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Located in San Luis Obispo County, San Simeon is what I call a slice of heaven. It is not densely populated, located right at the California coast, and full of amazing scenery. Notably, this is where you can find the famous Hearst Castle!

HEARST CASTLE
After moving here, we decided to take our first tour of Hearst Castle. To start the tour, we had to climb on a bus to get a bus ride up. My boys, 2 and 5 years old, really loved this ride towards the castle. As we rode up higher and higher, the more exciting it gets! Once at the top, we got separated into different groups according to the particular tour that we booked for. We picked the kitchen and cottages tour but before we got to see those, we got to walk by Hearst Castle's magnificent outdoor pool.

When we were greeted by our tour guide, we were given a set of strict rules like: don't touch anything, stay within the gray carpet inside the area and no flash photography allowed inside. They spent a lot of effort preserving this wonderful estate for all visitors to enjoy for years to come but as visitors, we also play a big part in ensuring nothing gets destroyed.

The cottages that we saw were amazing and I loved hearing the history of how iconic people of America came here to celebrate and party at the Castle in the past, but what I enjoyed most were the views I saw from up high. Looking down, I felt like royalty.

When we visited, kids under 5 years old got to visit for free. They considered every child under 5 as a lap child on the seat of the bus. After we got off the bus, I quickly realized that chasing my little ones and making sure they didn't touch anything were huge tasks so I didn't really get to take in all the beauty as I had liked, so be forewarned! We purchased our tickets online, but if you know that a certain session is not going to be sold out, you could probably just show up at the visitors center and buy your tickets there 30 minutes before and skip the extra online fees. But of course, there's no guarantee. We booked the 12:20PM slot and our bus ride up was not even halfway full. Address of Hearst Castle: 750 Hearst Castle Rd, San Simeon, CA 93452

ELEPHANT SEALS
After our Hearst Castle tour, we decided to visit the elephant seals nearby. About 9 minutes drive away from Hearst Castle is the natural habitat of many elephant seals in San Simeon. You could utilize the designated boardwalk and viewing areas to see them better, if you'd like. There's no parking fee nor entry fee as you're watching them in their natural home so this is definitely a cool and unique thing to do in San Simeon. However, there were no public restrooms either.

(All photos of Hearst Castle and elephant seals were taken by SanLuisObispoMom.com.)

Address of Friends of the elephant seals: 250 San Simeon Ave, San Simeon, CA 93452.

More About Elephant Seals in San Simeon

During the month of May, you'll see hundreds and hundreds of female elephant seals with their pups but no males. The Pinterest image directly below (Photograph by SanLuisObispoMom.com) was taken during May. 


During mating season, you'll see the big male ones too. The males are significantly bigger than the female elephant seals.
Link to Video of Elephant Seals at San Simeon

Reading Suggestions:

• See upcoming family-friendly events and things to do in San Luis Obispo County.
• Read about my staycations at the famous Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo.
• I've visited over 50 wine tasting rooms in San Luis Obispo County, which includes the Edna Valley and Paso Robles wine countries. See my top 10 favorite wine tasting rooms as a local of San Luis Obispo (SLO) County.

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

Copper Cafe, inside of Madonna Inn, is a very popular place to visit in San Luis Obispo for tourists and special occasions for locals. 

The decor of Copper Cafe is a reflection of the whole Madonna Inn property. There is a lot of pink; from the carpets to the napkins. Their food and bakery items are delicious. Service can be questionable with speed depending on who your server is, like anywhere else. However, the ambiance is perfect for special occasions like Valentine's Day! It's unique, warm and hearty. They also have another restaurant next to Copper Cafe that is a steakhouse called Goldrush Steak House with an upscale and amazing high ceiling room. As you walk to the gift shop at Madonna Inn, you'll be able to see the Goldrush Steak House on your way there. 

Check out pictures below of our food and the Valentine's Day decor of the Madonna Inn. For dessert, you must try the Pink Champagne Cake if you've never had their desserts before! They offer them as a selection under their dessert menu. You can also order whole cakes here. See pictures of other desserts we've tried from Madonna Inn.

See a video clip of my walk through the property when I came early for a private event there.

Check out other family-friendly restaurants in San Luis Obispo County area.

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

Read about my staycations here at the famous Madonna Inn.

Read About All of Our Travel Adventures and Reviews:

• Birthday Weekend at LEGOLAND Castle Hotel Review and LEGOLAND California Amusement Park Review


• Birthday Celebration at Great Wolf Lodge in Southern California


• Universal Studios Hollywood Family Trip During Spring Break


• Ensenada Cruise on Carnival Cruise for 3 Days


• Ensenada and Catalina Island Cruise on Royal Caribbean for 4 Days


• Alaska Cruise on Princess Cruise for 11 Days


• Moon Palace The Grand Family Summer Vacation in Cancun for 5 Days


• Cabin Trip in Monterey


• Staycations at the Iconic Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo on the Central Coast of California: Madonna Inn’s San Francisco Room Review OR Madonna Inn’s Antique Room Review


• Staycation at the Granada Hotel & Bistro in Downtown San Luis Obispo


• Staycation at La Quinta Inn in Downtown San Luis Obispo


• Staycation in Atascadero at The Carlton Review

In Avila Beach, by the kid's playground is a really small aquarium called Central Coast Aquarium. Since it was right by the playground and we were already there, we decided to pay a visit. There is a fee for adults and children. Kids 2 years old and under are free. You can literally go through the aquarium in 15 minutes! It may not be worth it if you are on a tight budget but our little boys still enjoyed it. Here are the pictures we took from our visit. 

The most fascinating part of the aquarium for me were the shark nests!

See a video of jellyfishes from Central Coast Aquarium

A couple of years after my first visit at Central Coast Aquarium, I had the opportunity to chaperone for a field trip here and we were able to visit the upstairs area with a speaker! That is a benefit for being a chaperone for a field trip at your kids' school is that you get more access to more things at different adventures while being able to enjoy the trip with your child.

Thus far, I've chaperoned for 9 different class field trips. See my tips on being a chaperone for field trips and a list of field trips that I've chaperoned for. The field trip at Central Coast Aquarium was informative and I'm so glad the kids were able to get to do more interactive activities as part of the field trip.

Seasonally, the Central Coast Aquarium hosts special evens through the year. They often have educational break camps for elementary kids during summer break. Additionally, during certain seasons, they also have a mommy and me type program for parents with kids who are 2 - 5 years old. Read more about this in my Mommy & Me section.

Central Coast Aquarium Address: 50 San Juan St, Avila Beach, CA 93424

To see other things to do in the SLO County area, go to: http://www.sanluisobispomom.com/family-friendly-events.php

Reading Suggestions:

• Read my review about San Luis Obispo Children's Museum
• See pictures and read my quick review for Paso Robles Children's Museum
• Read my review about the Exploration Discovery Center in Grover Beach

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

The beautiful ocean, clean sand and peaceful setting of Pismo Beach makes one feel like they are in a dream. This is the epitome of the California dream and we're living in it. My kids and I took a stroll yesterday in PB "Pismo Beach" and here are the pictures I took from my regular Samsung phone, unedited. It is amazing here!


When I was living in San Diego, I would hear the Visit California commercial say "Where the mountains meet the sea" and here, in SLO, in Pismo Beach, they really do meet. It's incredible to finally see this after all of these years. 

The Pismo Beach Pier is very well kept. Strollers are allowed here on the pier and the wooden floors are not too bumpy for the strollers. I have a regular Graco double stroller, not a jogger, and it was a pleasant ride for my 2 toddler boys. 

The boardwalk from Pismo Beach Pier is also a nice stroll for the kids. Although the pier does not allow dogs on it, the boardwalk and beach are dog-friendly. 

See my short video of the Pismo Beach Neon lights and the Christmas lights at the end of the pier in December below:


View my long walk on the Pismo Beach Pier on this video reel on my instagram page.

Even though, people rave about the gigantic PISMO BEACH neon lights by the pier. My favorite neon lights is from the St. Jude Pedestrian Tunnel in Pismo Beach that is located a few blocks uphill from the pier. See my video clip of my walk through the St. Jude Pedestrian Tunnel below.

All photos were taken by SanLuisObispoMom.com.

Pismo Beach Restaurants

Read my review for the following Pismo Beach restaurants that I've personally visited.

• Oyster Loft
• SeaVenture Restaurant
• The Rooftop at Inn at the Pier
• Kanpai Sushi
• Ventana Grill

To see free things to do in the SLO and the beach areas here, go to: http://www.sanluisobispomom.com/family-friendly-events.php.

Read about my staycations at the famous Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo.

Our first library adventure in SLO took place at Arroyo Grande Library in Arroyo Grande, CA. They have a children's area with LEGOs, computers for kids, puzzles and a little private area in the back. Here are the photos that we took from our library visit below.

The kids really enjoy the LEGOs, although it seemed too close to the main area where everyone could hear them building. The loud plastic clangs that came naturally from the shuffles of the LEGOs can sound disturbing a bit to maybe some. Nonetheless, the boys loved it! 


They have weekly story times here for the little ones. See the free story time schedule here for Arroyo Grande Library and other libraries in San Luis Obispo County.

The address of the Arroyo Grande Library is: 800 W Branch St, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420. You can come here and then visit the playground just a couple minutes drive away.

Aside from free story times, this public library in Arroyo Grande is very active with planning events year round. We even went to a Pokemon Party here during Spring Break.

My kids were able to meet other Pokemon collectors from all over the county and trade cards. It was so cute to watch how cordial and kind they were to each other. See our Pokemon Party experience at Arroyo Grande under Day 5 of my Spring Break blog entry.