Archive for the 'San Luis Obispo' Category
San Luis Obispo: $30 meals at 30 restaurants for Restaurant Month
November 22, 2009 7:04am
Mushroom and sage gnocchi, followed by chipotle shrimp linguini, and, for good measure, a chunk of Meyer lemon buttermilk cheesecake. That’s what $30 (plus tax and tip) would have gotten you at Black Cat Bistro in Cambria in January.
And now San Luis Obispo County’s Restaurant Month — Jan. 2 to 31, 2010 — is getting appetites whetted again.
During this third annual event, 30 restaurants will offer three-course menus for $30. Local wines from the Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo wine countries will also be suggested for your courses, though wine and other beverages come at an additional cost.
Participating restaurants are located all over the county, in Arroyo Grande, Avila Beach, Cambria, Cayucos, Morro Bay, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo and Shell Beach. Read the rest of this entry »
A nifty hotel deal for 50-and-over crowd in Central California
November 4, 2009 5:57am
OK, so you’re still 12 years away from drawing Social Security and 15 years from getting Medicare. Aren’t there any perks for turning 50? Well yes, and we’re not talking about getting an invite in the mail to join AARP or receiving snarky birthday cards with over-the-hill jokes. The over-50 set can score reduced room rates and more this winter at five inns in San Luis Obispo County in Central California.
Deal: If you or someone in your party is 50 or older, you’re eligible for the “Nifty Fifty” special at five inns run by Boutique Hotel Collection: Apple Farm Inn in San Luis Obispo, the Cliffs Resort in Pismo Beach, Inn at Morro Bay in Morro Bay, Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort in Avila Beach and SeaVenture Resort in Pismo Beach.
The details of the deal differ from inn to inn. But generally, you’ll get discounts on your room, food and items from the gift shop. Room rates vary by location, and not all rooms may be included in the deal, which is subject to availability and other restrictions.
Central Calif.: $100 credit or fourth night free at Dolphin Bay Resort
September 6, 2009 5:58am
The Central California coast, between Los Angeles and San Francisco, offers a wonderful array of rugged beaches, laid-back towns and eyefuls of beauty, whether you’re on the road, the trail or the waves.
If you’re looking for spacious, upscale and well-equipped accommodations, then Dolphin Bay Resort & Spa, just a couple miles up the coast from Pismo Beach, is the place to find them, according to many happy TripAdvisor travelers. And the resort is offering a couple of appealing deals this fall.
Deals: The oceanfront resort, off of Highway 1 in Shell Beach, is —among its various promotions—offering guests these options: $100 resort credit per night for certain rooms, or a fourth night free for any room type. You can’t do both in one go, unfortunately.
The resort credit is applicable for bookings of ocean-view or oceanfront rooms. You can use your credit at Lido Restaurant or at La Bonne Vie Spa, both on-site.
But if you’re staying at least four nights, you don’t need an ocean-view unit and you aren’t likely to partake of the aforementioned spa and restaurant every day, you’ll save more by taking advantage of the “Fourth Night Free” special. Read the rest of this entry »
Higher fees at California state parks start today: Where to find details
August 17, 2009 5:34pm
Starting today, Aug. 17, it will cost you more to visit and camp at many California state parks. In some cases, the cost has doubled.
The increases stem from California’s budget crises, which has put the state billions of dollars in debt. “In these dire economic times, we can longer afford to keep our fees at their current levels,” State Parks Director Ruth Coleman said last week in announcing the fee hikes.
Officials waited until today to release a park-by-park rundown of the new fees for day use and camping. Among Southern California parks affected, with sample fees:
> Anza-Borrego Desert State Park: Parking went from $6 per day year-round to $5 to $8, depending on the season. Borrego Palm Canyon developed campsites with hookups were $24 to $29 per night, depending on season; now $35 year-round.
Dining at the source with Outstanding in the Field
May 31, 2009 8:01am
Talk about eating locally. If you’re a traveler of the foodie sort, eat where the goods you’ll ingest are grown — with those who helped grow it — on farm-dining tours offered by Outstanding in the Field.
The small Santa Cruz-based operation arranges events on farms all over California, the U.S., Canada and even Europe that take in guided tours before shifting into sit-down dinners with the food’s local producers. At each event, a long table for dining is set somewhere close to where the food was sourced. Usually that’s a farm, though, according to the website, it might be a ranch, a winery or — wow, picture this — a sea cave.
One of these events typically runs four to five hours, with the cost ranging from $180 to $220 per person. In addition to the farm tours and talks provided during dinner, the price includes a five-course meal with wine.
Can your tummy growls now be heard in the next room? If so, join the club. Read the rest of this entry »
12 books of Christmas: ‘Route 66 Backroads’
December 21, 2008 6:00am
Whenever I crank up my 1912 Columbia Grafonola, my mother asks why I’d want to play that old windup phonograph when digital music is so much clearer. She’s right, but there’s just something authentic about hearing it on the original.
It’s the same principle with Route 66.
Sure, the interstate will get you there faster, but driving the Mother Road gets you closer to history. If you know someone who’s enchanted with the double six, “Route 66 Backroads,” by Jim Hinckley with photos by Kerrick James, Rick Bowers and Nora Mays Bowers, may be just the ticket (Voyageur Press, $24.99).
12 books of Christmas: ‘Galen Rowell’
December 19, 2008 11:42am
You look at the soft-cover version of “Galen Rowell: A Retrospective” (Sierra Club Books, $39.95) and you want to weep — at the beauty of his photography, at the notion that Rowell and his wife, Barbara, were taken too soon. The couple died in a plane crash in August 2002, a shock at the time and a shock still.
This retrospective, with an intro by friend and admirer Tom Brokaw and commentaries by other comrades, contains 180 of his images.
Northbound Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Coast Starlight service resumes after Metrolink crash
September 16, 2008 5:51pm
Train service between Los Angeles and points north resumes today (Sept. 16) after being interrupted since Friday’s deadly Metrolink crash in Chatsworth, according to a press release from Amtrak. The railroad service initially planned to resume service Monday, but the tracks hadn’t been cleared by officials investigating the accident.
The closed tracks affected the Pacific Surfliner route, which usually operates between San Luis Obispo and San Diego via Los Angeles’ Union Station, and the Coast Starlight, which runs between L.A. and Seattle. (Service between L.A. and San Diego was unaffected by the track closure.)
Northbound Pacific Surfliner service was supposed to start this afternoon, the release said. The Coast Starlight started north from Santa Barbara this morning (with coach transportation provided between L.A. and Santa Barbara) but is expected to begin in L.A. Wednesday when service in both directions returns to normal.
– Mary Forgione, Los Angeles Times staff writer
[Photo: Santa Barbara Amtrack train station by Robin Rauzi / Los Angeles Times]
Amtrak’s L.A.-Santa Barbara-San Luis Obispo service canceled through Tuesday in wake of Metrolink crash
September 15, 2008 12:16pm
Update: As of 2 p.m. today (Sept. 15), Amtrak reports that it will not be resuming service today or Tuesday as planned because the National Transportation Safety Board and Metrolink have not opened the portion of tracks involved in Friday’s deadly crash, according to Amtrak’s Vernae Graham. Sections of Pacific Surfliner and Coast Starlight service, as detailed below, will not be back in service. The L.A.-San Diego part of the Surfliner route is running on a regular schedule.
[Original headline: "Amtrak to resume L.A.-Santa Barbara-San Luis Obispo service this afternoon in wake of Metrolink crash"]
Amtrak announced that normal service would resume this afternoon (Sept. 15) on its Pacific Surfliner route between Goleta/San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles, according to an Amtrak press release. The route had been shut for two days due to the deadly Metrolink crash Friday.
Resumed service, including Amtrak’s connecting coach service, starts with Train 775 northbound from L.A.’s Union Station at 2:55 p.m. and Train 784 southbound from San Luis Obispo that’s set to arrive in L.A. at 4:55 p.m. The L.A.-to-and-from-San Diego portion of the Surfliner route was unaffected by interruptions.
Read the rest of this entry »
Amtrak cancels some L.A. service for second day due to fatal Metrolink crash
September 14, 2008 6:00am
For a second day, some Amtrak service to Los Angeles remains disrupted because of Friday’s Metrolink crash that has temporarily closed the railroad route, according to the news update linked to from Amtrak’s homepage.
Today (Sunday, Sept. 14), Pacific Surfliner trains –- and their connecting coaches –- between San Luis Obispo/Goleta and Los Angeles aren’t running. Amtrak is not providing alternate transportation, but MTA buses will offer bridge service between the closed Moorpark and Chatsworth stations on Metrolink’s Ventura line starting Monday.
[>>Click the image above to open a full photo gallery in a new window.<<]
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