Pismo Beach is a small beach town on the central coast of California. In the 1950’s it adopted the moniker “Clam Capital of the World”, a culture it still closely identifies with today. You may have also heard of this little gem from pop culture classic, Clueless, when Cher identifies herself as captain of the Pismo Beach Disaster Relief.
The real disaster is if you haven’t ever heard of Pismo Beach. However, if this is the case, it’s not too late.
What you should know now:
The downtown area is a popular stop for travelers making the long trip up or down the gorgeous coast (bias aside…) of the golden state. It is also the closest beach to San Luis Obispo, home to Cal Poly SLO, a well-regarded university.
Lately I’ve been loving the monthly road trips with friends up to our friend Kevin’s oceanfront vacation home. Let’s be real, who doesn’t love indulging in delicious food and stunning Pacific Ocean views…?
If you’re planning on a visit to Pismo Beach, do yourself a favor and put your diet on hold. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.
There are three things you must do when visiting Pismo Beach, California…
1. Eat a to-die-for cinnamon roll at Old West Cinnamon Rolls on Dolliver St. Extra points for a specialized cinnamon roll, like the one I devoured that was coated with slivered almonds. BOMB! Other topping options include: crumbs, pecans, walnuts, raisins, and raisins & walnuts.
2.Take a relaxing stroll on the pier or beach (PSSST! Silver dollar central on the north side of the pier during low tide. I found 12 in under 12 minutes!)
3. Finish up with a hot sourdough bread bowl full of award-winning clam chowder from the famous Splash Cafe (an awesome tip I got from my boyfriend, Ryan: add the “seafood topping” for a $1.00… it is SO good!)
What do you love most about Pismo Beach?
If you could only choose one, which would you have — an Old West cinnamon roll or clam chowder from Splash Cafe?
I’d first heard about the penguin colony in South Africa via Pinterest. You’re probably thinking… wait a second, is that even real?! Do penguins really hang out on the sunny beaches of AFRICA? Turns out it is very real. Penguins have been migrating to these particular southern shores since the 1980s.
Naturally I had to go see for myself.
(Heads up: excuse the less than fantastic photos — these were taken with a sad little point-and-shoot nearly 3 years ago)
So this is how the beginning of the day went:
On my one free day in Capetown during the spring of 2011 I made plans with my new friend Rachel to take a train out to Simon’s Town in search of those adorable, tuxedoed Antarctic natives. Rachel and I had met only a couple days before when we were put together as “sisters” for a stay with a host family at a township outside of Capetown.
While we were grabbing breakfast onboard the MV Explorer we ran into Jonathan, a guy I had never met before but who was interested in seeing the penguins also, and we felt it wouldn’t hurt to have a guy apart of our group — it turns out this serendipitous meeting would later become one of the best things to ever happen to me, because Jonathan helped save my life this same evening, but more on that later.
The three of us started out at the Capetown train station where we bought round-trip tickets to Simon’s Town.
We boarded the train and off we went, on our quest to be as close to the south pole as any of us had ever been — not that we were close, but we were in the southern hemisphere and that itself was cool.
Out the window of the train we could view breath-taking landscapes at every turn.
We arrived and began leisurely walking towards Boulders Beach, stopping to get ice cream and look inside shops along the way.
After crossing the street and strolling along the wooden boardwalk we came to a viewing area where we could see the penguins, who shook themselves free of water and waddled toward us.
We turned and walked back the way we came to see if we could find another place to view these little guys.
Down one of the paths we came across a protected beach which required an entrance fee. We paid the fee, bought ourselves a South African “Iron Brew” soda, and started down the walkway towards the sand.
I rolled up the ends of my jeans and waded into the water. With a few quick maneuvers I climbed up onto a rock next to a group of the penguins and sat there for ten minutes, enjoying the view and the good vibes.
After leaving the penguins we headed back to the Simon’s Town train station in order to catch the last train back to our ship in Capetown…
We were completely unaware that I was about to encounter a near-death experience — check back later this week for that story!
Huntington Beach is where I learned to surf. It’s where I realized I was in love for the first time. It’s where I met Arnold Schwarzenegger – for the second time. No, I was not in love with Arnold. Actually this guy’s last name was even harder to pronounce, so I won’t put you through that…
Huntington Beach holds a special place in my heart. I’m excited to share the first of many posts about it with you.
Shameless selfie time! Okay, moving on…
So a few weeks ago we pulled into the garage of my aunt and uncle’s house located less than three blocks from the Huntington Beach pier. My mom, my dad and I had brought along our dogs Kona and Beau for a stay in one of the greatest surfing destinations in the world (Huntington Beach isn’t called Surf City USA for no reason)!
We spent the evening resting up in preparation for the monstrous surfing documenting we would be doing early the next morning.
You better wake up early if you want to eat breakfast at the Sugar Shack before it begins to get crowded.
This place is famous. So famous in fact that our adorable server, Summer, is often recognized in other parts of the country when she’s working as a flight attendant – her other job.
The Sugar Shack is a 3rd generation family owned business. It’s a Southern California style “mom and pop” hole-in-the-wall breakfast joint. The inside is covered with decade’s worth of photos of legendary surfers, many of them studded with autographs. A waiting list for the outside tables hangs out front under the forest green awning.
TIP: If there’s an available table inside, feel free to grab it! And you better do it quick!
ANOTHER TIP: My favorite things on the menu… If you want to feel like a true local you gotta try the Main Street Burrito which is stuffed with avocado, mushrooms, onions, sprouts and cheese. If you’re aiming for a quick bite you can’t beat the Wake Up & Shine – 2 poached eggs on toast. If you’re aiming to eat healthy I recommend Michele’s Special – grilled chicken breast, three egg whites, bell peppers and tomatoes. And if healthy eating isn’t a priority add a hot cinnamon roll to your order. You won’t regret it!
And pancakes are always a good idea!
Main Street and the surrounding area have an impressive selection of delicious things to be consumed – everything from açai bowls to poke bowls to the best burger in Southern California. I’ll cover my favorites in detail in a post focusing on Huntington Beach as a vacation destination sometime in the next few weeks.
Okay… onto the surfing!
The misty morning began with the horn that announces the beginning of the heat, signaling the surfers to paddle into the line up and start scoping out the incoming swells.
As we made our way further down the pier the cool, salty ocean air filled our lungs. The breeze out on the pier was just heavy enough to need a sweater and even though it was only 8am and completely overcast I was glad to have sunglasses.
My dad and I arrived early enough to grab a key spot huddled up next to the professional photographers. Our pictures aren’t in the same league as theirs but they treated us as one of their own – all of us reminiscing about past U.S. Open of Surfing experiences and our predictions for this years events.
The first surfer that caught our attention was Conner Coffin, last year’s (and spoiler alert this year’s also!) Junior Pro champion from Santa Barbara, California. It turns out Conner has a blog, which you can check out here.
My family followed Conner’s progress throughout the U.S. Open and we were ecstatic to watch him take home the Junior Pro title for a second year in a row the following weekend.
Here are some shots of random surfers we observed from the pier over the next few days.
Have you visited Huntington Beach? If so, what are your own personal highlights?
Pismo Beach is a small beach town on the central coast of California. In the 1950’s it adopted the moniker “Clam Capital of the World”, a culture it still closely identifies with today. You may have also heard of this little gem from pop culture classic, Clueless, when Cher identifies herself as captain of the Pismo Beach Disaster Relief.
The downtown area is a popular stop for travelers making the long trip up or down the gorgeous coast (bias aside…) of the golden state. It is also the closest beach to San Luis Obispo, home to Cal Poly SLO, a well-regarded university.
If you’re planning on a visit to Pismo Beach, do yourself a favor and put your diet on hold. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.
