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(Photo above is of the Pismo Beach Coastline during one of my hikes at Pismo Preserve.)

As a transplant from San Diego, moving to a small city from a bigger beach town gives me a different perspective. I'm used to the beach life but I've put my feet in the water here in Pismo Beach more than I have in the 29 years that I used to live in San Diego. That's because, hanging out at the beach here is so easy! And because, well, I have more time to enjoy the SLO life here.

During the summer months, most college kids go back to their hometowns and footprints are replaced by tourists by all over the world. It's fun to see the change but I've got to say, the college kids who come back to SLO to study are way more chill than the tourists who come here with their families during the holiday and vacation seasons. I'd expect the opposite but that's not the case here from what I've personally experienced.

The college kids here frequent Downtown San Luis Obispo and hang out at the weekly Thursday farmers market and study at local coffee shops. There is not a shortage of coffee shops in SLO, thankfully! They'd also hang out in Pismo Beach, which is probably the most famous beach on the Central Coast of California. I am going to be honest that I am very biased with this.

I've been approached by many parents asking me what I think about San Luis Obispo for their future and current college kids and I've got plenty of great things to say! Of course, there would be headlines here and there about trouble but compared to many colleges in California, San Luis Obispo is relatively mild with trouble making episodes. Plus, there are lots of outdoorsy things for them to do to keep their mental health in check.

Here's a list of suggestions for college kids to do or places to hang out in San Luis Obispo County:

1. Hang out at Pismo Beach. With a long pier, a nice beach walk trail and an amazing Central Coast view, anyone would feel at peace coming here. They're famous for their clam chowder at the local Splash Cafe near the pier and the big and freshly baked cinnamon rolls at Old West Cinnamon Rolls will satisfy a sweet tooth. There are also many souvenir shops and other restaurants to choose from for breakfast, lunch or dinner. See pictures that I've taken at Pismo Beach under the 'Beaches' category of my blog. I walk along Pismo Beach often and have seen really cool sea creatures like whales, sea lions and by-the-wind-sailors. What's also more unique about Pismo Beach is you'd see many white Pismo clams, even large ones that are more than 3 inches, by just casually walking on the beach.
   
   
   
2. Go to the Weekly Farmers Market in Downtown San Luis Obispo in Thursday. The farmers market in downtown SLO on Thursday evenings are fun. There's usually a band playing and walking by lots of local produce options encourages me to make healthy picks for our future meals. There are usually also many fun street food booths with different cuisines. My favorite is usually Shalimar's booth. On particular dates, they'd have themed nights for holidays and special events. When some events at the Downtown SLO Farmers Market are coming up soon, I usually list these special events in chronological order under the Event List page.
   
3. Check out the wine tasting rooms in San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles. Checking out the vineyards in the area can be a very beautiful experience right before harvest season. Paso Robles is a famous wine country now with over 300 wineries and it's located within San Luis Obispo County. You can view my top 10 favorite wine tasting rooms as a resident of the area. Remember, you have to be 21 and older to consume wine but I've seen many older college kids enjoy a wine tasting outing with their parents and I think it's so classy and fun to see them share that local experience. The wine tasting experience out here is drastically different than the Temecula and Napa Valley wine tasing experiences that I've had. It's typically less rowdy herel!
   
   
4. Hike at Montana de Oro. There are many beautiful hiking trails here in San Luis Obispo County but the one that most residents and tourists will rave about is the Montana de Oro hike! The beautiful coastal view, cliffs, nature will take your breath away. Make sure you have your appropriate hiking or trail shoes on and water. I recommend that you also pack a picnic or lunch as well. Here's a clip from my hike at Montana de Oro below.
   
5. Go camping at Oceano Dunes. One of the rare things about living around here is you can drive on the beach on half of the Grover Beach side and all of the Oceano on the beach. You can buy a day pass for $5 or a camping pass to stay overnight for just $10 (this rate may increase over time)! I've camped with a tent here with my family and you can't beat camping literally on the beach. It's a wonderful way to watch the sunset. Like Pismo Beach, Oceano and Grover Beach are located on the South County part of San Luis Obispo County.
   
   
6. Watch a movie at Sunset Drive In. Sunset Drive In is one of the last outdoor drive-in movie theaters left in this country (U.S.A). It's rare to find one in any town. Fortunately, San Luis Obispo's Sunset Drive In has been around for years and they are still going strong! You get to watch two of the latest movies for one price. I love coming here with my family and I imagine coming here with friends is just as fun.
   
   You can bring your own food and drinks. The most important thing to remember is to bring your own portable radio to hear the sound for the movie. You do not want to use the radio from your vehicle as it could drain your car battery and leave you stranded! Read more about my experience at Sunset Drive-In Theater and more tips. I also posted a reel about my recent Sunset Drive In experience via instagram. See my Sunset Drive In reel on IG.
7. Visit the elephant seals in San Simeon. Not only is San Simeon, where the famous Hearst Castle is located, is within San Luis Obispo County, you can also watch many sea creatures in their natural habitat around here. I had mentioned in the top item above that that I've seen whales, by-the-wind sailors (Velella Velella), and sea lions just by walking up and down the Pismo Beach shore during one of my routine leisurely walks. I also suggest going a bit north within the county like San Simeon to see the magnificent elephant seals in their natural habitat there too. It's very humbling when you're able to experience watching animals outside a zoo and aquarium. It's a reminder that this world is for all of us, and not just human beings.
   
   We usually see at least 50 of them when we go to the Elephant Seal rookery in San Simeon called Piedras Blancas Rookery. Read about my day visiting Hearst Castle and the Elephant Seals in San Simeon.
8. Visit the iconic Madonna Inn. Madonna Inn is a motel (doors to room are facing outside) and also has two restaurants on property: Copper Cafe and Gold Rush Steak house!
   
   If you love eccentric architecture and all things pink, this is the place for you! I've dined at Copper Cafe many times for special occasions and also had two Madonna Inn staycations!
   
   I've also dined here for a company banquet for my husband's work so my experience is very versatile over the years as a resident! Whether you are staying there or dining there, you can always walk around the main property during their business hours to shop for souvenirs at their two gift shops (one on the second story and one in the cellar). The men often like to rave about their restroom experience in the cellar but I'll leave that up to you to discover as I can't go in there as a woman. Read all of my blog entries about Madonna Inn. If you happen to squeeze in a visit to Madonna Inn, don't forget to try their famous Pink Champagne Cake!

[ Note: This blog post is under progress. I will have this list grow to 10 items by the end of September. ]

Last month in July, my family and I went to Cancun, Mexico and stayed at the all-inclusive Finest Playa Mujeres for one week! It was hot and humid and I was in my bathing suit almost every day to cool down in the pool! I especially enjoyed seeing iguanas just roaming freely all over the resort!

It was a very wonderful vacation that we had and with the weather alway melting my make-up off, I opted to not wear foundation for most of my time there. There was only one night when I wore foundation and it was for the Fiesta night at the resort! While in Cancun, we also went on a tour bus to several xenotes (cenotes) on a Xenotes Tour and visited Xenses. It made this trip even more memorable as my kids were finally old enough to on adventures like this with us and it helped us bond in a different way!

Building 1 at Finest Mujeres

Our room at Finest Playa Mujeres was in Building #1 on the top floor! One quirk that I want to point out right off the bat is that the resort does not make the Ground Floor the first floor with the signage on the building. They label the 2nd floor the First Floor. So if you want to get to the second floor from the elevator, ignore the sign that is right outside the elevator to avoid confusion. I know that sounds weird. So, there was ground floor, then 1st floor, then 2nd floor, then 3rd floor, then 4th floor and lastly, 5th floor. So, at this building at the resort for this particular elevator, we had to get to the 5th floor so we pressed 5 on the elevator. Then, as soon as we got out of the elevator, we saw a sign that says 4th Floor, but it should have been labeled 5th Floor. At first I thought maybe this is how Mexico labeled their floors, but I stayed at Moon Palace The Grand in Cancun several months ago and the elevators were labeled "correctly". I'm not sure if the weird labeling was only for Building 1 of Finest Playa Mujeres but since we're staying at this particular building, we had to adjust pretty quickly.

Once we got to our room at Finest Playa Mujeres, I immediately knew the large balcony with the comfortable lounge beds were going to be my favorite spots. Here's the video that I captured of our balcony below. It had the view of the large pool! We selected the "Junior Suite Spa or Pool View" and it's the lowest tier room type that we could pick from. I was pretty impressed!

Here are a couple of pictures of my view looking down from the balcony of our room. I was definitely on a tropical vacation at a tropical destination!


There were many pools scattered around the resort but we mainly just hung out at this pool right by our building, Building 1. It was also the longest pool and located away from the main areas so we really enjoyed it. We also liked seeing the iguanas hanging out around there.

Main Areas and Night Shows at Finest Playa Mujeres

There were several restaurants to pick from that were complimentary with our stay. I ate so much! The buffet, Asian restaurant, seafood restaurant and steak house were my favorites!

We didn't eat at Legends but there were free arcade games inside there.

The resort is located at the Playa Mujeres beach so we could walk to the beach every day if we wanted to. At the main pool, there was a swim-up bar on the family-friendly side and another one on the adults only side. There was a daily itinerary that included a fitness class in the morning. One of the mornings there, I attended a yoga class at the beach. I was a bit lost but found my way and joined in after being a minute late! The instructor was very cool about it. She taught in both Spanish and English.

I also went to the fitness room that was located next to the lobby for a few days out of the week to get some cardio work outs in.

Finest Playa Mujeres is a large resort but not too large where we couldn't walk comfortable around as abled individuals. I was impressed by the nightly shows that they had there for the guests. All of the night shows were free at night. As an all inclusive resort, I didn't have to bring my wallet because all the food and drinks were free. However, every night at the shows, I brought my phone to take pictures with and my mosquito repellent spray! The spray had been my savior as the mosquitos like to get me and leave me with itchy and painful marks. I couldn't completely deter them, but this definitely protected me most of the time! I came home with just 10 red marks but it easily could have been 50 if I didn't bring the mosquito repellent spray.

There was only one night that Finest Playa Mujeres didn't have a show and that's because they had their weekly Fiesta night for guests to enjoy amazing authenic Mexican food with walking characters on stilts and fun activities at the fiesta area. I really loved this family-friendly party night!

Xenotes Tour as a Family

We left the Finest Playa Mujeres resort only twice during our entire week stay. The first time we left was for the Xenotes Tour where we traveled by bus to 4 different xenotes (cenotes) locations! This tour was definitely for the more adventurous and abled body. My father-in-law had a bad knee and even though we all had life jackets on, he didn't feel comfortable swimming at the xenotes with us so he stood on the sidelines and watched us ziplined, swam and snorkeled. They had a photographer come with us during the trip and we could choose to bring our water-proof phone, if we have one, or stow it away and have the photographer take the pictures from his professional camera. You just pay a photo package fee at the end if you choose to buy all of the digital pictures of your family from the photographer. I wanted to enjoy my hours there on this once in a lifetime adventure so I put my phone away and we purchased the pictures from the photograher at the end. It was worth it to me!

Xenses Park

Unfortunately, I didn't have any pictures at Xenses! I thought that I would have time to buy a photos package at the end and since we were going to get wet at the activities at half of the park there, I locked up my phone to keep it safe. I felt that the 3 hours there was not enough time to not feel rushed with our bus transporation. However, I do recommend coming here if you want to feel a bit of magic and have a sensory adventure with sound, textures, walking in the dark for 10 minutes and using your other senses to get you out of a jungle. 

Read About All of Our Travel Adventures and Reviews:

• Moon Palace The Grand Family Summer Vacation in Cancun for 5 Days


• Ensenada Cruise on Carnival Cruise for 3 Days


• Ensenada and Catalina Island Cruise on Royal Caribbean for 4 Days


• Alaska Cruise on Princess Cruise for 11 Days


• Cabin Trip in Monterey


• Birthday Weekend at LEGOLAND Castle Hotel Review and LEGOLAND California Amusement Park Review


• Birthday Celebration at Great Wolf Lodge in Southern California


• Universal Studios Hollywood Family Trip During Spring Break


• Staycations at the Iconic Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo on the Central Coast of California: Madonna Inn’s San Francisco Room Review OR Madonna Inn’s Antique Room Review


• Staycation at the Granada Hotel & Bistro in Downtown San Luis Obispo


• Staycation at La Quinta Inn in Downtown San Luis Obispo


• Staycation in Atascadero at The Carlton Review

What To Bring to Cancun:

• Bug Repellent Spray - Especially in the summer time, the mosquitos in Cancun can be bothersome. I didn't bring my wallet around the resort, but I definitely brought my bug spray. The exact kind that I use was the white OFF! Clean Feel Insect Repellent bottle. If you're not a fan of sprays, you can try the Mosquito Repellent Patch Sticks for Adults, Toddlers, Kids and Camping.


• Mineral Sunscreen for the Sensitive Skin for Kids - One of my kids have sensitive skin so I buy the sensitive-friendly kind that that is non-spray for kids and also use the same one for myself. 


• Waterproof Pouch for Phone - I bought waterproof pouch for my phone at the mall, but didn't end up using it. However, it is smart to have a waterproof pouch if you like to carry it around with you while you're in the water or you're a clumsy person.


• Hats for Shade - It's super sunny and hot in Cancun during the summer. Having a hat while I'm hanging out outside made it much more bearable and enjoyable for me.

One of my favorite ways to watch a movie is going to the Sunset Movie Drive-In Theater in San Luis Obispo for some outdoor movie watching.

It's a great alternative way to watch the latest movie instead of sitting in an indoor stuffy room. Don't get me wrong, I still go to the indoor movie theaters as they have more options for the latest movie selections than the outdoor drive-in theater experience. However, going to this local drive-in reminds me of camping a bit and I love it!

Read my reviews for the following two indoor movie theaters in San Luis Obispo County:
• Regal Cinemas Arroyo Grande
• The Movie Experience in Downtown San Luis Obispo

When we go to the Sunset Drive-In, for one price, we get to watch the two movies that are showing for that night. Therefore, it is a much better deal if you don't mind not having the option to pick which two movies they are. Every week, there is a new schedule so you'll have to go on their website to see the latest line up.

The showings are late at night because you can't see anything on the screen until it is dark, which makes sense. Like many other traditional drive-ins, what I really love about going to the Sunset Drive-In is that I'm allowed to bring my own food and drinks and watch the movies in the comfort of my car. Like, I could bring Chinese take out and not worry about strangers smelling it!

I highly recommend coming to the drive-in if you have fussy kids who can not keep still in a regular indoor movie theater or even for date nights with someone you're comfortable with spending hours in the car with. I also love the nostalgia value this Sunset Drive-In has, especially when we're watching the concession stand commercials. So, if you want to experience a unique way to watch movies, this is a very classic option.

Many movie drive-ins from around the U.S. have gone out of business so it is a gift that San Luis Obispo still has this one!

What To Bring To an Outdoor Movie Drive In

If you've never been to a drive-in before, here are some tips on what to bring to a movie drive-in:

• Portable Radio - You don't want to use your car radio to listen to the sound for the movie at the drive-in because you can drain your battery and be left stranded! An old fashion small portable radio is all you need. When I last went to the drive-in, there was no phone app that could provide the right local station to hear the movie so an old fashion portable radio is very much needed.
• Extra Batteries for Radio - If it's been awhile since you've used that portable radio, bring extra batteries so that you can swap out old batteries when you need to. 
• Bring Cash! Sunset Drive-In in SLO only accepts cash as payment for tickets and at their lobby store. If you don't have cash to buy tickets, you may be holding up the line as you enter and not be able to watch the movies there. So, go to the local ATM ahead of time to get some cash money.
• Lawn Chairs - Only bring lawn chairs if you want to sit outside of your car and not inside your car. I always prefer to sit inside of my car but I've seen small groups of people who like to sit in their lawn chairs instead.
• Blanket and/or Pillow - Sometimes it can be cold inside the car and having a blanket over my legs gives me a lot of comfort. Depending on the angle of your wind shield, having a pillow helps with an awkward neck position and aids in relaxation.
• Snacks and Drinks - At the Sunset Drive-In Movie Theater, you can bring your own food and drinks. Pack some of the snacks you already have at home to save money and time! The lines at the concession stand can get long. I usually bring my own big bag of chips!

Reading Suggestions:

• Read about my The Movie Experience in Downtown SLO Review. The movie theatre is literally called The Movie Experience.


• Read about my Regal Cinemas Arroyo Grande Review. They also have an arcade inside this theatre.

I saw whales from the Pismo Beach Pier during my regular walks yesterday! I've never seen this many whales before out here on the Central Coast and I was so happy that I was able to capture some videos. A couple of weeks ago, I went on vacation to Alaska and saw humpback whales on an excursion. (You can read about my Alaska Cruise Vacation to see a video of the humpbacks I saw.) We paid over $100 a ticket for that excursion which makes me laugh now because I was able to just watch it for free in my area on the pier in Pismo Beach. 

Here's the short video on Youtube that I created below of the whales that I saw from standing on the Pismo Beach Pier.

At some point in the video, you can see a cluster of them breaching at the same time! There were dozens of other people watching the whales from the pier as well. That made it even more fun! Walking on the Pismo Beach Pier is always free and with my zoom feature on my phone, I was able to record and kind of use it as my binoculars at the same time!

If you have an instagram account, I also created a video reel of the whales I saw from Pismo Beach Pier. Here is the link to the instagram video of the whales making their breach in Pismo Beach.

Tips for Whale Watching:

• If you're lucky and it's whale season, you could watch the whales for free at Pismo Beach Pier. Unless you really want a chance to be a couple of feet away, sometimes watching from a safer distance suffices your desire to see them and you don't need to be on a boat.
• Carry binoculars with you and make sure the strap is around your neck. You don't want to accidentally drop it in the ocean!
• Be patient and consistently watch. You can't expect to see them like fireworks being lit consistently. Whales are sea creatures and in nature, they breach to the surface on their own time.
• Take videos as well as pictures so that you don't miss a great shot at the right split second!

Reading Suggestions:

• For the last few spring seasons, I've see Velella Velella, also known as by-the-wind-sailors, washed up in Pismo Beach. See pictures and videos that I captured of Velella Velella in Pismo Beach.


• See all beach pictures that I've taken in San Luis Obispo County.

We drove 1 hour yesterday to specifically go to the Lompoc Aquatic Center to enjoy their two hours of recreation time that the City of Lompoc reserves for families and recreational play each day in the summer! The kids really had a great time!

It had waterslides on either end of the pool area. On the far end, the kids would have to be at least 48 inches to ride those waterslides. If they were not tall enough, they could go on the smaller ones on the opposite side. Even though it was a far drive, I felt that it was worth it since adult admission was only $5 and for youth is $4.50. So, the cost for me and two kids was only $14. My kids usually get tired of playing after awhile so I felt like two hours was enough water play!

It was busy day there when we came. It's a Friday during the summer break and the day after 4th of July. When I was doing my research on Google Maps, they said the place is only open on Saturday and Sundays but when I went to the City of Lompoc's official website, it stated that it's open every day for Recreational Swim from 1PM - 3PM during the summer until early August, except for 4th of July, of course. I'm glad I checked the City of Lompoc's official website for that info or I wouldn't have taken my kids there and missed out on some fun!

Sitting areas were limited there but I saw a mom brought her lawn chair and I thought that was smart. I just laid a towel on the ground and sat with our stuff while the kids had some play time. There was a shallower end there at the pool and they separated it with a rope to signify to the swimmers that the other side is the deeper end. On the shallow end, there were a lot of babies and toddlers with their parents. Typically, I would go in the pool for almost the entire time with my kids at other government-owned pools but it was so crowded and my kids are big enough to stand at both ends for this particular pool that I decided to just enter the pool when necessary to help my kids, which was very minimal. I was very impressed by the number of lifeguards that they had there! The lifeguards were very good about watching the kids and making sure that they followed the safety rules around the pool and down the waterslides.

Closer to my house, I've been to the Ravine Waterpark in Paso Robles (read my Ravine Waterpark Review) and Mustang Waterpark in Arroyo Grande (read my Mustang Waterpark Review) that are both located in San Luis Obispo County during the summer time for previous summers, but this Lompoc Aquatic Center in the next county over (in Santa Barbara County) is a great alternative for my kids. It's indoors, city-run and less intimidating than the water parks! I could find my kids across the way within a glance here. Even though it's only open for 2 hours a day for recreational swim, that's enough for us and it only costed $14 total for the 3 of us. It's definitely more centered for kids, especially with the water depth being shallow on pretty much half of the recreation pool. My kids enjoyed it so much that they want to come back to the Lompoc Aquatic Center again this the summer and maybe we could invite some good friends along, too!

Address of City of Lompoc's Aquatic Center: 207 W College Ave, Lompoc, CA 93436

Tips:

• Even though the Lompoc Aquatic Center is indoors, the ceilings are see-through so the sun does shine through and I still applied sunscreen on my kids. I typically buy the mineral sunscreen that is made for sensitive skin because my older son breaks out in hives with the regular sunscreens.
• My kids usually prefer to swim with goggles because the chlorine in the pool can sometimes irritate their eyes and they like to see under water. Don't forget to bring those kids googles if it gives them more courage!
• Bring dry clothes to change into after they are done with the pool. I think having kids sit in the car in their wet swim clothes with just a towel while driving home is uncomfortable for kids and can make them grumpy. Taking the extra time to pack their dry clothes is a game changer! I usually have my kids pick their set of dry clothes and then I just put them in the same tote bag that I put their snacks in.
• My kids always get super hungry after a couple of hours in the pool, even if they ate right before they went into the pool. I usually throw the following snacks into my bag for public pool days: Goldfish crackers, Ritz crackers, potato chips, granola bars and bananas. At the Lompoc Aquatic Center, I carried the snacks in my tote bag and I just had them sit out of the pool next to me against the wall so that the crumbs don't fall into the water.
• If you're looking for a place that is a true waterpark that both adults and kids can enjoy, there is a waterpark in Arroyo Grande called Mustang Waterpark and another waterpark more north called Ravine Waterpark in Paso Robles. Both places have waterslides but the Ravine Waterpark is definitely bigger than Mustang Waterpark. I've rented cabanas at both of these waterpark before. Read my reviews for both places. 
  • Mustang Waterpark Arroyo Grande Review
  • Ravine Waterpark Paso Robles Review