Stuff
 Mustang Water Slides
East of Arroyo Grande at Lopez Lake Park. (Take Highway 101 to Grand Avenue East in Arroyo Grande; follow Grand Avenue through the Village and follow the signs to the lake). Two slides for adults, teens and bigger kids plus pony slides and a play area for the little ones.
www.mustangwaterslides.com
 The Great American Melodrama
Munch on peanuts and throw the shells on the floor before you have dinner and watch a vintage Vaudeville-style melodrama play. Booing of villains and cheering of heroes encouraged. Great family fun, year-round in Oceano, just three miles south of Pismo Beach.
www.americanmelodrama.com
Pismo Beach Banana Bikes
Rent banana bikes, boogie boards, wetsuits and more for plenty of fun on the beach.
www.fix.net/~pismobill/
San Luis Obispo Children's Museum
A wonderful place choc-full of stuff for pre-schoolers and primary graders, and parents too.
www.slonet.org/~slokids/
Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area
Website for the state park where you can hike, horseback ride, and dune-buggy and motorcycle ride through the dunes. Includes maps, directions on how to get there, and all kinds of info.
www.oceanodunes.com
 California Mid-State Fair
Racing pigs, rodeo, horse shows, working dog shows, quilting, art, photography, exhibitions, Carnival, and big name concerts in the arena (Bonnie Raitt. Bob Dylan. The Wallflowers. LeeAnn Rimes. Clint Black.) The Annual Mid-State Fair begins in July. Check out lineups, buy tickets and get info on-line.
www.midstatefair.com
Dining
Pismo Beach - Arroyo Grande
Cracked Crab
Any place that captions its ads with "Get Crabs!" has to have a sense of humor. The Cracked Crab does indeed - and they also have a ton of great seafood. Get ready for buckets-o-crab, dumped on your table with ice along with all the fixins. Sounds a little strange, but even the crankiest kids love this place - even if they don't love fish. You'll love the seafood.
www.thecrackedcrab.com
Pismo Beach
Rosa's Ristorante Italiano
Fine Italian dining in an upscale but casual restaurant that's OK for families and kids too. Patio dining, and terrific daily specials.
www.centralcoast.com/rosas/
Giuseppe's Cucina Italiana
Exquisite Italian cuisine, pizzas and rustic bread made in the dining room's authentic Italian wood-fired oven. Daily specials, authentic Northern Italian cuisine, and a full bar.
www.giuseppesrestaurant.com/
The Splash Café
Award-winning clam chowder 9 years running; this place serves up more than 10,000 gallons a year, plus lots of other great stuff too. And you can order it on their website, plus Splash Café hats, T-shirts and other gear.
www.splashcafe.com
F.McLintock's
Bring your appetite for steak, ribs and chicken done right. Kids welcome (there's even a treasure chest for them to rifle through after dinner).
www.mclintocks.com
Steamers
Fresh fish, steamed clams (steamers), and views galore, plus a full bar that's one of the best places on the coast to have a classy drink. Brought to you by the McLintock's folks.
www.mclintocks.com
Shopping
Pismo Beach Outlet Center
If you feel the need for some serious shopping on your vacation, it's all here: from London Fog to Casual Corner to Bass to Harry and David, at the Pismo Beach Prime Outlets just off Highway 101.
www.primeretail.com
San Luis Obispo
Margie's Diner
Turkey. Stuffing. Mashed Potatoes. Gravy. Meatloaf. Burgers. Fries. Homemade pies. Margie's is real food, for real people, served by real people - Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner (one right next door to the San Luis Obispo Rose Garden Inn, and one just a hop, skip and jump away from the Pismo Beach Rose Garden Inn).
www.margiesdiner.com
Hobee's
Never Fear: the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary isn't the only good thing that starts out up in the Bay Area and stretches south to the Central Coast. You can find Hobee's in SLO too - the southernmost outpost of this Bay Area restaurant chain. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with a hearty California twist (Think Orange Spice Tea and turkey and avocado sandwiches). Word: get the coffee cake.
www.hobees.com/sanluisobispo.html
Café Roma
Did you leave the kids at home in quest for romance? Try Café Roma for the Italian high cuisine experience plus atmosphere. Locals rave about Roma; everyone raves about Roma.
www.fix.net/~caferoma/
SLO Brewing Company
The first microbrewery in San Luis Obispo makes a big variety of ales & stouts on-site, but also has a restaurant and nifty upstairs dining room with a view to tree-lined Garden Street that welcomes families and children for lunch and dinner. Entertainment at evening is aimed at the music-and-beer loving crowd.
http://slobrew.com
Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo
A Performing Arts Center. Two Art Galleries. Plus a rodeo, school dairy, and annual tractor pull. Cal Poly is a place of many attractions, as well as consistently ranked at the top of the heap of public universities in the U.S.A.
www.calpoly.edu
Cal Poly Arts
The artistic branch of Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, this non-profit arts organization brings a ton of performers to San Luis Obispo annually, usually for shows at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center. Check out their latest entertainment lineup online.
www.calpolyarts.org
 Cal Poly Performing Arts Center
A brand new beautiful 1,300-seat concert hall on the Cal Poly campus that hosts comedians like Bill Cosby, performances like CATS and Stomp, performers like Faith Hill, David Crosby and more. Buy tickets and checkout performance schedules online.
www.pacslo.org
Civic Ballet of San Luis Obispo
Periodic performances throughout the year, plus a great, kid-friendly "Nutcracker" every December at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center.
www.civicballetofslo.org
Mission San Luis Obispo
Learn more about the history of Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, the heart of San Luis Obispo, at this educational site hosted by the state school system.
www.cuca.k12.ca.us/lessons/missions/SLO/SanLuisObispoDeTolosa.html
San Luis Obispo International Film Festival
A series of vintage movies, documentaries, workshops, and fun film-related events held in late October.
www.slofilmfest.org
San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival
A series of summertime concerts performed by professional musicians from around the globe in a variety of great settings - plus Opera. Held in July.
www.mozartfestival.com/
San Luis Obispo Symphony
Hometown musicians do classical, and do it well.
www.slosymphony.com/index2.html
Castle Country
 Hearst Castle
The Official Site of the Hearst Castle Preservation Foundation. Buy tour tickets, take a Virtual Tour, learn about Castle History & Exhibits, and more.
www.hearstcastle.org
Friends of Hearst Castle
More about the Castle and fundraising activities put on by this non-profit group - like their annual autumn dinner at the castle.
www.friendsofhearstcastle.org
Friends of the Elephant Seal
The Official site of the award-winning group of local Central Coast volunteers shepherding the Elephant Seals of San Simeon and the people who love to look at them.
www.elephantseal.org
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
It stretches offshore, from Marin County (just north of San Francisco) all the way south just past Cambria, San Simeon and Castle Country. And it's a (sea) jungle out there. Find out about the oodles of wildlife living in it.
www.mbay.net/~net/
California State Parks
The Official guide to the Golden State's pristine parks. Find out more about Elephant Seals, San Simeon State Park, and other Central Coast park places.
www.parks.ca.gov/
Morro Bay Natural History Museum
Bones, dinosaurs, sea critters, a kids' cinema and more, located at Morro Bay State Park, across from the golf course on Morro State Park Road.
www.mbspmuseum.org/
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