Trip to San Luis Obispo
December 4-8, 2016
Mike and Judy Henderson
Every year, it seems, we take a trip to San Luis Obispo (SLO) to see friends and to play golf. This year we did it again.
12/2/2016 - But before we left for for SLO, Judy had a recording session at Fox studio. We brought Skipper to the date.
Here's a panoramic view of the Fox recording studio before the musicians arrive. The part of the show for which the music is being recorded is shown on the screen in the back of the sound stage.
Here's a view of the orchestra from the recording booth. Judy is on the far left - Pretty hard to recognize her so I added an arrow pointing to her. You can see the cello cases against the wall.
12/4/2016 - But that was Friday, and on Sunday we were ready to head to San Luis Obispo. Our friend, Lynn, had some gifts for her brother and sister-in-law and we had made arrangements to meet them for lunch in Goleta. Lynn is a genius at creating wrappings and bows.
We met Debbie and David at their house in Goleta and we went to the Beachside Bar and Cafe on the beach in Goleta. While not too far off the 101, it's really off the beaten track, but a very interesting restaurant with good food. Here are two views of the restaurant. First, from the parking lot:
And then from the pier, showing how close it is to the ocean.
And here we are at the restaurant with Debbie and David.
After lunch we headed up 101 towards Avila Beach. The Avila La Fonda Inn has dog friendly rooms and we made a reservation there. Here we are getting ready to go through that short tunnel on 101 as it turns inland from the ocean just past Goleta.
And here's the Avila La Fonda Inn in Avila Beach. It's really a very nice Inn. Only 28 rooms and about 10 years old. The staff is extremely helpful and polite.
Our room faces the street and is on the first floor. We really like the Inn so I'll show a few pictures of our room for you, in case you come to Avila Beach.
Looking toward the window:
Then looking back from the window - they provide a full kitchen, in case you want to cook your own meals. And a view of the workspace that I'm using for my computer. The Internet access is fast and convenient.
They provide a basket of "goodies" in the room. You see that in many hotels and there's a price list associated with it, with very expensive prices for each of the items. La Fonda has a sign in the basket of goodies, also. But their sign says "This is all free - take what you want."
The Avila La Fonda feeds you on a regular basis. In the morning, they have coffee and croissants. At lunch they have beer, chips and salsa. At 5pm, they have wine and nice hors d'oeuvres (one day it was coconut shrimp and small meatballs - another day it was pot stickers). With that you don't need dinner. Then at 8pm they offer pie and ice cream. You'd get fat staying here.
12/5/2016 - We had a T-time at Morro Bay Golf course this morning, so we were off early and had breakfast at the course.
The Morro Bay course is not too difficult but the scenery from the course is breathtaking. These pictures just don't do it justice.
As usual, Judy was great, I was miserable at golf.
After we returned to the hotel and took a nap :-) it was time for the afternoon hors d'oeuvres and wine. This day was coconut shrimp and cocktail meatballs, with your choice of chardonnay or zinfandel.
Our friend, Kris, arrived and she and Judy spent some time catching up.
We went to dinner at the Custom House Restaurant. They allow dogs on their patio (left side of the picture).
They even had a "doggie menu". Skipper had already had his dinner and didn't choose anything from the menu :-). Check out that last item on the menu.
12/6/2016 - Today we play Monarch Beach Golf course and David is meeting us to play the course with us.
While the course is magnificent - and difficult - the pro shop and restaurant is fairly small and modest.
I didn't take many pictures on the course, but here's one of Judy and one of David.
We made it back to the hotel in time for the beer, chips and salsa.
Judy enjoying a beer. The Monarch Beach course was tough and the beer was really appreciated.
After a morning of exercise, and beer for lunch, we did what you'd expect and took a nap, waking in time for the 5pm repast of pot stickers, salami and cheese and crackers. I spent the rest of the evening doing this blog.
12/7/2016 - Today, we play Cypress Ridge Golf Course. Like Monarch Beach, the pro shop and restaurant is not very big.
The course is well kept but not as difficult as Monarch Beach. It's really an enjoyable course to play.
It was a bit cold during the game, and we even had a sprinkle of rain, but overall it was a great day for golf.
There was a tournament playing the course that morning but the starter let us go earlier than our T-time. For the first nine holes, we had the course to ourselves - nobody in front of us and nobody behind us. Really makes nice play. Here's a view from the first T-box looking toward the green (which you can't really see in the picture).
I had one good drive on the 7th hole, a difficult hole with lots of elevation changes and a sharp dogleg left. My drive went about 240 yards and I landed on the green. I was as amazed as anyone.
But by the time we got to the back nine, we had caught up with the last foursome of the tournament and our play slowed down.
Here's Judy on the course. I forget to take pictures while I'm playing.
We didn't do a lot in the afternoon - went to a late lunch, took a short nap, and met some people at the 5pm hors d'oeuvres and wine get together. Tomorrow, we return home and will have to go on a diet to lose the pounds we gained in Avila Beach.
12/8/2016 - As we left Avila Beach, it was raining. You may think that is unremarkable, but here in California, especially in southern California, we don't see a lot of rain.
The drive home was long and with increasing traffic as we got closer to LA. But the drive was through beautiful country. I'm just amazed at the beauty and wonder of the California coast and thankful that we get to live here. It truly is Paradise on earth. Here's a few pictures of the coast taken from the web. I'm not sure these sights were on our route but they're representative of what we see on the coast.
There are also farm fields and grazing land.
And, of course, vineyards - lots of vineyards (and lots of wine).
Thanks for taking this trip with us. Our next adventure is a cruise around South America from Lima, Peru to Buenos Aires, Argentina in February.