As I write it is warm, sunny and the hills are finally turning an incredible green. With all the hype about El Niño, I thought it was a good time to list resources and activities in the event of inclement weather. When I started to write this today, I thought I do it all in a brief article, but decided put out a couple of different posts as there really are lots more things to do during rainy weather on the Central Coast. For today here is some basic information.
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| Hill on the Central Coast |
General Weather and Road Conditions
We have a resident weather expert ,John Lindsey, located at Diablo Canyon Power Plant that does a pretty good job. He releases a weekly weather forecast in the local paper, The San Luis Obispo Tribune, and you may read his in-depth weather predictions at http://www.tenera.com/weather/. When it comes to the weather around here it may be significantly different from town to town. An example of a typical summer day; it may be foggy and cool at the beach with a temperature around 60’, San Luis Obispo City 80’ and sunny while Paso Robles could be sunny and 100’. The winter temperatures tend to be a bit more consistent during the day and the inland areas are colder at night sometimes dipping below freezing. This makes it a bit tricky when you are packing for a vacation here. Winter daytime temperatures range from 50 - 70 with nights cooling off into the 30’s and 40’s.
For winter make sure you pack rain gear and have layers. I don’t go anywhere without a jacket or sweatshirt in my car even in the summer as it can be a bit chilly if I head to the beach or some of the windier areas.
Road Conditions
Current local road problems can be found at: http://www.localconditions.com/weather-san-luis-obispo-california/93401/traffic.php
Don’t be surprised when you travel throughout San Luis Obispo or Santa Barbara Counties that there are plenty of dead spots just off the beaten path where you will not get cell reception.
If you are planning to head north to the Big Sur area from San Luis Obispo check the road conditions. Construction and other events may make travel tedious and it is not uncommon to have the road closed overnight or completely. During significant storms the road may be closed due to mudslides, etc. I strongly recommend you have alternate plans.
http://www.localconditions.com/weather-big-sur-california/93920/traffic.php
Quick Ideas for a Rainy Winter Day on the Central Coast
Although it seems obvious, one of the best Adult activities whether rain or shine is hitting the wine or the beer tasting trail. The area is home to world class wineries and recently has become a beer lovers paradise. There are a handful of wine/beer tour companies to pick from if you do not have a designated driver. I will write a separate post exploring these options in detail.
A quick list of activities to try with the kids are listed below starting in the south and moving north:
PISMO BEACH
Bowling at Pismo Bowl http://www.pismobeachbowl.com
AVILA BEACH
Central Coast Aquarium http://www.centralcoastaquarium.com
SAN LUIS OBISPO
SLO Children’s Museum http://www.slocm.org
Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa http://www.missionsanluisobispo.org
Bowling Alley on CalPoly Campus
General Public Pricing is listed on the website along with hours. I would recommend you enter the campus from Grand Ave. and stop by the Parking/Information Kiosk to buy a daily parking pass as you will need it. It is hard to find metered parking.
Kids pottery classes
Anam Cre Pottery Studio, downtown SLO http://www.anamcre.com/kids.html
MORRO BAY
The Natural History Museum http://ccspa.info/morrobay/
PASO ROBLES
The Children's Museum at the Paso Robles Volunteer Firehouse
http://www.pasokids.org/
SAN SIMEON
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| Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle |
Hearst Castle
http://hearstcastle.org/
Elephant Seal Rookery, check out the newborn calves at this accessible spot on the north coast.
If you are at Hearst Castle use should definitely check it out as it is only 9 miles north on Highway 1.
Enjoy your vacation in this beautiful area of California. Please comment and let me know if this was helpful.
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