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Lucky for us, Santa Barbara is only an hour and fifteen minute drive south from our area as it's only the next county over from San Luis Obispo County.

We've learned more about MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, from Blippi, the clown from YouTube! We really wanted to encourage the kids to visit a museum again, now that the mask mandate has been lifted and things are getting back to a more normal. At first, the kids were not up for a drive so I showed a video of MOXI from Blippi's video of his visit there and after about halfway through watching, they were ready to change clothes and get ready for it!

There are many kid activities at MOXI. It only took us about 2 hours to visit all three stories of MOXI but we could have easily stayed longer and revisit the floors again. Daddy got hungry and there were a lot of restaurants to pick from right outside luring us to shorten our visit to enjoy a nice, big lunch.

Rooftop at MOXI
There is a rooftop (3rd story) at MOXI that has fun exploration activities and a great view of the pier, ocean and the mountains of Santa Barbara. I really enjoyed coming up there! MOXI was going to close off the rooftop for a special event at 2PM for a private party so we made sure to visit the rooftop earlier on during our visit before they closed that part. I'm glad the front desk told us that as we were paying for our tickets to get in.

There's a lot of sections for kids to create crafts and build things, along with interactive play. Coming out of our area and into a public space again reminded me that there is some catching up to do as far as lessons to remind the kids about, such as how to appropriately share and behave politely when we're in public. The way they sometimes behave at home, like being loud and rambunctious, is not okay when there are other kids, especially those with sensory processing disorders, and other adults in the same room.

Outside Snacks Can Only Be Eaten on the Second Story at Mountain View Terrace
For any drive beyond 30 minutes, I usually try to pack snacks for the kids and bring them with us in my bag. I'm so glad I did this for our visit to MOXI because after a 1 hour and 15 minute drive and an hour of play at MOXI, one of my sons got hungry. We found a sign that said snacks can only be eaten at their Mountain View Terrace. It's located on the second story. You'll find a door that takes you outside to the terrace, near the race car tracks. The Mountain View Terrace had two benches to sit. We sat on one of their orange benches and my sons were able to fuel up with our snacks and breathe in some fresh air. They don't sell snacks or drinks there at MOXI so bringing snacks with us was a life-saver. It was quite busy at MOXI so navigating around the crowd and playing with the kids meant no free hands to take a lot of pictures of our visit. However, you can find pictures of MOXI and their current prices from their website: https://www.moxi.org/visit-and-learn/hours-admission. Kids under 2 are free and EBT cardholders only have to pay a minimal fee compared to regular admission.
(Another view of Santa Barbara from MOXI's rooftop)

All photos at MOXI on this blog post were taken by SanLuisObispoMom.com.

See family-friendly things to do in San Luis Obispo County.

(Note: They don't open until past noon and their closed days change season to season.)

I visited Bee House Thai Cuisine for the first time last week to pick up my take out order. They are located in the same spot where Sister Kitchen used to be! As you step in, you can feel the new restaurant vibe.


The area is sleek and there is a unisex restroom that I spotted right away. The order was done in 20 minutes like they said on the phone. I ordered the larb with pork (they let you pick the meat type) and the fried chicken. The larb was delicious and to my surprise, the 'fried chicken' item on the menu is actually an order of wings! Maybe they will change the naming of this on the menu later but I just wanted to note that here.

There are two other amazing Thai restaurants in Grover Beach that I've also dined at: Divine Thai and Bunn Thai (read my review of Bunn Thai). I still like Divine Thai and Bunn Thai Bistro Restaurant better because I'm just used to their tastes and have been familiar with them. However, I really liked how fast my order was done here at Bee House Thai Cuisine. Unlike many restaurants in Grover Beach, Bee House Thai Cuisines hours of operations change seasonally.

Address of Bee House Thai Cuisine: 245 W Grand Ave, Grover Beach, CA 93433

Read My Reviews of Other Grover Beach Restaurants:

• Pono Pacific Kitchen Review (Grover Beach)
• Bunn Thai Restaurant Review (Grover Beach)

See my other individual restaurant blog posts in San Luis Obispo County.

See the main restaurant page with my top recommended picks throughout SLO County.

I'm so excited to say that I've been served by an AI robot server at a restaurant in Santa Barbara yesterday at Meet Up Chinese Cuisine Restaurant!


Her name is Shao Tu and she's smart and prompt.

When we order, I usually use the QR code that is on the table. Then, the food comes out according to what I ordered. The servers do bring some of the food out, but we enjoy it so much more when the robot brings it out to our table. I've dined here about a handful of times. We usually ordered a small wonton soup, potstickers, beef chow fun and yang chow fried rice!




The restaurant is kind of tucked in so if you missed a turn, it'll take a few minutes to get back around to find it again. However, the place is a true treasure find! We can't wait to come back. Santa Barbara and this restaurant is about an hour and a half from SLO. See the video clip of this same Meet Up Chinese robot to see its movements via my instagram post.

Address of Meet Up Chinese Cuisine: 2251 Las Positas Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93105

This past year brought a lot of changes to our family's diet to improve a health condition. This year, I baked a vegan and gluten-free vanilla cake for my kid's birthday. The cake sunk in a bit in the middle after I took it out of the oven, but it's fully cooked. I think I should have left it in the oven a bit longer. Aesthetic aside, I'm happy with this cake.

I used the recipe I found here: https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-gluten-free-cake/ but in case the website is ever down, I'm going to type out the ingredients here as well.

Ingredients for the vanilla cake:

• 2 cups of almond four
• 2 cups of all purpose gluten free flour mix
• 1.75 cups of granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons of baking powder (I use a brand that is corn-free due to an allergy)
• 1 teaspoon on salt
• 2 cups of almond milk
• 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
• 1.5 tablespoons of pure vanilla extract

Here is a list of Teen Centers and places for teenagers to thrive in San Luis Obispo County, year round:

1. Colony Park Community Center Teen Center for 6th - 12 graders. Hours of Operation: Monday - Friday from after school - 6PM. $10 yearly membership fee (scholarships available). Each teen will receive a Teen Center Membership Card to be scanned each time he/she enters the Teen Center. Each member must have a signed waiver to participate and must follow all Teen Center Rules. Please bring waivers to the Colony Park Community Center, 5599 Traffic Way to sign-up! Anyone under the age of 12 must be accompanied in the Community Center by a parent or guardian. For more information please call 805-470-3360. More info link: www.atascadero.org/teencenter. Address: 5599 Traffic Way, Atascadero, CA 93422
2. Paso Robles Teen Center at Centennial Park opened in August 2023 and is a dedicated space for students in grades: 6th through 12th grade. It has a kid game console, places to charge up and tables to play board games. They can also easily walk from the Teen Center to the gym to enjoy basketball and ping pong. It’s open 2 to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Address: 600 Nickerson Dr., Paso Robles, CA 93446
3. The CLUB at Boys and Girls Club of South San Luis Obispo County is free for teens of grades 7th - 12th grade where kids can drop in after school. From sports, volunteerism and academic pursuits, The CLUB offers great resources and programs for the kids. A membership application is required (free). Hours and events vary so check with the Boys and Girls Club of South San Luis Obispo County. Address: 1830 19th St., Oceano, CA 93445
4. Boys and Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast is separate from the Boys and Girls Club of South San Luis Obispo. The Mid Central Coast has 15 different locations although they are not clear on their prices for their many programs. They have programs that include sports, arts and more. You'll need to sign up for a membership which requires a fee. 
5. San Luis Obispo County Libraries have over a dozen libraries around the county and they usually have weekly or monthly scheduled events teen events at a couple of locations. Some of the the more active ones for teens include: Atascadero Library, Morro Bay Library and San Luis Obispo Library (Downtown SLO). Events are the libraries are almost always free.
   
   Read about my visit at the San Luis Obispo Library.