Via Pismo Beach to Santa Maria

 Left SLO on Thursday morning and headed back to the ocean. First stop: Avila Bay (photo below)

,,, on to Pismo Beach, which history goes back at least 9,000 years, to the Chumash Indians. 1769, Don Gaspar de Portola and parties camped in the area, nearby an Indian village. Later it became Rancho Pismo, which was subdivided end of the 19th century. In 1881, Pismo’s original wharf opened for business, and, the 1900s were wild times in Pismo Beach, noted for having many saloons, along with several notorious brothels. The Southern Pacific Railroad  helped tourism and brought people from the San Francisco Bay area to Pismo Beach in one of the first “timeshare” operations. A bit later, PB became the Clam Capital of the World - famous for the clams, which they hauled it off for hog-feed at the beginning, since it was so abundantly available. Not anymore, but you can fish for free on the pier, no fee, no licence necessary

Oceano Dunes are located a few minutes south of Pismo Beach, and the beach itself is called Grover Beach. Really nice for a break - combing the beach for shells and sanddollars successfully, and, enjoying the summerly temps of 80+ degrees F (over 25 deg C). Love the beach, the sand dunes,  the ocean –  though the feeling here is, again,  completely different one from the northern CA coast - more "southernly". 

After a quick stop at Pismo Beach Outlet Mall, we drove on to Santa Maria, in the backcountry, a much more hispanic-influenced down-to-earth city with Taco food trucks and Mexican food markets everywhere. Most of the hispanic workforce, working in the nearby fields and vineyards, seem to live here. Staying in the Historic Santa Maria Inn for two nights, we found another place nearby with wonderful IPAs and Posole (!): Santa Maria Brewery.