On Becoming a "Local" and not merely another "Just-Arrived"

Every August, on the weekend one week prior to the 3-day Labor Day holiday, the community of Grover Beach puts on quite a party called the Stone Soup Music Faire.  And it is truly affordable because there is no cost of admission, as in “Free”.  Two days of diverse music, a community health fair, children’s activities at the Exploration Station, along with food and merchandise from a broad selection of vendors has now been part of this community for over 17 years.

On the streets, centered near 9th and Ramona Avenue, (one block north of Grand Avenue) facing Ramona Garden Park, you will find a communing throng of people who come every year or maybe for the first time, to share an interest in that which is likely not part of their everyday lives.  In recent memory this has included music from a world renowned Celtic rock band lead by a Norwegian (Tempest), a taiko drumming group from Los Angeles that has toured Japan (Satori Daiko), a touring band made up of balalaikas (Big Rock Balalaikas) led by a elementary school teacher from King City and touring artists from as far away as Cameron and Madagascar.

The festivities start on Saturday at 10:00 AM, running all day and then conclude with a street dance from 7:00 PM to about 9:30 PM.  The health fair is also on Saturday.  On Sunday, the day begins at 11:00 AM until the Faire closes at 5:00 PM.  Sunday also includes a Salsa (food not dancing) contest in the early afternoon.  On both days, you will also find a juggler and a storyteller to make the whole family happy they came.

All you have to do is show up to enjoy this celebration of musical and cultural diversity.  However, if you need more information you can contact the Grover Beach Chamber of Commerce at 805-489-9091 or visit their website at www.groverbeachchamber.com.

For those of heartier stock, on Saturday before the start of Stone Soup, the Dune Run-Run takes place at 9:00 AM.  This event includes a 5K walk along with a 5 and 10K run out to the Pismo Dunes and back to Ramona Garden Park.  For information and race registration call Grover Beach Parks and Recreation at 805-473-4580 or visit the City’s website at www.grover.org.

When summer comes to the Central Coast three things most assuredly come with it – morning fog along the coast, tourists congesting our roads and highways, and lots of free music. The various summer concert series are the events where locals tend to outnumber the tourists. Among them are:

Tuesday – “Tuesdays in the Park” at Atascadero Lake Park includes a barbecue from 5-7 p.m. and music from 7-8 p.m. Beverages are available for purchase or you may bring along your own.

Wednesday - “Concerts in the Park - 2009″ takes place at the Templeton City Park,  6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Food is available for purchase.

Thursday - Mitchell Park, Osos & Buchon Streets  in downtown San Luis Obispo,  7 - 8 p.m. Bring along your own food and beverages. There’s also free music  on Thursday evenings at the SLO Farmers Market on Higuera Street.

Friday -  “Concerts in the Plaza-2009″ at the Mission Plaza in downtown San Luis Obispo, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Food and beverages are available for purchase, but this is one venue where you may not bring your own beer, wine or other alcoholic beverages.

Friday - “Concerts in the Park - 2009″ in downtown Paso Robles, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Food and wine is available for purchase or you may  bring your own.

Friday - The Farmers Market along the Avila Beach Promenade, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. includes free music. Many vendors sell food, but not alcohol may be consumed away from the nearby restaurant or bars.

Saturday - “Concerts in the Park” at Atascadero Lake Park, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Food and wine is available for purchase or you may bring your own.

Saturday - “Afternoons in Avila” along the Avila Beach Promenade,  1 – 5 p.m. generally takes place during the month of June and into July. Food and wine is available from local stores and restaurants.

Sunday -  Downtown Gazebo Park in the village of Arroyo Grande hosts free concerts begin at 1 p.m. on alternating Sunday afternoons. Food and beverages are available from nearby delis or bring your own, but alcohol may not be consumed.

Sunday - “Sizzlin Summer” series in Grover Beach’s Ramona Gardens Park, 3 -6 p.m. Food and beverages are available for purchase or bring your own, but alcohol is prohibited.

Sunday - Salisbury Vineyards near Avila Beach offers  free concerts every other week. You may bring your own food but alcohol must be purchase onsite.

Sunday – Free “Lazy Locals - 2009″ concerts take place once a month in Templeton  at the Castoro Winery . You may bring your own food but alcohol must be purchased onsite.

Since I’ve far exceed the size limitations of a blog I’ll have to share my favorite free two-day music event next time.

One relatively simple thing truly separates the locals from the tourists – when the orchestra of emergency sirens plays to full crescendo up and down the coast we take it in stride because we know it’s a test, only a test.

It might be argued to be a phenomenon similar to the 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds on Mercury Theatre of the Air. Think of us locals as those who recognized the show was a dramatization provided for our entertainment. Think of the tourists as the rest of America who gave the newspapers such a field day.

The Early Warning System of more than 100 extremely loud sirens stretch from Cayucos on the north to Nipomo on the south and as far inland as the City of San Luis Obispo. They are intended to warn us of any potential public health emergency caused by some mishap at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, located on the shore between Avila Beach and Montana del Oro.  Because they are potentially of such critical importance to the wellbeing of so many thousands of people it is vital that they always be working properly. And that’s where the testing comes in.

Once or twice a year the system is tested in all its full-throated glory. These tests are preceded by lots of publicity about the planned tests so none of us are afflicted by War of the Worlds syndrome. But here’s the interesting part – the publicity occurs mid-week in advance of the Saturday tests. On Saturday the populations of some of the areas affected might double with visitors in town for the weekend. Remember, they weren’t here mid-week so they don’t necessarily know that it is just a test.

I remember taking my son to Avila Beach one Saturday some years ago. From the beach I was watching him boogie boarding in the wave when noon struck and the sirens cranked up. Up and down the beach tourists who had been lackadaisically working on their tans were suddenly on their feet and walking around in circles, unsure just what to do next.

So if you’re visiting and it’s noon on Saturday, there’s a good chance those sirens you hear are just playing with you. When you live here you will have been advised in advance that the upcoming Saturday will be a good day to visit a beach to view the commotion.

Fran Lebowitz opined, “vegetables are interesting but lack a sense of purpose when unaccompanied by a good cut of meat. “ Personally, I enjoy almost every form of produce prepared most any way with or without a side of animal protein. This makes the Central Coast, with its year-round growing and harvest seasons, the perfect place for me.

Almost every known fruit and vegetable is grown somewhere in the region and most are available directly from the farm. Except for a few items such as bananas, we never eat produce picked green, stored then transported great distances. Most of the edible plant products on our table come from a small pesticide-free farm a couple of blocks from our house as well as from our back yard. When we need something more there is even more variety at the myriad of farmers markets held throughout the region.

Our vegetable mainstay is our weekly produce box from Rutiz Farms in the Halcyon area of south San Luis Obispo County. One of the best features of the weekly box is that it contains whatever is in season and Jerry grows many things I didn’t even know existed. It’s kind of interesting eating stuff we’ve never tried before. There are many similar direct-to-consumer farms around the area, including the seasonal boxes sold by the Cal Poly organic farm.

Then there are the farmers markets where local and some not-so-local small growers get together to offer produce, flowers, bottled and canned goods and such fresh from the farm. The granddaddy of them all is the Thursday night farmers market in downtown San Luis Obispo which attracts tourists from all over the country. But there are also similar such markets of varying size and scope in virtually every town in the county.

Several markets are under the auspices of the San Luis Obispo County Farmers’ Market organization. These include: Wednesday morning in Arroyo Grande (note that the location has moved from the K-Mart to the Spencers Market parking lot on Grand Avenue), Thursday afternoon in Morro Bay, Thursday evening in San Luis Obispo, Saturday morning in San Luis Obispo and Saturday afternoon in Arroyo Grande.

Others include: Wednesday afternoon in Atascadero, Friday afternoon in Cambria, Friday morning in Cayucos, Monday afternoon in Los Osos, Saturday afternoon in Morro Bay, Tuesday afternoon in Paso Robles, Friday morning in Paso Robles,Sunday morning in San Miguel and Saturday morning in Templeton, Friday afternoon in Avila Beach and Saturday mornings in Shell Beach.

One thing that can definitely be said about we locals is that we eat very well.

“Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.” Thus observed Mark Twain. And one might deduce that he had experienced our Central Coast after writing, “In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.”

So many people seek to move to the Central Coast primarily because of our climate. What some don’t understand is, use of the word “climate” in the singular is incorrect. In truth, depending upon the season, one might very be able to experience Twain’s 136 different kinds of weather in a single day  all without leaving San Luis Obispo County.

Unlike, say, the San Joaquin Valley to the east where one could travel hundreds of miles without any discernable change in temperature or weather conditions, the Central Coast provides us numerous unique microclimates within short proximity to each other. Don’t like the weather where you are? No problem. Just drive a short distance (or sometimes even just walk a short distance) and you can experience different weather.

There are three major climate regions: the north and south counties which are separated by the Cuesta Grade north of San Luis Obispo and the swath of coast running the length of the county. Whereas it is unusual for temperatures to drop below freezing or above the 70’s in the south county, winter freezes and summer days bypassing 100 are common in the north. The coast is backwards. During the summer when other places are sunny and hot, our coastline is apt to have morning fog or, occasionally, fog all day. On those rare occasions when coastal temperatures have us sweltering in the 90’s during the day, however, we know that, as soon as the sun dips the coastal influence will cool us down dramatically.

Along the coast one might find different microclimates within as near as ½ mile. Pismo Beach may be apt to have summer fog yet just a couple of miles up the coast Avila Beach could be sunny and warm. The north end of Shell Beach could be sunny yet ½ mile down the road in the village of Shell Beach the fog could be dense. One might expect to find a comparable condition between more sunny Cayucos and less sunny Morro Bay though they’re only separated by a few miles.

So remember, when we talk about the weather around here we have to be sure that both conversationalists  are talking about the same place.

Few would argue that fashion has changed during the past half-century. Unless one were to look at me. I’ve been wearing the same clothes – Oxford shirts, jeans, dessert boots – for the better part of the past five decades. In fact one friend commented the other day that he’s convinced I own only one shirt because they all look pretty much the same.

So I’m clearly not qualified to comment on the latest fashion trends, having missed them all during most of my lifetime. Fortunately, other locals pay closer attention to such things.

Kerry from Grover Beach is kind enough to share her advice:

“Every year millions of tourist shop at the local Outlet stores. Little do they know they’ve just passed by what I consider the best women’s clothing store on the Central Coast. Tucked away in the Scolaris shopping center is the quaint store called Collections.

“They carry a large assortment of clothes, shoes, jewelry and accessories all of which are top-of-the-line. The prices aren’t bad but with a little determination, timing and a good eye you can score some excellent deals. They even throw in a coupon or two on occasion.”

The store is located in the shopping center just south of the Prime Outlet Center in Pismo Beach at the corner of El Camino Real and 4th Street.

Submitted by Pat and Pete Broderson

Note: The Brodersons divide their time between homes in Pismo Beach and Vermont, giving them the unique perspective of seeking out local activities that some of us fulltime residents might take for granted.

MONTANA DE ORO IN LOS OSOS
This State Park has to be the best coastal park in all of California.  We have been hiking here for years and we discover something new and beautiful every time.  The rugged high cliffs, the sequestered beaches, the huge chunks of rock in the ocean with the surf sprays often creating rainbows ,makes for remarkable hikes.

PISMO BEACH
You can walk for miles on this beach.  There are rocky cliffs at the north end and tall dunes at the south.  The long pier off the beach at the town, Pismo Beach, invites fishing and watching the surfers.

SHELL BEACH
It is amazing to experience the access to the ocean along Rte. 1.  Turn on almost every road and you will find walks in communities and a number of parks to sit and enjoy the scenery.

AVILA BEACH
This beach is north of Pismo, smaller than Pismo but with fewer tourists.  There are trails that will take you out to rocky shores: one walk ends at a large hole in a rock where years ago the sailing ships tied up to unload their cargos.

TOWER ROAD TRAIL
The beauty of this area is not just the coast but the rolling hillsides rising up from to the ocean.  North of San Luis Obispo, off highway 101, there are several trails for more strenuous hiking.  The Tower Road trail has photo option scenery around every corner and at the top spectacular views.

LOPEZ LAKE
The ocean is seductive but the Central Coast can also lure you inland.  The drive east from Arroyo Grande takes you through hillsides, horse country and then to the lake.  It is a great place for families: boating, fishing, swimming, camp sites, picnic tables and hiking trails.

They are officially designated a number of different things, the Oceano Dunes and the Guadalupe Dunes being the most common. Locally, we just call them The Dunes.

They are breathtakingly beautiful, rich in unusual history and, in some respects, so controversial as to pit locals against tourists and even locals against locals.

The Oceano Dunes represent the last place in California where vehicles are allowed to drive on the beach and modified vehicles are allowed to roar up and down the dunes.  If you want to take a leisurely drive along the edge of the ocean you can enter at the end of Grand Avenue in Grover Beach or the end of Pier Avenue in Oceano. However, beware Arroyo Grande Creek where it empties into the Pacific. Following a rain it can rage and cars, trucks and RVs have been lost to the waters when drivers chanced to traverse it unwisely.

For those of a more benign or, yes, even spiritual, nature, the Guadalupe Dunes is the place to visit. Personally, I’ve hiked more miles than I could count through these dunes and though I’ve crisscrossed their broad expanse I have never beheld the same vista twice. You can enter via Oso Flaco Lake located off Highway 1 between the Arroyo Grande Mesa and Guadalupe or at the end of Main Street in Guadalupe.

Two tips if you’re planning a hike in the dunes: (1) Go early. The wind often picks up in the afternoon and blowing sand can be unpleasant; and (2) plan your visit in advance. The places you’ll want to hike are closed to humans several months of the year due to the nesting of the endangered Snowy Plover.  Check with the Dunes Center in Guadalupe before heading out then visit them for some very interesting displays.

Should you become as enthusiastic about The Dunes as I, you’ll want read Norm Hammond’s book, The Dunites. This odd assortment of intellectuals, charlatans, celebrities, writers, artists and even the grandson of a President inhabited The Dunes between the early 1900’s and late 1960’s, creating a community and a culture like no other. And an entire set for The Ten Commandments filmed in 1923 was built out on The Dunes then buried in place when filming was done.

If beauty is in the eye of the beholder then beautiful music must be in the ear. We all have our personal likes and dislikes and if your likes include really fine acoustical music performed by very talented singer/songwriters from throughout the nation, then here’s an unusual venue that remains a secret even from most locals.

Música Del Río in the countryside of Atascadero is billed as a “house concert.” Until a few years ago I’d never heard of such a thing, but it is exactly what its name implies – a concert held in someone’s livingroom. Concerts are presently scheduled monthly September through May.

The Central Coast is perfectly situated to host talent that would normally be found in much larger venues for the simple reason that we’re located halfway between the Bay area and L.A. the typical scenario is that a performer finishes a gig in one market and is passing through on their way to a gig in the other market. It only makes sense that they would linger a while, put on one intimate performance then head on their way with extra cash in their pockets. It’s a sweet deal for them and a very sweet deal for us because we get to enjoy superb music locally and cheaply.

Each guest is asked to stick $15 into the pot and the performers receive 100% of the money generated. Additionally, most of the performers have CDs available for purchase.

On concert nights most of the furniture is removed from the large livingroom and folding chairs are arranged theatre-style. The venue accommodates approximately 50 guests. Doors open 45 minutes before the concert commences and most guests bring along some snacks, desserts, wine or beer to share in an informal potluck.

Though the music varies from individual artists to small bands and covers an array of genres, it is almost all unplugged (acoustical) except for the occasional keyboard which, obviously, has to be amplified in order to create any sound. I’ve attended many and have never had anything but a great musical experience and have never spoken with another attendee who expressed anything but the same reaction.

Attendance is by invitation only, but I can arrange to get you on their exclusive invitation list. Actually, you don’t really need me. Just go to the Música Del Río website and ask to be included.

Do you have a question about living here? Ask it here.

One thing you can count on when living on the Central Coast is that people will come visiting. Friends, family and even some who aren’t exactly either love spending a weekend here. Now that you live here you’ve provided them with the excuse to visit more often. Get used to it. The day you received the keys to your new home you suddenly became more popular among those who live elsewhere.

Of course part of your responsibilities hosting these visitors is to acquainting them with much of what the region has to offer and a big part of that involves food and wine. Eating and drinking well is important to locals and visitors alike, but locals sometimes ferret out the great places not necessarily on the beaten paths trod by the tourists. Good eats and good sips will be a recurring theme here, no doubt.

You will discover that many dining establishments don’t accept dinner reservations during certain days of the week or times of the year. However, some such places sometimes bend the rules for locals. Whenever you call or visit a restaurant seeking a dinner reservation make certain they know upfront that you are a local. You might be surprised how a line like, “I live in Pismo and have some out-of-town guests coming. Would it be possible to get a dinner reservation for Saturday?” might work for you.

Cheryl from Arroyo Grande has a couple of suggestions for places you might want to give a try with or without guests. Hoppe’s Bistro and Wine Bar in Cayucos (arguably my personal favorite) is definitely among the higher-priced restaurants in the region. But an incredible and diverse menu that changes daily, a vast selection for the serious cheese and/or wine lover and desserts that simply can’t be turned down definitely make it a worthwhile splurge once in a while. For a great value Cheryl recommends Hoppe’s Sunday brunch. “At only $25 per person, sitting in the garden and wasting an entire Sunday is a must.”

Cheryl, clearly a wine and cheese aficionado, also recommends the Monterey Street Wine Company in San Luis Obispo. “The triple crème at Monterey Street is the best cheese on the planet. Sit at the wine bar, enjoy a wine flight and just relax” she writes.

Do you have a question about living here? Ask it here.