Surrounded by some of California’s most fertile and cherished landscapes, San Luis Obispo rests like a jewel in the midst of the splendid bounty of California’s wandering central coast. Located midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, the San Luis Obispo region is nestled peacefully into an enchanted coastline that is marked by rolling green hills, quaint seaside towns, windswept beaches, gentle inland valleys and tumbled mountains that are surrounded by vineyards, farmland, and native California Oaks. The County includes more the 80 miles of pristine Pacific Ocean coastline – stretching from the warm, sprawling sandy beaches of the south to the windswept bluffs and tumbles promontories of the northern county.

 

San Luis Obispo is also a region identifies as much by its scenic wonders, as it is by its regional charm and the neighborliness of the resident locals; who can be identified by their friendly, easy-going demeanor and generous hospitality. I discovered this myself while sampling every know edible type of produce at the weekly open-air farmers’ market in downtown San Luis Obispo – a Thursday evening event that fills four blocks of Higuera Street and is marked by a local sampling of just-picked produce accompanied by barbecued specialties and a sampling of tasty nibbles supplied by local restaurants. It was a lively affair, where everybody offered open smiles, free samples and, even, a few cherished family recipes – to me, a virtual stranger!

 

This generosity is not unusual, as I soon discovered. Visitors to the region will find a benevolence of spirit and a tradition of hospitality particular to this section of California coastline. It is a tradition that began in 1925, when American’s first motor hotel, the Motel Inn, opened to welcome weary travelers on a little-known stretch of Highway 101 at the foot of Cuesta Grade in San Luis Obispo. The tradition continued in grand style during the mid-1940’s in nearby San Simeon, where publisher William Randolph Hearst entertained lavishly at his famous “castle” perched atop La Cuesta Encantada – the Enchanted Hill. Hearst's beloved castle was a labor of love and countless craftsmen labored for 28 years, many by hand, to create the hilltop estate. Today, the grand estate of Hearst Castle, encompassing 165 rooms and more than 127 acres of gardens, terraces, pools, and walkways, is now a popular tourist destination that should be on any visitor’s list of places to visit.