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We went to the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum today since we were in the area for a Lowe's visit. Santa Maria is part of Santa Barbara County but since we live in South County area of San Luis Obispo county, it's only a 20 minute drive for us. 

It's the holiday season so the inside of the museum was decked with Christmas decorations! To our surprise, Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus were there too! We came on a special holiday event and were able to get our kids to take a picture with them!

This children's museum is one story and also had a craft area. Because it was a special event day there, the kids were also able to decorate their own sugar cookies in the back private room. The lay-out of the entire space looked very organized and well-kept.

I especially liked the fresh garden area where it seems that you can scoop a plant in a cup and bring it home.

We didn't bring home a plant because our boys were so busy exploring every station and I thought we were going to come back to it at the end and had forgotten about it. I also thought the treehouse was very neat; which is where kids can pick a book from a bookshelf and enjoy some reading time up there.

There's also an area for the little ones aged 0 - 3 years old to enjoy age-appropriate toys and stations.

They offered military and veteran's discounts on admission to the museum so do mention it if you are active-duty or a vet. Address of Santa Maria Valley Discovery Center: 705 S McClelland St, Santa Maria, CA 93454

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 on the property near the transformers and some of the cabins had room where you could even park right next to it. We opted to parallel 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 almost pitch dark when we checked in. 


But I assure you, it is a completely different 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 were omnipresent. 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 had a full sized bed, a dresser, nightstand and also led to the bathroom. There was 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 was already in the cabin.



It turned out pretty good and the bonus was 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 the 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 our cabin for a good amount of time during our trip since it was so cold outside and watched some Disney movies that were on TV. We watched Finding Dory, Mulan, Captain America, and more from their TV.


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 most of our breakfast morning 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 in the cabin. 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

Read about my latest adventures and blog posts by visiting my blog page: http://www.sanluisobispomom.com/blog.php

Read About Our Other Travel Adventures and Reviews:

• Birthday Weekend at LEGOLAND Castle Hotel Review and LEGOLAND California Amusement Park Review
• Birthday Celebration at Great Wolf Lodge in Southern California
• Alaska Cruise on Princess Cruise for 11 Days
• Ensenada Cruise on Carnival Cruise for 3 Days
• Ensenada and Catalina Island Cruise on Royal Caribbean for 4 Days
• Moon Palace The Grand Family Summer Vacation in Cancun for 5 Days
• Universal Studios Hollywood Family Trip During Spring Break

I'm a veteran's wife so every year for the last 13 years, I go on a list hunt ahead of time to find free things for my special veteran on Veteran's Day. This year, Veteran's Day is Tues., November 11, 2025. Keep scrolling to see the list.

Major chains are usually very consistent with offering free meals for veterans and active military on Veteran's Day. Keep scrolling to see the list that I've compiled for San Luis Obispo County and nearby. 

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 2025 but it is usually an ongoing annual offer that they do and sometimes their corporate or marketing team might be last minute about posting them. 

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. The one located in Arroyo Grande closed down so you'll have to go to the Great Clips in Atascadero or drive to the next county over for the Santa Maria location.
2. Participating Sports Clips is offering a free haircut to veterans on Veteran's Day.
3. All State Parks in California, including Oceano Dunes SVRA will offer free admission on Veteran's Day to veterans who were not dishonorably discharged. Proof is required.
4. A Free Original Wash (car wash) from Sunset North Car Wash & Detail Center is being offered to veterans and active-duty service members on Veteran's Day. They have three locations: San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande and Paso Robles.
5. Discounted tickets to a veteran and up to 5 guests at Knott's Berry Farm for particular days. Now that we are here on the Central Coast, we can drive a few hours south to Knott's Berry Farm in Orange County. Spouses and children are not eligible to purchase these discount tickets without the military member present. The dates to get the military rate for tickets is between Nov 3 - 20, 2025 for Monday - Thursday visits only. They are $25 each and can be purchased on this link with veteran verification.
6. Free red, white & blueberry pancakes to veterans and active duty at IHOP on Veteran's Day, Nov. 11, 2025 at all participating IHOPs around the nation between 7AM - 7PM. Dine in only.
7. Free first 6oz of yogurt at Menchie's Frozen Yogurt for veterans on Veteran's Day. There is a Menchie's location in Arroyo Grande in San Luis Obispo County.
8. Free HOT-N-READY lunch combo at Little Caesar's between 11AM - 2PM to veterans on Veteran's Day. Must mention offer and proof of service when ordered at the check out counter. They usually don't announce it until a couple days before online. (To be confirmed)
9. Free 10 boneless wings and fries for veteran's on Veteran's Day at Buffalo Wild Wings. Free boneless wings and fries are valid at participating locations on 11/11/25 for all past and present armed services members. Must show valid proof of service. Dine in only.
10. Free In-N-Out complimentary meal for veterans on Veteran's Day. This Veterans Day, Tuesday, Nov. 11, In-N-Out Burger will show its appreciation for all veterans, active-duty military, reserves and National Guard by offering a complimentary meal, including any burger, fries, and beverage on In-N-Out Burger’s menu. U.S. veterans and active duty-military are respectfully asked to present proof of military service to receive the complimentary made-to-order meal of choice offered at all In-N-Out Burger locations open from 10:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
11. 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. The closest Applebee's is in Santa Maria, in the next county over.
12. Free meal at Golden Corral from 5PM - closing for veterans. The closest Golden Corral to SLO is in Santa Maria, California (in the next county over). Golden Corral locations usually have their free meal offers on the Monday closest to Veteran's Day so it is not always on the actual Veteran's Day. However, for 2025, they are actually having it on Tuesday, November 11, 2025 for dinner time.
13. Free meal to veterans at Olive Garden from a selected menu on Veteran's Day. Let them know that you have a veteran with you and they will present a special menu that the veteran can pick from. 
14. 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 4 to choose from: https://www.chilis.com/restaurant-events/veterans-day.
15. All veterans and active duty get a free Build Your Own Grand Slam at Denny's on Veteran's Day. Offer is only valid from 5AM - noon for dine in.
16. All veterans get a free tall coffee at Starbucks on Veteran's Day. They always offer this freebie every year for Veteran's Day, but don't announce it until a couple of days before.
17. Krispy Kreme is offering a free doughnut and free small coffee to veterans on Veteran's Day. The closest Krispy Kreme to us is in Santa Maria, in the next county over.
18. Gilroy Gardens (about 3 hours drive away from SLO going North)Military, veterans, ER professionals and first responders enter FREE November 8-9 & 11! Plus, bring up to six (6) family members or friends for just $15 (up to $65 off General Admission). Must show valid ID or proof of service. These tickets are available at Front Gate only. Details on Gilroy Gardens website.
19. Aquarium of the Pacific (about 3 hours drive away from SLO going South) is offering limited free tickets to veterans and active-duty military on Veteran's Day from 9AM - 6PM. You cannot get these tickets at the gate as it requires Advance Reservation on the Aquarium of the Pacific's website.

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! Here's the final product.
 (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.