Easter in Pismo!

We spent Easter weekend in Pismo Beach with some friends. The weather was beautiful! Perfect weekend! We saw the Easter Bunny at Apple Farms, he dropped of Easter treats including the Crazy 8 card game which the kids

immediately started to play. Walked around downtown San Luis Obispo. The town is constantly changing. This time, one of my favorites stores called Anne's has moved to a side street in a location a fourth of her original size. I am so bummed. I guess she can not compete with Banana Republic, Abercrombie & Fitch and Talbots.... however she has way better merchandise. Then we went to Avila Farms for our produce and Easter pie buy. Dinner at Cafe Roma - always on the agenda! Next day is Easter. We went to Easter mass then headed to the Avila Beach. It was packed full of people! We looked for shells, tried to get in the water (cold) and swung on the swings. The signs are still posted regarding the shark attack in 2006. A shark killed a morning swimmer that year not too far from the shore.

Back at our house we went down to the "rocks" and looked for starfish and sea urchins. A really big wave got us all wet. It was alot of fun! There were so many sea lions and sea otters swimming around. They are so cute. And so vocal. It was as if they were saying happy Easter! Oh and we also had an Easter egg hunt. Even the teenagers participated! Some of the eggs were filled with money which had a greater incentive... Hope you had a wonderful Easter too. Now back to reality!

Pismo

Pismo Beach is one of my favorite places to visit. It seems each time we go up there, we have a different experience. There is so much to see. There is the pier in Pismo with all of it's flair. A great place to eat a Clam Chowder Bowl. There are non populated sections of the beach you need to climb down a flight of stairs for such as the one in this layout. We collected all kinds of sea shells. The water was a pretty dark teal and the sand with the shades on tan made a wonderful layout using this Creative Imaginations paper.

Avila Beach is by Pismo. Avila was just rebuilt by Union Oil, so the whole town is practically new. It is fun to go to the beach here and hang out on their extremely long pier. Avila is a beach that is in a cove and therefore the pier had to be extra long so the boats could dock without hitting the bottom. On the road to Avila is Avila Farms. A great place to pick berries and buy fresh fruit, fruit preserves, fresh cobblers, pies.... anything you can think of. They make it there. Sycamore Springs, which has the sulfur hot tubs hidden in the hills. You climb to your tub - which are staggered along a very private hillside that is full of trees. Sycamore Springs also has massages. Wonderful, relaxing massages. After a long day at the beach, it is perfect to get a massage and have an intimate hot tub. Plus the restaurant there, as I recall was very good! Such a perfect weekend. And then to fill your shopping habit, San Luis Obispo is 5 minutes away with great stores such as Banana Republic, Abercrombie & Fitch, Pottery Barn, and old fashioned theater called The Fremont. The historic Madonna Inn is there also. This place is definitely worth visiting. Each room is decorated differently and they have their own names. The hotel lobby restrooms are in "caves." The sinks are set in the stone wall. They have a garish gift shoppe too.

A Relaxing Fourth of July!

We took several days up north at our beach home to spend the holiday with family. My sister, her husband and two kids joined us for some shopping, relaxing and eating! One of our favorite stops is Apple Farms. This cute cottage has the most unique boutique items. I love to shop all of the seasonal merchandise! Plus they have the best Blueberry pancakes! Yum! One this visit each of ordered the same thing! As the waiter took our order it was pretty much "ditto" as he asked each of us what we wanted! We went into town and shopped our favorite stores... Anne's is still there - but we MISS Porch, Home & Garden. My sister was bummed that owner decided to close her store last year. Porch, Home & Garden had beautiful traditional style accessories and furniture for the home. Plus they carried several style of "bunnies" which my sister collects. We went back to the beach house to relax in the sun. The Dad's took the






kids to Avila Beach to bogey board. Linda and I sat on the porch and read all the new People Magazine's that David's sister brought up. We feel we have caught up on all the who's who and what's what now. We went to Cafe Roma for dinner. Another one of my favorite restaurants in San Luis Obispo. Always enjoy a good glass of wine and a pasta dish! We walked into town as Thursday Nights are the Street Fair. It was packed! Lots to see and enjoy! Friday, the Fourth of July we watched the fireworks from Aunt Terri's roof top. Her house was knocked down and rebuilt. The third floor is a roof top to lay out on and has speakers that come out of the side walls! Fun to watch the Pismo Beach Firework Display from a warm roof top with old Rock N Roll cranked! "More Than a Feelin'" by Boston was one of the tunes playing from the I-Pod. The kids went down to the street to light sparklers.

Avila Farms is another great stop for fresh fruits, pies, breads, and cinnamon rolls. So gooey and yummy! We had a wonderful Fourth of July. Missed you Lauren. Next year we will plan a great Fourth of July for you since you missed the last two. Can not wait to scrap all my pictures we took. John, I want a copy of all of yours! I love the ones you took!