Friends of ours from LA spent Memorial Day Weekend with us. I have known her since we were kids living in St. Louis. She and I have mutual cousins in common…their dad was her mom’s brother while their mom was my dad’s sister…got that?????
No matter…the important thing is that through the years of my sister and I visiting our cousins while she and her sister were visiting their cousins we became close friends.
She and I were the same age and our sisters were the same age setting the stage for a friendly foursome.
When my family moved from St. Louis to Pennsylvania my sister and I continued to visit them each summer by train for several weeks throughout much of our teenage years.
Fast forward many years of not seeing each other, and miraculously we find ourselves now living in the central coast of California while she and her husband have been living for years in Los Angeles…we reconnected when my older son moved to LA to begin his career 17 years ago, getting together whenever we visited.
What we didn’t know then is that we would actually be living here one day with just a 3 hour drive between us!
Well, maybe not 3 hours on a holiday weekend, but we won’t get into that! Hopefully, the grilled Tuscan brick chicken and glazed fudge cake awaiting them made up for that!!!
We crammed a lot into 3 days, not the least of which evolved around what else, but eating!
We were so busy that I kept forgetting to snap photos so the best I could rustle up is the photo above of these luscious New York Strip steaks my husband grilled one evening for dinner, and the salad that accompanied them.
The 1 and ½ inch steaks were perfectly seared on the outside, yet rosy pink in the middle.
He tried a new technique which had to do with getting the gas grill super hot, and initially turning them very often, about 1 and ½ minutes per side with the grill closed until they formed that nice crust you can see in the photo above.
Then with the grill lid open he continued cooking and and turning them until the internal temp reached about 120 degrees. Covered lightly with foil and let to rest for about 15 minutes they reached an internal temp of about 135 to 140 degrees. Perfection!
On Saturday morning we stopped by the Central Coast Succulent and Cactus Society’s annual show which was being held in a large community center in downtown San Luis Obispo.
There we saw an amazing display of countless award winning plants…
From there we headed north to the Paso Robles Artsfest.
Here’s some info on the event…
The Paso Robles Festival of the Arts has changed its name and is effectively “upping its game” for 2014 with a list of new features designed with art lovers and county visitors in mind. Now dubbed “Paso Artsfest,” the largest free art event in San Luis Obispo County has a week’s worth of activities planned for artists, visitors and county residents in addition to the much-beloved main event that takes place the Saturday of every Memorial Day weekend in the Paso Robles downtown City Park. “With all of the fantastic press Paso Robles has been getting lately, this is the perfect time for our art festival to reach out to potential visitors who appreciate wine, food, art and beautiful scenery,” states Barbara Partridge, Paso Artsfest chairwoman. “We know that people are coming here on vacation for Memorial Day weekend, we are offering them the opportunity to make the arts part of their experience in a much bigger way than ever before.
The day features an Outdoor Fine Art Show & Sale, a Wet Painting Sale & Auction, hands-on interactive art experiences all over the park, exciting musical guests, dance performances and a full day’s worth of entertaining and artistic surprises. This event is free to the public.
When it was time for lunch we ate at a lovely Parisian bistro that had been recommended to me that was across the street called Bistro Laurent.
That evening we dined again at what is quickly becoming one of our favorite Italian restarurants in downtown SLO, Buona Tavola, specializing in Northern Italian cuisine.
Each meal begins with their complementary olive tapenade and delicious homemade bread! You can even buy it there or at the local farmer’s markets.
or their house-made salami and sausages are also available…
On Sunday my girlfriend and I walked off some of that wonderful bread and gelato from the night before and went walking on some of the spectacular trails that surround San Luis Obispo, while my husband took her husband in search of a running trail, and later a couple of slices of pizza, and a ballgame on tv.
Here are some great photos and info I found online for the trails we walked..Moonstone Beach Boardwalk
The city of Cambria is located on Highway One at the north end of San Luis Obispo County, and has earned the nickname “Gateway to the Big Sur Coast.” Like that stunning area to the north, Cambria has its own beautiful waterfront. Explore sandy beaches and rocky tide pools on a 2.85-mile round trip hike down Moonstone Beach Boardwalk, crossing a pristine beach that is preserved by Hearst San Simeon State Park. There is only 40 feet of elevation change over the level and easy trail, so you are free to set out in flip-flops or tennis shoes. Explore tide pools or walk across the sand on Moonstone Beach to add variety to this beautiful oceanfront stroll.
You can start the boardwalk from free parking areas at either end (or in the middle). To discover the ocean views, start from the south end of the trail, just off Highway One near the beginning of Moonstone Beach Drive. Hike northwest beneath pines along Santa Rosa Creek. After 0.2 miles, you will spot a pool of water at the mouth of the creek, separated from the ocean by a line of sand. The wooden boardwalk progresses alongside the estuary where you can spot ducks and snowy egrets.
Seals at the tide pools
While hiking Moonstone Beach Boardwalk, you will pass several side access trail, but the main route is obvious. There are benches along the way where you can linger to admire the scenery. The boardwalk runs parallel to Moonstone Beach Drive, which is lined on the inland side by restaurants and hotels.
Harmony Headlands State Park is located 2.6 miles south of Harmony, along the west side of Highway One in the beautiful coastal area of Central California. This area has a Mediterranean climate consisting of warm dry summers and cool wet winters. Its proximity to the ocean also results in thick coastal fogs which help to moderate the temperatures. The constant winds and salt spray result in vegetation tolerant of these conditions. The flat coastal terraces, valleys and steep coastal bluffs are predominately home to grasslands and coastal scrub containing plants such as a San Luis Obispo morning glory, California buttercup, yarrow and lupine. In the spring, flowering grasses can be seen in profusion.
This area contains diverse and unique habitats supporting rare, endangered and sensitive plant and animal species. Along the rocky outcrops, lichen, ferns and Indian paintbrush are scattered throughout the grasslands. In the fresh water habitats of wetlands, riparian corridors and ponds, willows, rushes and cattails can be seen. Along the intertidal areas, sea mammals can be seen and heard. Overhead seabirds and shorebirds soar. Making their way through their grassland homes, California ground squirrels, brush rabbits, skunks, coyote, mule deer and raccoons are among the residents.
This area also provides a home for the endangered California red-legged frog and the southwestern pond turtle. Many sensitive species also reside here including brown pelicans, double-crested cormorants and white-tailed kites.
Harmony Headlands State Park features a two-mile long Headlands Trail that departs from the parking lot and provides breathtaking ocean views west to the marine terrace grasslands. Nature lovers, hikers, photographers, artists and bird watchers will all find this walk a rewarding and memorable experience.
Note: We actually didn’t make it to the ocean this time. We were close when we met up with a couple of hikers who were on their way back, and told us to be careful of the snake that had crossed their path. With that news, we looked at each other, and both agreed it was getting late and we will finish the trail next time! Yikes!!!
After breakfast the next morning at Louisa’s, a great diner type place walking distance from our home, our friends packed up and headed back to LA, but not before picking up a tri-tip sandwch to go for the trip back!
After all, one can’t visit San Luis Obispo, and not have tri-tip!