Family weekend in Avila Beach

Now that my sister and I are all grown up, married, and working in our professions, my mom is having empty nest syndrome!!

We have been planning little vacations so that our family can relax and hangout every few months.  A couple weekends ago, we booked rooms at a timeshare in Avila Beach, near San Luis Obispo.  It was raining the whole week before, and the forecast was not looking too promising.  It rained all day Friday, but low and behold, the sun came out, and we spent Saturday canoeing, hiking, and chillaxing…here are some pics!

Avila Beach is a cute little town between SLO and Pismo.  It has a mellow vibe with spas, hot springs, and wine tasting bars along the main strip.  If you are looking for a deal, you may be able to find some wine tasting coupons from your hotel concierge.  We used one for a free tasting…and one stop was enough!  The tasting room we went to was Alapay, and they let us try 10+ different wines!  Did I mention that it was FREE?!  Nothing like wine tasting in Napa/St. Helena…where a tasting can cost more than $100 and requires reservations.  Talk about stuck up!  Come down south to San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles…sip and sea…

Avila Beach…

Morro Bay…

We canoed from the Morro Bay Marina over to the sand dunes and took a hike over the dunes to the beach on the other side…the sand was so pretty!

Saturday night we went to check out the nightlife in downtown SLO.  We hit up this new spot called Blast 825 Taproom.  Check out all the beers/wines on tap!  They give you a wristband linked to their system which you scan on the bottom right flame…and then, you pour!  They charge by the ounce so you can try whatever beer/wine they have on tap.  My fave was the Belching Beaver Peanut Butter Stout…mmmmmm  good!  Along with that they also do a pick-your-pizza, where you choose your toppings for a pizza that they bake in their 825 degree oven…what goes better with beer?  Check it out the next time you are in SLO!