San Luis Obispo, California

April 26 - 28, 2013

Reunited and it feels so good!  It was Alana's last weekend in California before heading back home (Boston) - so since she was in LA and I was in the bay area we decided to meet at the half way point of San Luis Obispo (aka SLO).

SLO is a college town (home of Cal Poly) and has a relaxed beachy feel to it (probably since Pismo and Avila are only 10-15 minutes away).  It has amazing food and is the perfect getaway for nor cal and so cal people.

I left work about 3:30pm on Friday and expected to hit traffic until at least Gilroy.  Luckly traffic on the 101 wasn't too bad and I was able to make it to SLO around 6:45pm.  We stayed at the Quality Suites Inn on Monterey Road which was about a 3minute drive from downtown.  The hotel rooms are a dated - however - the services and location of the hotel make it an exceptional place to stay.  The hotel offers a free shuttle service to multiple places throughout SLO - between the hours of 9am - 10pm.  There is also a manager's reception host every night between 5:30 - 7:30 - offering free snacks, beer and wine.

The first night in SLO we had the hotel drive us downtown and ate at Ciopinot.  It is an upscale seafood restaurant.  We got their about 8:15 and did not have to wait for a table -- however it was 90% packed so if you are looking to eat here it would be a smart move to make a reservation.  For an appetizer Alana and I split an order of the crab cakes.  They were good - mostly crab not breading which is always good.  For our main meal we both wanted cioppino but we did not think we could eat a full order - so what the waitress suggested was we order the bowl of the soup base and do an add in of crab.  She was so nice to offer this suggestion as the meal we ended up having was $19.00 dollars instead of $35.00+ dollars.  The cioppino had good flavor and was delish to eat with the bread given to the table.  I would go back here - we left full and happy.

Cioppino @ Ciopinot.

Saturday morning we woke up and missed the hotel breakfast - but we didn't sweat it.  We got ready for the day and headed over to Splash.  If you have never been to Splash you really dont know what you are missing.  For $8.00 the must have is the chowder (chowdah -- for all you Boston folks) in a bread bowl.  It might be the best chowder we have on the west coast -- which is kind of sad cause it isn't as good as Boston or New York chowder.  When you order the chowder it comes in a wonderfully large sourdough bread bowl with a grilled cut out of the bread for dipping.  The crunch of the bread with the warm creamy chowder makes my mouth water just thinking about it.  They have breakfast food and sandwiches as well.  Again this is a must do!  They also have a location in Pismo on the Pier.

Chowder @ Splash. 

After eating at Splash we went back to the hotel and got ready to go to Taste of Pismo which was held at Dinosaur Caves Park.  The event focuses on local foods and wines of the area and views of the ocean cliffs. Samples are handed out from different stations and you can make your rounds as frequent as you would like.  A wine glass is given out for the tastings and that is your souvenir from the event.  I would highly recommend this event for a girls weekend or an event with friends to do something new and fun.  The food and atmosphere was great.  The event is located in a tent in the middle of the park - so my recommendation is to wear flat shoes.  From the event we went out to the walk out points and took some pictures and enjoyed the warm weather.

Alana in Pimso. 

Taste of Pismo. 

Taste of Pismo wine glasses. 

Outside the Taste of Pismo. 

Amazing cliff view. 

Alana and Shannon.

Shannon and Alana. 

Next on our list was to head back to SLO and walk around downtown.  We did some shopping - including a hour long stop at Sephora to pick out lipstick and then met up with my cousin Kacy for dinner.  We went to Nova which is a newer restaurant recommended by Yelp and the hotel.  The wait was about 30 - 45 mins but well worth it.  Since at evening time it was getting a little cold we opted for inside seating - but if the weather is nice I would recommend waiting for something on the patio because the view and atmosphere is great.  To eat I had spinach and ricotta ravs in a white wine sauce - YUM!  Alana and Kacy opted for the chow novo which also looked delish!  The restaurant offers alot of veterinarian and gluten free options which is really nice.  We basically shut this place down and headed home a little after 10pm.

The next morning around 9:30am we met Kacy at the front of our hotel and went to breakfast at Apple Farm Restaurant.  There was a little bit of a wait - even at 9:30am.  The service was a little slow but the food was really good.  I had the french toast. :)  Delish!  If you plan on going here for breakfast - which you should - make reservations!

Apple Farm. 

Breakfast time. 

French Toast from Apple Farm. 

After breakfast we packed up and headed our separate ways - Alana back to the east coast and myself back to San Jose.  The trip was a great getaway from home and perfect girls weekend location.  I just wish we had longer!

I cant wait to plan our next trip!

Highlight of my Trip:
- Taste of Pismo
- Hanging out with Alana and Kacy
- Relaxing!

On my To-Do list next time:
- Hiking
- Pismo Beach
- Firestone Restaurant