San Luis Obispo County Finds

1. Thursday night -- 6pm to 10pm -- Farmer''s Market on the main street, Higuera, of San Luis Obispo where local farmers, businesses, and artisans bring their wares for display and sale.

2. A tri-tip sandwich at the Farmer''s Market prepared outdoors on large grills with heavenly smells that cover the entire downtown area.

3. Drive along the isolated rocky coast of Montano de Oro State Park that runs from Los Osos almost to Shell Beach, though it''s only one way in and out along winding road through coastal bent oak trees.

4. A stroll along Morro Bay coastal promenade and sampling the local seafoods.

5. Driving out to Morro rock and learning its origins.

6. Visiting the many wineries located along Highway 101 and off the main road

7. Visiting Gum Alley in downtown San Luis Obispo, a true testiment to college ingenuity.

8. Seeing the water wheel and eating apple anything at The Apple Farm in SLO

9. Visit to Hearst Castle

10. Walk the campus of California Polytechnic State University

Quick Tips:

If you are planning to visit this area in summer months or weekends, check to see if your dates coincide with graduation, move-in, or Poly Royal weekends at Cal Poly University. There isn''t a hotel room in miles to be had within months of any of these events. This is a place to kick back and take your time - S.L.O. If you want bright lights and big city, this is not your place. If you want rolling green countrysides and open spaces with fresh air, enjoy!

Best Way To Get Around:

Because San Luis Obispo County is located halfway between San Francisco and Los Angles about 1 1/2 hours north of Santa Barbara on Highway 101, there are not a lot of public transportation systems running here. A car is the easiest and best way to fully enjoy the surrounding areas. Amtrak service does run through San Luis Obispo County but it is lengthy and often involves riding a bus for part of the way.

The Apple Farm Inn is an elegant Victorian styled hotel located in the scenic mission town of San Luis Obispo on California's central coast. It is less than an hour from Hearst Castle, Big Sur, Moro Bay, and in the center of the central coast wine region with many local vineyards.

There are two areas within the hotel complex. The main building is where the reception/reservation check-in area is located as well as the largest number of rooms. There is also a separate and more traditional motorcourt-style building called the Trellis,where the rooms are smaller and less expensive. All the rooms in the hotel have fireplaces and many come with turret seating, window seats, and canopy beds. A gift shop, restaurant, working water wheel, and a garden area with large porch swing are all on-site. It's all very charming.

Upon entering our room in the Trellis section, we found it perfect for our mother-and-daughter trip. It was decorated in a pink floral pattern and had white and black accents. As my daugther said, "this place is just too cute and perfect". The room was small, as was the bathroom, but still large enough for two beds complete with comforters and fluffy pillows. There was a stylish wooden desk and other cabinetry that was above your run-of-the-mill hotel furnishings. Small details such as Victorian wall lamps, bedside flowers, and sinkside soaps made it very special. We probably had one of the least expensive rooms in the Inn (it was a Sunday night and we'd only reserved a day or two ahead of time) but we were thrilled with our find.It was a perfect spot to bed down for the night after a very full day on the road.

Once settled into our room, we walked across the parking lot to enjoy our first treat of dining at the Apple Farm Restaurant (see separate article in this journal). We gabbed the night away, ate until we were over-full, and then returned to our pretty pink room for the night.

No detail is left unattended to at the Apple Farm Inn. The service is superb, the quality and decorations are top-notch, and the charm is unmatched. It will bring a smile to your face too!

Be sure to make your reservation early because this place is very popular and fills up fast (we got lucky!).

Though technically Santa Maria is in Santa Barbara County, it is only a couple of miles south of the San Luis Obispo County line. This steakhouse and saloon is a rustic western look place complete with peanut shells on the floor. It's a fun atmosphere that begins as soon as you are seated where each table holds a small silver pail or two filled with roasted peanuts in the shells.

As you peruse the menu, peanuts become the appetizer with the wonderfully relaxing and jovial activity of throwing your shells on the floor. A peanut shell toss at fellow diners at your table is bound to break out.

The interior is dim with open heavy beamed ceilings and rustic wooden booths and tables. Waitresses are dressed in jeans and the atmosphere puts you right at ease.

The menu consists of appetizers like their house specialty, Honeysuckle Rose - a sweet onion battered and fried, ranging in price from $3.99 (cheese fries) to $8.59 (half order baby back ribs). There is also an assortment of steaks, prime rib, burgers, salads, and even pork chops, mesquite grilled salmon and shrimp, and two chicken dishes. The prices of the entrees run from $6.99 to $18.99.

Our table was in the sandwich mood, sampling their bacon cheeseburger, grilled chicken sandwich, and Roadhouse Club. All were very happy with the quantity and quality. We had enough to take part of it home for a later snack. Along with the sandwiches were seasoned french fries that were a bit salty but very tasty. Some of the best fries eaten recently.

Novelty named mixed drinks are on the menu like Hillbilly Punch and Luckenbach Lemonade. Lemonades are served in Mason canning jars for a down-home touch. Our table all ordered root beers. Two of us said we wanted the Henry's Rootbeer while the others just said root beer. What we found out was that the Henry's was bottled Henry Weinhardt's and was wonderfully smooth and superior to the tap root beer the others got.

None of us had room for dessert, but if stomach space allows there is a homemade seasonal fruit cobbler $3.49 and a Roadhourse Brownie Sundae $3.99. They even have a general store selling shirts, hats, and Roadhouse Steak knives.

We had seen this restaurant in a shopping center that borders Highway 101 and ended up here when we couldn't locate the restaurant we'd set out to eat at. It was a pleasant substitute and a place I'm sure we'll frequent again.

Visiting Pismo Beach and don't want to get dressed up to go out? A visit to the Famous Splash Cafe located in a row of souvenir and boutique type shops at the base of the Pismo Beach pier is where to go. Don't let the lines out front scare you off, it's worth the wait. This ultra casual seafood cafe is well known for its fabulous clam chowder. The place is small, but the staff is efficient and the lines spilling out the door onto the sidewalk, where you get a view of the pier and beach, move very quickly.

We wanted a quick, filling, delicious, non-fussy meal and the Splash Cafe was perfect. It was not only filling, delicious, and very reasonably priced, but it was a lot of fun as well.

Upon entering the cafe it seems more like a take-out fast food eatery. You can order and pick up at the front counter or make your way through the crowded, noisy, concrete floored entrance to the dining area in the back where you can wait your turn at a small table. We secured a three seater bistro elevated style, perfect for our fun meal. The energy level and positive vibes are very uplifting not bothersome.

We all ordered the same, New England clam chowder in a bread bowl. Both the bread and the chowder were some of the best I've ever eaten. Our total bill (including tax and tip) for 3 comfortably full people was under $20. There are several other seafood items on the menu, but the chowder is what most people come for.

On your way out you can even purchase a container of the creamy steamy chowder to take home to enjoy later. No vacation to the Pismo Beach area should be without a stop at the Famous Splash Cafe. I can see why they are a landmark and sell 10,000 gallons of the stuff each year. Magazines like Bon Appetit and Gourmet have even asked for their recipe. Yummy!

The Apple Farm Inn and Restaurant is the destination for many travelers going California's Central Coast. It's a great place to have a weekend away with the most difficult decision you'll have to make is what you'll choose to eat from their extensive menu.

The Apple Farm Restaurant features down-home cooking in an elegant casual setting. It is located in a separate building at the front of the property of the Apple Farm Inn. It's easy to get to, take the Monterey St. exit on Highway 101 in San Luis Obispo and it's on your left. Parking in their lot is ample, but it does become difficult on weekend mornings or Cal Poly University busy weekends (located several blocks from the Inn).

The decor of the restaurant is Victorian/Turn of the Century. As you check in for seating you are tempted by many wonderful home-baked pastries and the gift shop that contains everything under the sun relating to apples. You could do your entire Christmas shopping in this one location.

The dining rooms are dimly lit setting a tone for relaxed enjoyment. The front room is rectangular in shape and very ordinary in appearance, but the back room is magnificent. It has an octgonally shaped domed ceiling with Victorian styled fabrics and windows all around giving view to the beautiful gardens and trees outside. Each table has a small Tiffany-styled lamp. The ambiance beckons you to linger a while and catch up with family and friends.

The menu consists of all those homestyle things Grandma used to make such as: chicken and dumplings, pot pies, roast beef, prime rib, homemade soups, turkey and dressing, and seafoods. Having dessert here is a must - homemade apple pie, apple dumplings to die for, apple cobbler, apple strudel, etc. My mouth is watering as I write this.

You can spend a little if you go for dessert only or you can spend more if you opt for a full scale meal and dessert. We've been to this restaurant many times, it's a have-to when visiting San Luis Obispo, and have never had a bad meal. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

If you're looking for a special place to stay while in San Luis Obispo, SLO - and that's the feeling you get when you arrive - walk a few steps behind the restaurant and you are at the Apple Farm Inn. I only have one word for it - WONDERFUL!

Having driven through Arroyo Grande on Highway 101 many times, I didn''t realize there was an old town section to this quaint central California coast town.

Arroyo Grande is located 15 miles south of San Luis Obispo, 15 miles north of Santa Maria, and two miles east of the Pacific Ocean, just off the 101 Freeway. It''s halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Exiting the freeway east on Branch Street in Arroyo Grande, you come to a small downtown section with a main street and boutique type shops.

Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe in the center of town on Branch Street has been an establishment since 1901. This is one of two old fashioned butcher shops in Arroyo Grande, the other being on the ocean, west side of the freeway. Here you can give you desires to the proprietor and they will hand cut you a steak, roast, etc. to meet your specific needs. They even had a large goose in the display cooler ready for someone''s holiday table. It''s definitely personalized service.

The downtown section of town has restaurants including Mexican food, and antique, wine, and gift shops. There''s even one called the Re-Entry Shop for recycled goods. At the far end of Branch Street (about a block or two) there is a street accurately named Short Street, since it only goes a few feet to a small parking lot. Even though it seems to have gotten it''s name from its size, it actually is named for the family, the Shorts, who''s land was located here split by the Arroyo Grande Creek.

The creek is spanned by a historic swinging bridge built in 1875. It is purported to be the only one of its kind in California. The swinging bridge is 171 feet long and 40 feet above the creek. You can walk across the bridge to the small museum located in the nicely maintained Santa Manuela Schoolhouse.

This section of the California central coast holds many intriguing stops along the highway. You never know what old Arroyo Grande holds for you from the freeway and the reverse is true as well. They seem like two different worlds side by side.

The area around the downtown holds many vineyards where wine tastings take place. Two within Arroyo Grande itself are the Laetitia Vineyards and the Tally Vineyards. The village of Arroyo Grande may be small, only five square miles, but it has a charm and character all its own.