Pismo Beach Year one comes to a close

Pismo Beach-

We left San Diego on a Saturday morning and drove to Laguna Beach to visit with GG and Wes’ cousin Chase and his wife and two little children.  We had lunch together and visited the whole afternoon. 

    From there we drove to Northridge to pick up  my niece Linda so she could spend three days with us in the RV visiting Pismo Beach.  We had planned on spending the night at a campground between Laguna and LA to break up the long drive from San Diego all the way to Pismo Beach. However, we were so excited to get “back home” that we decided last minute to pick up Linda and drive late at night to Pismo.  We pulled into Pismo Beach at 12:30 in the morning and because we were a day early we didn’t have a campground for the night.  Wes decided we would try to boondock in the Wal-Mart Parking lot that clearly stated “No overnight parking” (hey, doesn’t hurt to try).  About 30 minutes after we all finally collapsed into bed, we heard a loud knock on the door. Mr. Security guard was not happy about us being in the parking lot and no matter how much negotiating Wes tried there was no persuading him to change his mind.  So we packed everything back up and headed down the road to  the K-mart parking lot for the night.  Linda just went with the flow and got to experience some of the craziness and unpredictability of being on the road.

      Since we pushed through the long drive at night it gave us a whole extra day with Linda in Pismo Beach and we maxed out every minute of our time.  That morning we took Linda to Margie’s Diner for breakfast. She got to experience some of the best (and Largest) French toast and pancakes ever!! 

Moro Bay

 From there we took the whole RV up to Moro Bay and went kayaking in the bay. Linda had never been and it was fun to be able to share in her first experience. 

We went back to Pismo and checked into our campground, and then from there we drove to San Luis Obispo and hiked to the top of Bishops Peak. All of the kids went to the very top. 

Very top of Bishops Peak 

After hike snack at the First Jamba Juice 

That night the kids along with Linda hiked up the massive dunes literally out side our RV door to watch the sun set over the ocean. A great closing to a wonderful fun filled day. 

Monday we met up with some with our friends the Wards and Harrisons for a walk on the boardwalk and beach. It was so fun being able to introduce Linda to some of the kids best friends.  That same night we meet up with the Bischoff’s, Dorman’s and Allhouse’s for dinner.  It was so good to be able to connect, see, and hear what everyone had been up to the past year.

On Tuesday we walked around down town Pismo Beach to go pick out a shirt for Linda. We meet up with Wes for lunch at one of our favorite restaurants in the Arroyo Grande Village called “Old Village Grill”. We took Linda across the “Swinging Bridge”; It freaked her out a bit.  We also went  on the Bluff Trail over looking the ocean.

  That night we went with the Wards and Harrisons to the Drive in theater to watch Inside Out.

At the drive in with our "crazy red eyes" 

Blueberry picking 

Wednesday we meet up with  Aunt Terri in Santa Barbara for lunch and to drop Linda off with her. The restaurant that we ate at was right on the beach and the kids had fun playing in the sand after we ate. On the way home from Santa Barbara we stopped off at our favorite blueberry picking spot in Buellton.

The second week we were in town we had a play-day with the Allshouses and dinner again at the Bischoffs home.

We spent a day going to the Avila Barn and the Bob Jones Trail with the Wards, Harrisons and the Young Family. 

We had the chance to enjoy some park time and long talks with our friends the Sellstroms , Mccunes, Forbes and the Harrisons.

I enjoyed early morning coffee with my friends Jen and Katie at our favorite coffee shop called Steaming Bean in Shell Beach. 

The fourth in the Dunes
 with the Forbes

Mafia time 

On the Fourth of July we had the Scott, Jantzen, Ward, Forbes, and Harrison families over for lunch. We ordered a bunch of Pizzas and enjoyed visiting and playing Mafia. That night we went up in the Dunes to watch the fire works. The fog wasn’t too heavy so we were able to see all the fireworks that were going off at the Pismo Pier and all the equally impressive illegal fireworks going off in Oceano.

Having fun in the RV with friends

 Thursday night we went to the San Luis Obispo Farmers Market and indulged in the amazing California fresh picked strawberries. After our strawberry fix , we went  to the delicious  Doc Burnsteins Ice Cream Lab, something the kids had to do while visiting SLO.

The last week we were in town the kids all attended Grace Bible Church’s VBS program.  Ally was a head leader this year and Shelby was an assistant leader. It made my heart full watching both girls work with the kids and be a blessing to them.  They have been going to the same VBS program since they were toddlers and now are able to serve and give back and it’s is so fun to see.

SLO Farmers Market 

One night we had a  “mom’s/older girls night out.”  Ally and Shelby’s girlfriends and my girlfriends all went to The Madonna in and had dinner and a piece of their decadent Pink Champagne cake.

It was awesome being in the RV park that was right next to the massive Dunes. Early in the morning I would run through them all the way to the beach and cool off  while running in the water for a couple miles. Pure joy.

~ So Year One comes to a close , and new Adventures await! ~

The day shall not be

Up so soon as I, 

To try the fair adventure

 Of tomorrow.

                                                                   ~William Shakespeare