As I was visiting the town of Cambria, I decided to drive through the town to see what it had to…read moreoffer. I happen upon the Cambria Historical Museum. And I do love a good museum and history lesson. The museum is on the corner of Burton and Center Streets in the East Village. It's housed in the Guthrie/Bianchini house which is one of the oldest homes in town that was built in 1870. The museum is staffed by an all volunteer staff, so currently the open hours are limited to Saturday and Sunday 1pm-4pm. I didn't stop by during these times. The lot is open to walk about which I did. Not much to look at on the lot unlike the Templeton Museum. I took one of the paper pamphlet of the town's historic waking tour. Those were stacked on the porch near the front door. Using the provided map and opening the printed QR code (which links to the website); we were able to navigate the self guided tour on our own. The website had additional info of the history of each site. I thought this was a super cool and cleverly modern way to offer info on the town's history. I wished I had more time to walk the entire tour and imagine how things looked in Cambria in the late 1800s. Cambria is a small coastal town established in 1866 with a current population of less than 6000 with a European history going back to the Spanish land grants and to the native history of the Chumash people before that. Rich, diverse history. Plus a side note, for a slight populated community, shout out to recognize the volunteers that keep the ... museum, archive, library bookstore, community reserve garden, Chinese Temple, Santa Rosa Schoolhouse, lighthouse lens display, and so much more going. Impressive!

My husband and I have been visiting Cambria once or twice a year for nearly 30 years. Not once…read morehave we been able to visit this Museum because, every time we go there, we are greeted with a sign on the closed door saying they are closed for one reason or another. We were in Cambria in April of 2021. I complained about this fact to my friend Diane who is a resident. She told me that the staffing problem had been resolved. I think she said they were replacing the wealthy volunteers who always had more important things to do with actual employees who would want to work in order to get paid. Yeah, right. In preparation for this visit, I went on-line and found that their hours are "Friday through Sunday 1-4 PM and Monday 10 AM - 1PM." So my husband and I drove into town and parked nearby. When he got to the closed front door, it said that they had closed in January due to COVID. (Two years in.) I get a lot of emails from the Cambria Historical Museum. They seem to open when a Local has a book signing or other event. But, boy oh boy, they are 'never' open to the public. Maybe if they'd open their danged doors consistently during posted hours, they'd earn enough money to keep their doors open. Maybe it's a Catch-22. I don't know but I do know that "they" (whoever is in charge) really should be ashamed at themselves for not making this Museum available to the public. Lest you suspect that I'm exaggerating, please notice that there are only two reviews. That is because the Museum IS NEVER OPEN!

The Ríos-Caledonia Adobe is a historic adobe house built in 1835 in San Miguel, California. The…read moreRíos-Caledonia Adobe is open to the public as a house museum and library. The original building was made of adobe, had a roof of hand-made tiles, and used strips of rawhide to tie the pine rafters in place. It is located directly across the street from Mission San Miguel Arcángel. It has had many different owners, and the property has been a a stagecoach stop with a hotel and tavern, as well as an elementary school and many other businesses. In 1923, the property was purchased as a tourist attraction, and the new owner added the gift shop. The County of San Luis Obispo purchased it in 1964 as the adobe had fallen into disrepair. In 1968, the Friends of the Adobes formed to preserve and restore the adobe. The site now operates as a county park with a history research library, museum, and gift shop. There are plenty of trees to enjoy a picnic or an outing. The Ríos-Caledonia Adobe is right off the freeway, and admission is free.

This is a nice little stop off of the freeway. Its literally across the street from Mission San…read moreMiguel Arcangel, and actually has a lot of history to it. The Rios-Caledonia Adobe is located on an old stage road, and served as a sort of halfway point between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Back in the 19th Century it was a functioning hotel and saloon. When the stagecoach days ended, and the days of the automobile began, the new owners installed a "visible" gas pump, and it served as an important rest stop on U.S. 101. In fact, the driveway you go down is actually a SEGMENT of the ORIGINAL U.S. 101 roadway ITSELF! Not to be missed if you are in the area! Go to see the history of travel before freeways.

Blink and you might miss this miniature museum adjacent to the San Simeon Pier. There's no entrance…read morefee and the interior is very small. I wouldn't say normally it would be worth stopping in, but this was NOT volunteer-run when we visited. In fact, the person on staff was a NOAA employee and part of the 15-person team that manages the enormous Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. If you don't know what that is, you can watch Episode 4 of Netflix docuseries "Our Great National Parks". Sophia was amazingly informative when we visited. She was highly knowledgeable and answered our litany of questions about the national marine sanctuary.

Looks like it would be a good museum to visit but they need to be open more. It was closed on a…read morebusy August weekday.

We really just stumbled upon the Morro Bay Estuary Nature Center because we were visiting a gallery…read moreon the second floor of Marina Square in Morro Bay. It's so important to protect our natural environment, especially in California where it is so beautiful! As a former teacher, I found the information here would be very beneficial to students and tour groups. There's a beautiful view of Morro Rock, as well as informational displays about keeping the estuary safe and clean. It's a great place to spend some time on your tour of Morro Bay!

A very excellent museum, if you will, of the Estuary that really IS Morro Bay. Friendly staff up…read morefront and in the back is a docent who will set up some of their videos to watch. Displays are well done. Descriptions succinct enough to inform but not bore the visitor. I can imagine elementary school children racing through banging on anything with a button or opening the various drawers and niches throughout. For the more mature you will learn a lot going through here. Your admission is good for the day. We checked it out in the morning, left for lunch and came back later in the afternoon to look again. They have done a very fine job here and think it an excellent place to get oriented to Morro Bay and what makes it special. Quite an incubator of sea life to learn about.

Across from Morro Rock on the mainland is the Morro Bay Maritime Museum. Outside of the museum is…read morethe gargantuan Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle, ready to deep submerge at any time, I suppose. Lol. You can't miss it parked in clear view of Embarcadero Road. Parking is free and plentiful. Hours for the museum are currently weekends only from 10:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M. or by appointment. It wasn't open early enough for us, but the DSRV Avalon is there for your viewing pleasure. Public restrooms are nearby. Just head south towards the strip of eateries and shops. Will definitely have to watch "Gray Lady Down" (1977) that Kenneth H. mentioned in his review from 2/21/15. Neat piece of history. Keep it alive!

This is an incredible opportunity the be able to see up close and personal a real DSRV. Wow! read…read morethe history of the USS Thresher and why this submarine was built. Re live the thrilling movie The Hunt for Red October, and know that this is the machine that would have been used for rescue. Rather than spill all the beans, I will say stop by and enjoy the history in the future location of the Morro Bay Maritime Museum (planned at this time).

Fun experience and definitely worth visiting once. But as I assume for most people, I probably…read morewouldn't feel the desire to come back repeatedly, unless there's some major rehaul or addition of more impressive installations.. The Field of Light was cool to see but not as incredible as I imagined based on social media depiction (definitely looks better in photos). Either way, it was probably my favorite installation of the bunch just due to its vastness. The lights all being solar powered is a fun fact, although the dimness of them really kept this exhibit at just "cool" when it could easily be "breathtaking" with some minor improvements. Missed opportunity for something bigger and better in my opinion, but it keeps the crowds coming so I guess that's good enough for business. Dimensions was my second favorite installation. Really neat concept and I loved the lights, shadows, and giant spinning lanterns. Fun and interactive! The other exhibits honestly seemed like afterthoughts.. I wouldn't be surprised if they're just there so that they can advertise there being "seven separate installations" and mark up the ticket prices lol. If it were me, I'd get rid of the "unnecessary extras" and use those funds towards making ones like Field of Light and Dimensions more amazing. The venue is huge and well laid out. I really loved the main food area with the live pianist. Great vibes and fun place to chill outdoors.

I was super impressed by this place but there are a few tweaks I would give it. When we first…read morearrived with our three children I noticed there were not a lot of children there. We went to an outdoor are where there was a band playing on a stage, huge glass area, one food truck, and couches to sit on. It was a bit chilly but nice environment. The lights were gorgeous, there were 4 exhibits to see. Very artsy, creative. My favorite being the Indian-esq one with all the colorful lanterns that would change color which made a bedazzling effect. I wish there were more exhibits to be honest and I think it lacked a bit. Was it work the price? It was a bit pricey? Definitely not a first date kind of place but more of a 3rd anniversary kind of place. I would recommend eating before going to this event.

Must experience. The views lavender and animals all a great…read moresight. Go and check it out, have some wine and dine

Gorgeous farm! Stunning views! Milton taught our lavender distilling class after he took us through…read morethe fields to harvest some lavender blooms. He educated us, gave us great stories, and made us all laugh. It was all interactive and fun, we met great people, learned so much about lavender and left with beautiful products from the farm store and what we made.

Capaldi Ranch is a charming family-run retreat with goats, chickens, alpacas, and almond trees. We…read morestayed in one of their cozy cottages over spring break and the kids absolutely loved it! The ranch has stunning 360-degree valley views - totally worth experiencing. They offer farm tours where kids can feed and interact with the animals, and farm-fresh eggs were a hit at breakfast ($5/dozen!). We would wake up at the first cry of the roasters at day break and then walk around soaking in the sunrise. The kids had such a great time that they refused to leave after our 3 day retreat. I highly recommend checking them out if in the area.