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Family Fun: San Luis Obispo
By DesertMama | July 19, 2008
As the DesertFamily continued our West Coast Swing Road Trip last month we made San Luis Obispo one of our stops and are we glad we did. The town sits in the Central Coast wine region and is surrounded by beauty. We stayed at the family-friendly Holiday Inn Express. The exterior of the hotel matched the charm of the town, our room was quiet and the beds were terrific.
Since we had spent most of the day in the car we thought we’d journey out on foot, but then we saw a trolley sign right in front of the hotel. The ride was a bargain at only 25 cents a ride. We climbed aboard with several other families and after a short jaunt we arrived downtown to find a crowd of people in front of the Mission San Luis Obispo for the Friday night summer concert. It looked like fun, but being that it was dinner time we decided to seek out food instead.
A lady at the Holiday Inn suggested a number of family-friendly restaurants, one of them being 
Mo’s Smokehouse BBQ which we stumbled upon after strolling the town for a bit. The scent of BBQ in the air smelled really good, so we went in. The place was rocking with good tunes, a fun atmosphere and many familes. A “surfing cow” was suspended overhead and there was tons of Route 66 paraphernalia. Our sandwiches were terrific and the kids gobbled up their grilled cheeses. After dinner we explored the town a little longer then headed back to our hotel via the trolley.
The Holiday Inn Express offers a free continental breakfast to guests and stays open until 10 am on weekends, however the beds were so comfortable we all slept in and missed breakfast. Refreshed, we hit the town again in search of a Starbucks and brunch. We quickly found our coffee then roamed around until we came across the Corner View
Restaurant where the kids scored the cutest Mickey Mouse pancakes. Next, we ventured on to the brand new San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum. Let me say one word: AMAZING!
This three-story museum is a kids’ wonderland. The first floor is still under construction and when it is finished it will have a creatively thought-out volcano theme. In the meantime, the gift shop is open and loaded with all kinds of fun toys and trinkets. The third level is open and designed for the little people, four and under, and has interative games, a reading corner and other eye-catching, hands-on attractions for the little ones. 
The second floor is where we spent most of our time. It has an SLO theme and is designed 100% for the imagination, so much so that even parents get swept away in the land of make-believe. A stage, complete with dress-up clothes and working theatre lights, allows children to instantly become stars or work behind the scenes, the farmers market allows farmers to “plant and pick” veggies and “sell” them at the local SLO Farmers Market. There is a clock tower to climb up and a swinging pendulum the kids can ride on. My son fell in love with the “real life” fire truck, which was built by a kind-hearted volunteer. He also loved delivering packages from the “SLO Poke Trucking” truck. My daughter was transformed into a doctor, compete with scrubs and a stethoscope. She still hasn’t lost the “Doctor” title.
You can bet we will be planning more trips out west with San Luis Obispo as one of our stops.
Topics: Budget Travel, Family Travel, The Cookie Jar |
July 19th, 2008 at
I have never been disappointed with a Holiday Inn Express, perfect stay for a perfect price every time. Doesn’t hurt that Holiday Inn has the best point system membership either in their Priority Points.
July 19th, 2008 at
I also love Holiday Inn. I’ve never been treated anything less than a welcome guest. The rooms have always been clean and the front desk is usually anxious to be helpful.
July 19th, 2008 at
I love that the Holiday Inn Expresses are bargain priced, offer continental b’fast, and many of them have pools - key for the kids!
August 17th, 2008 at
I guess we share the same opinion in these. My last visit to Holiday Inn Express is about last one year and I miss it soooo much!