#centralca

A weekend with no real plans calls for a spontaneous road trip. Especially when your brother, currently in school in San Luis Obispo, has no plans aside from studying and job hunting, your boyfriend is on board, the weather forecast for Pismo all weekend is a sunny 75 degrees and your hotels tonight app is too easy to use. 

John and I drove the scenic 101 to Pismo Beach and checked in to the Lighthouse Suites, a hotel on the beach with amenities like ping pong and a pool, and also a sentimental place for me as I often stayed there with my family growing up. My brother joined us and we walked along the beach toward the pier to get some food. After fish tacos and burgers, we settled back on the beach until the wind picked up, making the decision to walk back to the hotel pool an easy one. 

After getting some sun at the pool, we made our way to another family favorite, the neighboring Ventana Grill, which has incredible views of the beach and neighboring hillsides, HOMEMADE TORTILLAS, as well as some great seafood and cocktail options. We put our name down and decided to wait outside with the view and I’m so glad we did. It was a treat to see a pod of whales off in the distance, traveling north along the coast. We watched them until we sat down for dinner. 

I miss my brother so much. I miss all my family, really. My parents live up north since moving there about seven years ago, Neil lives in SLO, and Daniel, my other brother, lives outside of Dallas. It’s always the best to all be in the same place together, but even just spending time with Neil made me happy. Once he left to go home, I immediately missed him. 

This morning John and I walked on the beach collecting sand dollars, something I look forward to when coming to Pismo, and soaked up more of the beach views before we packed up, checked out, and headed to Santa Barbara for the day. We indulged in more fish tacos and ceviche at Corazon Cocina and some pistachio ice cream, also inside the market. We attempted to walk off our lunch on State Street, enjoying the weather and some live mariachi music in front of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. 

Now back home, looking at various takeout menus, deciding what to have for dinner, I feel so grateful for the weekend I had and for the people in my life. John and I both agreed this quick weekend trip is something we can and should take more often. Pismo was pretty perfect.