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There are 3 piers in Avila Beach but Port San Luis Pier is my favorite of the bunch. It's located on the farthest right if you're facing the ocean and driving into Avila Beach from the road. It's past the PG & E plant and lighthouse.


You'll see some campers parked there. Don't be discourage. Just keep driving and you'll see a free parking area. That is when you'll see the Port San Luis Pier. You can go fishing on this pier without a fishing license and also see sea lions from this pier. They like to hang out around here.

I really love coming here with the family. Like any fishing pier, it can smell fishy but if you love seafood, it shouldn't bother you. When it's cloudy, I feel like I'm in heaven as the fog hangs really close.


Here are more photos that I took from my walk on Port San Luis Pier on a sunny day last year. The restaurants were just opening again from the pandemic and we decided to come here as they have restaurant with an outdoor area to enjoy our meal.

See my video reel of Port San Luis Pier in Avila Beach on instagram.




A lot of boats were roaming around the bay. 


After walking around for awhile, we enjoyed a lunch at Mersea's, which is a seafood restaurant located right on the pier! I had their tacos while I enjoyed this fantastic view.

Port San Luis Pier/Harford Pier Address for GPS: 3950 Avila Beach Drive, Avila Beach, CA or you can GPS Mersea's Restaurant in Avila Beach and it'll lead you right to this pier as well.

All photos, even pinned photos from Pinterest are original from SanLuisObispoMom.com. Please give credit if you plan on using them. 

More about Avila Beach:
Avila Beach is located in San Luis Obispo County and is one of many beaches in the area. They have farmers markets, a lot of restaurants and shops and a great playground for kids. I've visited 5 different tasting rooms in Avila Beach. See pictures that I took at all of the wine tasting rooms that I visited in Avila Beach.

Avila Beach T-Shirts:

Avila Beach California Vintage Retro T-Shirt

Being outdoors can create such wonderful memories but it comes with a risk. Even if the sun seems mild, it's good to have kid's sunscreen, a pair of sunglasses and a sun hat to protect your skin. Swimming is always one great idea to improve your mood and get a bit of exercise if you feel bummed out for any reason so they are always great skills for kids to have.

To see other pictures of restaurants that I've visited in San Luis Obispo County, go to the Restaurants Page.

See more pictures of Avila Beach.

There are many different Pismo Beach t-shirts that you can find locally as souvenirs. There's not a shortage of souvenir shops near the Pismo Beach Pier that sell t-shirts but it can be overwhelming to search through hundreds of them to find the right one. Upon going on a hunt to find Pismo Beach T-Shirts or 805 T-Shirts as a gift, I was getting a bit tired already after just finding a decent parking spot at the beach. I wasn't tired physically, just mentally tired. Then, stopping in one-by-one through a swarm of tourists was another obstacle. That is why I am such a happy online shopper. I'll happily go to the beach to put my feet in the sand but shopping for a t-shirt makes me a bit light-headed. 

Hey Transplant Mom,

I understand your pain, uncertainty and a bit of emptiness as you wait by the gate to retrieve your child and hear a group of moms chatting it up. You think, "I'm just going to focus on my child" but deep down, you wish to be in that conversation. The way they wave to each other and go on outings together to talk about mom life is something you only get to do via Zoom with your close friends from a distance. That group over there is maybe an established group that took a few years of growth or maybe less, but it took a good leader.

You've only lived here for a little while, still acclimating to everything while adjusting to the pandemic life. One adaptation to another, you reflect back to think of the all things you've achieved while you're away from your close friends hours away, states away or even countries away. I get you. I am a transplant mom. Friendships take time. If you're an introvert like me, then it'll take a lot of time!

So, how do I get around to coping with the thought of wishing my bestest friends live close to me? I created a blog. This one to be exact. I went exploring with my kids and focused all that energy on them, playing with them and being a kid again. What I lack, I made it up in other areas or at least I try to. I started joining in educational zoom meetings versus scrolling through social media feeds. I'd post content but not look at others' content. I did more creating and less observing. I took more pictures of my scenery, picked up hobbies like learning how to sew a fabric mask. (See blog entry here to see the masks I created.) And it's because I had more time to be creative and kind of learn about what I'm good at. Sometimes I think the reason why I have a great relationship with my husband and 2 kids is because I spend less time complaining about them (mainly because I have no one to complain to) so I tackle issues head on!  And I'm just trying to live the best life that I can with the circumstances that we have.

So what are you good at, or want to be good at? Start there and maybe with what you're good at, you can find others who share the same hobbies. Or maybe you'll become so good at something and it makes you so happy that it has filled a void in your life? So let's think about it. Let's start creating something soon. And if you're braver and wiser than me, you can be the leader and build your own mom group.



Love,
SanLuisObispoMom.com


Other things:

• See my Mom Groups & Childcare page
• Read my Preschool Reviews

This summer, we took my sons to the Boomers in Santa Maria for the first time. It was a drive to the next county over but we always enjoy going into a big town again.

There's never an admission fee to go inside however you have to pay for the rides, mini golf and playing on the arcades. I think that if the kids are still little, they can skip the rides and just enjoy the indoor arcade. They also serve food so you don't have to worry about being hungry last minute. They have burgers, pretzels and other interesting Southern items too. This Boomers location also has local beer on tap so the adults can have an adult beverage if they want to as they are playing games.

We started out at the arcade as that's the main entrance anyway. You can buy an arcade card at the counter or from their self-serve machines.

Aside from getting an arcade card, we bought a pass for each of us so that we can each go on 3 activities, which you can pick mini golf as one of the options. I think if your child is still a toddler, it may be hard for them to concentrate through 18 holes but it's still fun to take turns and do a family activity. They don't charge kids 5 and under for mini golf.

They're open every day so you can always come to Boomers if you're thinking of something to do to entertain the kids. They have half prices off on games on Wednesdays and Ticket Deals on Tuesdays and Thursday if you want to save some money.

Boomers Santa Maria Address: 2250 N. Preisker Lane, Santa Maria, CA 93458

Suggested Reads:

• Find other kid-friendly things in to do.
• Find upcoming family-friendly events.

We visited the Exploration Discovery Center in Grover Beach on their opening day today! Here are some pictures from our visit below.

After I picked my kids up from summer day camp, I asked them if they're up for exploring a new place today. I showed them pictures that the Exploration Discovery Center posted on their social media and website and the kids decided to go, judging from the posted pictures. When we got there, there were more things to do than expected!

Immediately upon entry, there is an office area but when you turn left, that's where you'll enter the main play rooms. We started out with playing veterinarian with stuffed animals. It was well set up with even a pretend X-ray viewing machine!

Then, we moved onto the grocery area where one kid pretended to be the clerk and the other was the customer. They really took it seriously and put play food in their tiny shopping cart. Then, they checked out with the pretend scanner and bagged the groceries. We put things back when we're done playing and then moved onto the science area.


The science room had a lot of different toys to use to build! My sons really loved this area and we spent a good amount of time in here before moving into another science room with rocks and fossils. We circled back and went back to the previous science room to play with some toys in their wet play area outside! They provided aprons for kids to use if they wanted to minimize getting their clothes wet!

After playing outside for a bit, we went back inside and decided to play pretend cooking at their diner and kitchen area!


By this time, I was very impressed with the Exploration Discovery Center. There's a lot to do! But wait, we haven't gone to the outside play area in the back yet! We've only explored in the front outdoor area. So, we made our way to the back and wow, there's a garden play area, musical instruments area, real turtles, fishes and geese!



This was a sweet surprise to us. There was also a pyramid with a mummy inside. I didn't take a picture of that so you'll have to see it for yourself!

This place is great for preschoolers and little kids and my kids really enjoyed it. They also have a birthday package so that's a nice thing for locals to have another option to plan birthday parties.

To see other places that I've explored with my kids in San Luis Obispo County, go to the blog section or the Activities section!

All Pinterest Photos are original photos taken by SanLuisObispoMom.com.

Similar Play Kits for the Home:

Click N' Play Pretend Play Pet Examine & Treat Vet Veterinary Doctor Play Set for Animal Pets Dogs 16Piece
Magnetic Tiles for Building for Kids

Reading Suggestions:

• Read my review for San Luis Obispo Children's Museum
• Read my review for Paso Robles Children's Museum

Popular Things To Do with Kids in San Luis Obispo County:

• Charles Paddock Zoo -- Read my blog review
• Hearst Castle -- Read my blog review
• The Ravine Waterpark -- Read my blog review (only open for Summer)
• Mustang Waterpark -- Read my blog review (only open for Summer)
• San Luis Obispo Children's Museum -- Read  my blog review
• Central Coast Aquarium -- Read my blog review
• San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum -- Learn more
• Paso Robles Children's Museum -- Read my blog review
• Exploration Discovery Center -- Read my blog review
• Museum of Natural History -- Learn more
• Avila Valley Barn -- Read my blog review