David and Naomi Blakely’s Home Exchange

 

 

 HOME PAGE           THE BLAKELYS            THE HOUSE            LOCATION AND THINGS TO DO           CONTACT US

 

 

                     

                   Location and Things to Do

 

For more pictures of our home go to:

 

https://x85.us/exchange/blakelyhome/

 

 

 

 

David and Naomi Blakely's home is located at 861 Skyline Drive, San Luis Obispo, California.

San Luis Obispo is a town of 46,500 residents. San Luis Obispo is located halfway between Los Angeles to the south and San Francisco to the north. It is 200 miles to either city.  Las Vegas, NV is 422 miles away and Yosemite National Park is 230 miles away.

San Luis Obispo is a wonderful city full of interesting things to do.  The New York Times recently did a good video highlighting some of the special features of our area.    

San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles have train stations with multiple passenger trains heading north and south. There is also an airport in San Luis Obispo with connections to anywhere in the world.

 (From the SLO Chamber of Commerce) San Luis Obispo County is the heart of California's Central Coast where you can spend your day exploring miles of white, sandy beaches, browsing through unique stores and museums, wine tasting or hiking or bicycling in and around the rolling hills – the choices are endless. 

Located midway between San Francisco and LA on the California Central Coast, San Luis Obispo County is an easy to reach destination by car, train, or air. Just 2 or 3 hours by car away from most of California's 35 million people, San Luis Obispo is California's Natural Escape. The centrally located San Luis Obispo airport offers excellent connections to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. Visiting by rail is so popular that Amtrak recently added a third daily train to the county.

About 250,000 people call San Luis Obispo County home. Over a dozen delightful towns and cities, including the city of San Luis Obispo, plus Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Avila Beach, Cambria, Cayucos, Grover Beach, Los Osos - Baywood Park, Morro Bay, Nipomo, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach, San Miguel, San Simeon near Hearst Castle, Templeton and others create a single extended community.

Spread across the beaches, mountains, and valleys of this special part of the California Central Coast, these distinctive cities and the unincorporated areas between them provide an incredible variety of recreational and cultural opportunities. All of these places can be reached by an easy 30 minute drive or less from the city of San Luis Obispo, through some of the most beautiful country you will ever see.

The strong local economy is dominated by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with its 18,000 students, viticulture and agriculture, fishing, tourism and a growing sector of information and technology businesses.

The world-renowned California wine country of the Paso Robles wine country in north county and San Luis Obispo wine country in the south county provide a California wine country tour experience that may remind you of Tuscany.

The local food and wine producers are just two reasons for the many excellent restaurants in the county. The large student base, many visitors and supportive local population has also allowed many nightclubs and restaurants to offer first class local and visiting live entertainment.

Outdoor options also abound, including wonderful hiking and biking. Whale watching, sport fishing and charter fishing out of Morro Bay or Port San Luis are rewarding ways to spend a day. Eco tours supply pleasure and education about some of America's most distinctive ecological niches such as the Morro Bay National Estuary and the Carrizo Plain.

The arts flourish throughout the county at an exceptional level of quality. Layers of history, including the Spanish mission of Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa and Mission San Miguel Arcangel, are at hand everywhere you go.

San Luis Obispo County is California's Natural Escape because it is the SLO alternative to hyperactive urban congestion and 'hurry up and wait' frustrations. SLO is a magical and precious piece of old California you can visit again and again, with new experiences every time.

The population of San Luis Obispo County is about 250,000. San Luis Obispo county is a coastal county. The Pacific Ocean is about 10 miles from San Luis Obispo.

Some of our favorite things

Food:

 

Restaurants- There are a ton of great restaurants in town.  Here are some of our favorites but there are many more. 

·         The Range in Santa Margarita  Great food.  Pricey. They do not take reservations and they do not accept credit cards, cash or checks only.  8 miles from San Luis Obispo in Santa Margarita

·         Chiopinot’s Great Sea food and California Cuisine

·         Café Roma  Italian food

·         Sushi - We have many very good sushi restaurants all of the county.  They are all good.

·         Nucci’s Great place for pizza and salads.  It is close to the house.

·         Novo  Sit on the patio out back

·         Luna Red  Tapas

·         Big Sky  Interesting food at good prices

·         Jockos  The best steak in California. Located in Nipomo.

·         Madonna Inn Good café and pricy restaurant.  Even if you don’t eat there you need to go there just to see the place.  Make sure to go into the restrooms.

·         Taco Temple – Our favorite for Mexican food.  I like the Carnitas.  It is big enough to share.  Located in Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo

·         Petra Café -  A great places for middle eastern food.

·         Windows on the Water Good seafood.  It is in Morro Bay and there are a lot of good options for seafood out there.

 

For a sandwich-

·         Lincoln Market

·         Gus’s Grocery

·         Splash Café- Good clam chowder

·         Bliss Café – Great location on the creek

 

Things to do

 

Go for a hike

 

·         Google “hiking in San Luis Obispo” and you will find a bunch of wonderful trails.

·         Bishops Peak is right out our front door.  You don’t have to go all the way to the top unless you want to.

·         Trails in the city of San Luis Obispo There are many wonderful hikes right here in the city.

·         Montana de Oro  Great hiking and beaching at the Pacific Ocean

·         Estero Bluffs

·         Santa Margarita Lake

·         Walk around Cal Poly

·         Oso Flaco Lake is a wonderful hike across the sand dunes to the ocean

More things to do

·         Walk around downtown. Go to a museum downtown. See bubble gum alley.

·         Go to a Farmers Market. Thursday night farmers market is the biggest in the county

·         Make sure to go wine tasting. We have world class wines in our area. May favorites are Castoro Cellars, Sweetwater and Windward Winery But there are many other wonderful wines all over the place.

·         Go out to the Pacific Ocean and enjoy a day there. 

·         Go up Highway 1 to Hearst Castle and while you are up there make sure to see the Elephant Seals just north of the castle.

·         Go to the melodrama in Oceano

·         Take in a play at Cal Poly, the Little Theatre or the Clark Center.

·         Pick up a copy of the free New Times newspaper to see what is going on around town.

·         Go for a bike ride around town

·         Watch a movie at the Palm Theatre

·         Find a free concert someplace in the county.  Lots of good music at the bars.

·         Take a drive up towards Big Sur and have lunch at Ragged Point, Gorda, Tree Bones or Nepenthe.

·         Go fishing out of Morro Bay

·         Kayak in Morro Bay or where ever

·         If the whales are in the area take a boat out to see them

·         We have some wonderful micro breweries.  Take a tour of Firestone brewery in Paso Robles.

·         Sit on our back porch and have a bbq and a beer

·         I have fishing gear in the garage and the fishing is good at Santa Margarita Lake. The catching is not that good.

·         Take a drive out to -  Carrizo Plains National Monument,  Pozo,  or Parkfield

·         Go to the Leaning Pines Arboretum at Cal Poly

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

San Luis Obispo County Links

San Luis Obispo Visitor Information

San Luis Obispo Visitor and Conference Bureau

San Luis Obispo Wikipedia

Wikitravel San Luis Obispo

Hearst Castle

Cal Poly

San Luis Obispo Golf

San Luis Obispo County

Paso Wine Country

Lake San Antonio

County Farm and Craft Markets

Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce

Mid State Fair

Mission San Miguel

Santa Margarita Lake - Santa Margarita Lake is a real gem. It is a beautiful lake with great fishing and boating. They do not allow water skiing and jet skis on the lake so that makes it very nice. It is a great place to hike and picnic. If you want to water ski go to Lake Naciemento or Lake Lopez.

Lake Nacimento

Elephant Seals - This is a must see in San Luis Obispo

 

   

  HOME PAGE            THE BLAKELYS            THE HOUSE            LOCATION AND THINGS TO DO            CONTACT US