What a beautifully built bridge! We had fun crossing the swinging bridge, not at all dangerous,…read moreextremely well built! What a cool find in the small, sleepy town, well worth it when passing through the area!

While at The Village, be sure to cross the Arroya Grande Swinging Bridge to get to the Santa…read moreManuela Schoolhouse, which is to the left and nearby the park and residential. It swings so watch your step!

We are members of the Exploration discovery center... Debbie and the staff work hard to provide a…read moregreat experience for the kids . My grandkid ask to go all the time .

We love coming to the Discovery Museum! It's always fun, engaging, and perfect for kids to explore…read moreand learn.

This is a review for the gardens and surrounding property. There is a beautiful large garden with…read morestring lights and a gazebo for events. You could have a beautiful wedding here! Around the area is swinging bridge (yes it's creaky and a little scary to walk across!) a stream and historical buildings. We heard a rooster but never saw any. If you're in the area and need to stretch your legs for 20 minutes it's worth a little jaunt

We booked the Heritage House for our wedding, that we had to cancel for medical reasons. Aside from…read morethe extremely reasonable price, which includes tables and 200 chairs, they were very personable. Our medical issues have been life changing for us causing us to cancel the big wedding we were planning. I expected to jump through hoops to get any sort of refund from them, but they were so understanding of our situation, it blew me away. A huge thank you to Diane who helped us through the booking and canceling with zero hassle. More than 5 stars are deserved.

We love the grounds of this special place. Their preservation of not just the Victorian house where…read morethe museum itself is located, but especially the surrounding area with the charming period gazebo, the barn and all of the authentic equipment, etc. Find it once you cross the suspended foot bridge over the creek and to your left. What a rare treat to have this right in the middle of a neighborhood where residents walking by can enjoy a quick stroll through the past.

The South County Historic Society - Independent Order of Odd Fellows former Meeting Hall,…read more has an annual fund raising event which we attend, that occurs the first weekend in November. [http://www.southcountyhistory.org/ioof.htm]: "IOOF HISTORIC HALL On the National Register of Historic Places, the former meeting hall for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The first floor is a multi-purpose area that serves as a theatre in the summer for on-going readers theatre programs exploring stories from local history, from the Dunites to Halcyon to remembering the Village in the 1930's. The live, one-hour, free programs play every Saturday during the summer at 2PM. The huge annual rummage sale is held here the first weekend in November. Special programs during the year. 128 Bridge St., Arroyo Grande, CA 489-8282 The South County Historical Society acquired the property which was formerly the meeting place for the International Order of Odd Fellows in 1985. The hall is located at 128 Bridge Street and was built in 1902 on land donated by Mrs. Elston in 1898. The building was completed in six months at the cost of $5,500.00. A local contractor, Ben Stuart did the stone work with native sandstone which came from a quarry just south of Arroyo Grande." In their annual rummage sale in the first weekend in November, you can donate or buy items. The fund raising event is a 2 day weekend affair & is run by a wonderful group of mainly seniors. On late Sunday, they reopen with everything at half price; later offering a "fill your own bag" for only $4. The fund raising is to help their projects. As you wait for them, or wish to explore, they are right next to the historic AG bridge, Kiwanis Park/AG Creek, Centennial Park, the Swinging Bridge, & more. On Saturdays at Noon, there is a Farmer's Market. AG Village is a cute restored town, that has numerous shops, antiques, diverse eats, pizza, ice-cream, coffee, wine, steak, Italian, Greek, Mexican, vintage butcher [AG Meat Co.] & bakery [Eclair]. Many of the shops are house in restored or original buildings over a century old, along with amazing ceilings [Coffee] or original woodwork. There are numerous building that are architecturally wonderful. Up the hill is an old Hoosegow [Jail & park]. You can easily spend a day exploring around here! The South County Historic Society multiple locations in Arroyo Grande, but the Yelp or map listings are a bit perplexing, since they have different addresses & may have similar or disimiliar names. [http://www.southcountyhistory.org/index.htm] : 1) ["SANTA MANUELA SCHOOL HOUSE ...Built in 1901 the one-room school is restored to its original state with books, maps, blackboards and photographs... The Santa Manuela Schoolhouse a one-room schoolhouse, was built in 1901 on the property of Joseph Jatta which is now under the water of Lake Lopez... 2) " HERITAGE HOUSE GARDEN & MUSEUM A cultural museum, housed in a Victorian cottage, depicting elements of home life and costume spanning over a hundred years, in permanent and changing exhibits. In the late 1990's, a gazebo and gardens transformed the yard into a backdrop for weddings and social events...The Heritage House was built in the late 1800's... In 1906 the house was sold to Dr. H. S. Walters and was known as "Dr. Walter's Sanatorium"... The museum has an interesting collection of period clothing, photographs and kitchen items, just to name a few and docents are available to answer any of your questions." 3) " PAULDING HISTORY HOUSE A registered California Historic Resource built in 1889..., it was the home of Arroyo Grande's first medical doctor, Edward Paulding. His missionary parents and his daughter, Ruth, filled the house with artifacts from around the world....countless other artifacts, among them the only authentic Cumash Indian basket in the County." 4) IOOF Historic Hall. 5) "THE BARN MUSEUM Home to agricultural, ranch, and mercantile artifacts, vintage carriages and vehicles, including a 1923 LaFrance fire truck as well as a horse-drawn hook and ladder truck from the earliest days of the city... The "Barn" is the South County Historical Society's Museum Annex which houses a variety of antique vehicles and agricultural artifacts from the South County area. It also houses vintage printing presses and other interesting exhibits..." 6) "PATRICIA LOOMIS HISTORY LIBRARY & RESOURCE CENTER - RUBY'S HOUSE Books, pamphlets, photos and other resources on local history... This center offers teachers, students, journalists and researchers a wealth of materials on California history with a special emphasis on local South San Luis Obispo County history..." There is more information on the societies website. Not all locations are open most weekends, nor times, and it is vital to check their website for hours, rain closings, phone, before you go....and the rummage sale is only one weekend a year, but is quite a hoot! ~~~

Top 5 things to DO and what to AVOID in SLOC -…read more Do list: 5. San Luis Obispo farmers market. 4. Spending the day in Morro Bay (museum, pictures, hiking) 3. Fiscalini Ranch Preserve 2.The Santa Rosa Creek Rd backcountry drive. ( start from the 46 highway) 1.Bridge Street Cafe BONUS - SloDoCo dounts... Avoid List: - Bayside Cruisers ( watch out for the shyster owner shaking you down for allegedly missing boat parts when you return your rental). - Sea Chest. Cash Only, Long Line, bland seafood. - El Chorlito (worst rated for a reason)

Aloha! The great SLO…read morecounty area boasts some of the best views, wines, & vistas in CA, the US, & the World. How do I know? Well, I am blessed to live in it. I did live in Hawaii for over a dozen yrs. & explored all the islands & I am so much happier here in SLO. When I did go back to visit Hawaii after a decade in CA, I was sad to discover that almost all, of my old Hawaiian friends, were either depressed or unhappy... Was it the ever rising "price of paradise"... which was made much worse by high costs, plus far lower wages? Was it especially worse for skilled jobs? It was that & more. Anyway, back to SLO: You can see everything here, from endless beaches, to endless dunes, to endless vistas... There seems to be almost no end, to what you can discover exploring here! Some areas are so safe, that you can forget to lock your car, or even your house & nobody bothers it! This may remind one of the "good old days", but alas, at the new high prices ( some "good" areas have houses, that range from over 1/2 million to many millions). Since you are out in the "country", you may not find too much in the way of lux shopping, unless your idea of lux is Kohl's or Walmart....ha..ha... It can be a challenge to find good eats or ethnic food. You need to go hundreds of miles North or South either way to get the SF Bay Area or LA. In SLO, you must judge the reviews & view pics with a good Yelping eye to find decent-good food, that is not overhyped by happy tourists... who are likely to be on a "vacation euphoria" from the more natural wonders of the area. Staying here can be a problem for those who crave a comfy or luxury stay. There is no Ritz, no Hyatt's, & the Hilton is just a lower tier "Garden Inn". On the other hand, sometimes less well known local places can please. The closest to a lux hotel is the Dolphin Bay Inn in Shell Beach, but it will cost you hundreds, but it boasts fine dinning that rivals some of the better San Fransisco venues, Hawaii-esk Panoramic views, Massages/Spa, & Condo-like units that have a full kitchen. The units can accommodate 2 couples, or a family... so it may make sense for some. Many of the usual bargain suspects, do include a breakfast (e.g. Best Western). The closest place, that is part of a nicer chain, is the Hilton Garden Inn. The places along Pismo Beach range from hole-in-the-wall bargains (some very clean... but check reviews) to way overpriced, but may not seem too expensive for the million dollar views. Far from the Ocean, in the Northern Paso Area, some of the nicer places to stay are at Bed & Breakfast Places (e.g. Summerville Winery in Paso Robles), that are out of Paso Robles town itself. There are also numerous campgrounds & RV sites all around. There are even cabins & cottages on one of the lakes near Paso.... or you can stay at the newer Holiday Inn Express. The HI Express is not too far from Paso's popular downtown eats.... which sadly can be overpriced, overhyped/Yelped, "tourist trapping", gross Yelping disappointments. Some out of the way areas are very low, or even devoid of light pollution. Here you can see the "Milk" of the Milky Way which is light from the billions of our neighborhood stars in our own Galaxy. Once you see it, your life may be changed forever! With some skill, you may Astro-photograph things millions of light years (a light year is the distance light will travel in a year...your calculator will likely error if you attempt to convert this to miles...since it is 5.87849981 x 10 to the 12th power miles! The Andromeda Galaxy, our closest neighbor, shines with the combined light of a TRILLION suns & can be seen with binoculars (& so can the glorious Orion Nebula). Getting great photos here are easy. There are tons of things to do here that involve nature, but nightlife usually ends at 9-10PM for this areas full service food places, but ...some bars stay open till 2AM in downtown SLO. For 24hr "food", there is a Denny's & a McD's that are open (on Madonna Rd., off the 101). Try to escape the usual tourist area, for the less known. There are a plethora of dirt roads that lead to wonderful views with great hiking. SLO makes a smooth beautiful transition to Monterey or Santa Barbara Counties... especially on Route 1. Even on the 101, you can be surprised with some great views, including rare double rainbows (see Pics) Anyway, please enjoy yourself here! Mahalo! (Yes, you may find Hawaiian plate lunches here (e.g. Red Dirt Cafe), some Pho, lots of Thai & Japanese, but not Dim Sum, nor other ethnic restaurants. The are some small groceries that cater to the small ethnic populations...such as Filipino (Debu), Eastern European (Enjoy!), Chinese, & Indian....so see my & others reviews) Please remember to driving carefully & fill up on gas if you head North.. it is at least hour(s) of "nothing" but glorious dark skies to Monterey, CA or King City, CA!

An enlightening trip into the history of Pismo Beach…read more Visit the Website to book a tour of the Price Anniversary House. www.friendsofpricehouse.com

This off-the-beaten path local historic little park &…read morehistorical preserve, is likely not to be of much interest to any, but us locals. In general, the restored houses & the interesting stuff, is not open to the public, except on special occasions. I am a donor & supporter and even I often get forgotten for email invites. Since I am a relatively new local & was not born & raised here, my enthusiasm is not as great as those who can trace their ancestry back to Price's time. Awhile back, when I first donated, I went to check the place out. I found some hardy volunteers struggling with cutting grass & dealing with a water leak. I helped as best as I could, until a kind police officer used quite a bit of muscle to fully close a shut off main. After that ordeal, the caretaker was kind enough to give me a brief, but nice little tour of the inside of the Price house. While volunteers did an amazing job of restoration, some stuff was not original. The history of Price house can be found on the internet, if you are curious. As for the park area itself, it is pleasant enough, but rather raw & undeveloped. There is really not much to do nor see...especially for kids. I do appreciate the place for it's history & it still being sort of a serene oasis among the ugly developments. I have also found it to be a nice spot for some wildflower pics when in season. I think that it is a nobel endeavor & they do on-line donations if you are kind enough.

Still not open. Barriers in parking lot. Scrim up to block view. No clue to reopening date.read more

The librarians are not very friendly nor interested in helping the public. However, the technician…read morestaff at the desk are very helpful. The children's section is not set up to accommodate children. There should be more outreach to the families trying to help children find books. The picture book section is particularly not child-friendly for browsing. The books are jammed tightly on the shelves by the author's last name, which makes it difficult for anyone to find a book unless they know specifically what they're looking for.

I came here for an event today so really my review is tailored more towards the events that Casa is…read moreholding but also to acknowledge the fabulous grounds and building though I admit I don't have full context for the history or background. I would definitely come back here to learn about the house and to take the guided tour. This wasn't the purpose for me coming today but the gentleman who works here noted that it's a great tour and I know friends who have enjoyed learning about the family and the history of the house, getting a deeper dive of information. I came here with some friends for their first hosted event Sound Bath. A wellness day if you will. From start to finish everything was very organized and thoughtful. The staff hosting the event and the spiritual wellness guide and sound healer was wonderful. Everyone was nice and you felt welcomed. Not pretentious and just very positive and good vibes. We had a nice group and everyone was respectful and on time for the sound bath so it went off without issue. It was a relaxing experience and the grounds were very nice to hold this outdoor event. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, we found an area with shade, very nice. Very faint sounds of cars in the distance here and there which wasn't ideal but out of their control and once things settled in you really couldn't hear much external noise. After the relaxing sound bath we were offered tea and light pastry snacks. I opted for a water and began exploring the grounds instead of partaking in the refreshments. The grounds are lush and lovely, very zen. Loved the beautiful trees and walkways with small fountains and running water. It was green and pretty all around from the recent rains. Definitely a great location for events and to learn a little SB history. I will definitely do my research and come back again soon.

Yikes, this is an expensive tour but it is a rarity to see a period house with most of the original…read moreoccupants furnishings etc. The tours are docent led and very informative. If you like these types of tours, this one is quite worth it.