrate through 18 holes but it's still fun to take turns and do a family activity. They don't charge kids 5 and under for mini golf.

They're open every day so you can always come to Boomers if you're thinking of something to do to entertain the kids. They have half prices off on games on Wednesdays and Ticket Deals on Tuesdays and Thursday if you want to save some money.

Boomers Santa Maria Address: 2250 N. Preisker Lane, Santa Maria, CA 93458

Find other kid-friendly things in to do
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