30 October 2013

honeymoon day one.

date: Thursday, 08 August 2013.
final destination: San Luis Obispo, California.

downtown San Luis Obispo California


Probably one of the only scenarios in which it is not a pain to get up at five in the morning is when you're doing it to start a vacation.  We packed up our rental and were on the road by 6:30.

we're super stoked!
Points of interest from the drive:

1. Starting in Indio, the air was soooooo brown.  I'm talking Arizona dust storm brown.  We passed a sign in Indio that said "Lights flash when dust in area" and it was flashing, and we both we like, "yeahhhh, those lights should be flashing."  As it turned out, there was a fire past Whitewater and all of the brown dust was actually smoke.  It was sad, but also kind of an omen for us.  More on that when we get to Oregon.
2. We hit traffic two or three times, and each time I was baffled to see no accident or wreckage when the congestion cleared up.  I mean, thank goodness, but what was the hold-up even for???
3. When we finally made it to the coast and saw the ocean it was more exciting to us than was probably warranted.  Also, we passed an exit sign to "Seaward Road" and Jon exclaimed "SEAWORLD!!!"  And then we laughed hysterically - more than was probably warranted.

At around 3:30, we finally got to SLO!  A few things.

My mom's parents have a house here, and up until a few years ago, this is where they primarily lived and where we always went to visit when we came to California.  This town is the most amazing place in the world, and I'm not even exaggerating.  Ask anyone who has been there.  I hadn't been back since the summer before I started at Arizona State, so it was really exciting for me to go back and visit the house and some of my favorite places in town.

We got to stay in the SLO house for the very beginning of our trip and the end of it.  Not gonna lie, I was a little nervous when I took Jon through the house because I couldn't remember if there were any embarrassing pictures of me when I was little, but I think everything turned out okay.  There were probably more embarrassing pictures of my brother when he was little.  Ha.

SO, Thursday nights in San Luis Obispo mean the Downtown Farmer's Market:

downtown San Luis Obispo California


It's held every Thursday, every week of the year, and they can do that because the weather is the same all year round: perfect.

We walked up and down the market and stopped inside some of the shops.  One of which was Rocket Fizz, a store with all kinds of soda, candy and pop culture knick knacks, and dudes - the soda flavors there are insane.

downtown San Luis Obispo California Rocket Fizz

The grossest flavors would be on the middle shelf: Peanut Butter and Jelly, Bacon, Coffee, Buffalo Wings, Sweet Corn, Ranch Dressing, Bacon, Peanut Butter


downtown San Luis Obispo California Rocket Fizz

downtown San Luis Obispo California Rocket Fizz


The most popular vendor at the farmer's market is definitely F.Mclintock's.  The line was so long (it doesn't officially start serving until 6:00), and the food looked and smelled so amazing.

downtown San Luis Obispo California F.Mclintock's vendor


But, eating a plate of ribs is really hard to do on a paper plate, so we decided to eat in their restaurant.  We got seated right away and took advantage of their Thursday night Outdoor BBQ special: 13.50 for a regular rib, a baby back rib, a beef or chicken kebab, a piece of garlic bread, and two sides.  It was SO MUCH food, and since we were starving (and also we're total fatties), we each ordered the special. SO MUCH FOOD.  Ron Swanson would have been so proud of us.

And of course, what would visit to downtown SLO be without a trip to the world famous Bubblegum Alley?

downtown San Luis Obispo California Bubblegum Alley


At the start of the night it was around 74 degrees, and by the end it was 64.  Not at all cold, but it was cold enough and I welcomed it enthusiastically.  Jon didn't, and he thinks I need other things to get excited about.



Self-portrait of the day:

downtown San Luis Obispo Bubblegum Alley

(we took the same picture just about every day on our trip, so there are a lot of these.)

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