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With the Barbie movie getting a lot of hype and a lot of people are dressing up in their pretty pink, I couldn't help with recollect places that I've visited that reminds me of Barbie.
(I ordered a pink drink at the Silver Bar Cocktail Lounge at Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo.)

Here's my list of Suggested Barblie-like Things To Do in San Luis Obispo County:

1. It's a no brainer for my first pick. The pretty pink boutique motel called Madonna Inn is our iconic Barbie place to be in San Luis Obispo. I've blogged about Madonna Inn (here's my list of blog entries about Madonna Inn) in many different entries because as a local, Madonna Inn is a special spot for us. We've dined at their Copper Cafe for special occasions, had two staycations in two different Madonna Inn rooms, hung out at their pool and even ordered whole cakes from them for pick up. Splashed in pink from the floor to other decor, you will be wowed by their restaurants, gift shops and rooms. See personal Pinterest photos below that I took myself. While you're there, don't forget to order the famous pink champagne cake!
   
   
   
   See my pictures of all of the cakes that I've tried from Madonna Inn. I've also attended a few events at Madonna Inn, including one that was inside of one of their banquet rooms. See my Youtube Short video of my walk around the Madonna Inn property before the event.
   
   Madonna Inn Address: 100 Madonna Rd, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405


2. We have over 300 wineries in San Luis Obispo County (this includes our wine countries: Paso Robles and Edna Valley). I've blogged about the many wineries in our county as a local but what I haven't highlighted yet is a pink themed wine tasting room in Pismo Beach, one of our famous beach towns in San Luis Obispo County, called Cali Love Wine. Cali Love Wine's walls are pink, their place has feminine energy and it's right by the beach! See a photo of their karaoke set up below that I took during my visit earlier this year.
   
   If you're planning on an impromptu visit, check their hours because they are not open every day. Even before the Barbie movie came out, I felt like I was missing a pink dress when I entered here. Address: 180 Pomeroy Ave., Pismo Beach, California 93449


3. Aside from the pink champagne cake that you can get from Madonna Inn (read under number 1 pick above), you can get a different type of dessert in a pink box at Crumbl. Crumbl is a chain that sells large cookies in different flavors but they always come in a pink box! Located in Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo, both part of San Luis Obispo County, you can get their delicious cookies packaged in a nice pretty pink box. Here's a glimpse of my cookie order that they put in their pink box from my visit below.
   
   Their cookies are fresh and sweet!
   
   Crumbl Pismo Beach Address: 503 5 Cities Dr B, Pismo Beach, CA 93449


4. Made famous by Ted Ngoy starting in the 80s in Southern California, bubblegum pink cardboard boxes that are popularly used by donut shops are iconic and luckily, a number of San Luis Obispo County donut shops adopted this tradition. (Read more about this from this Food & Wine link). Besides for the chains, you can hope to expect that a nearby donut shop will give you a pink box when you order a dozen. Here are two places that I know for sure use pink boxes below. 
   Surfside Donuts in Pismo Beach
   
   Golden Donut in Pismo Beach
   


5. There is a Thai restaurant in Grover Beach called Bunn Thai that has pink walls! When I had dined here for lunch, the pink walls really uplifted my mood and made me feel so romantic. You see them right as you step through their doors.
   
   It was not meant to be a special lunch but it sure felt special. Read my full review of Bunn Thai. Address: 968 W Grand Ave, Grover Beach, CA 93433

Reading Suggestions:

• Read about my movie experience at the movie theaters in Downtown San Luis Obispo called The Movie Experience.
  


• Read my reviews about local wineries in San Luis Obispo County that I've visited.


• Read about my staycation experience and see pictures of all the pink things that I experienced in Room #111 at the Madonna Inn, the most famous San Luis Obispo motel.


• Read about my romantic adventures and dining experiences on the Central Coast.

Even though there are many pretty pink places to have a party or meet up with some friends, creating a barbie themed party at home is very doable with so many pink decoration ideas and supplies available.

Carnival Cruise Waitlist and Phone Reservation Experience

We were on a last minute plan to go on a cruise earlier this month. There were no rates available left for the 3 Day Carnival Cruise that leaves from Los Angeles (Long Beach, specifically), California within our vacation time frame so my husband decided to call Carnival to see if we could be put on a waitlist. After leaving his contact information, all that we could do was wish for the best and continuously search online every 30 minutes. There would be availability that would pop up for rooms that could fit 2 people, but not 4 people. Even the rooms that could only fit 2 got taken pretty quickly online so we were starting to give up hope. We needed a room that could fit 2 adults and 2 children so a total of 4 people.

I really thought that we were not going to be able to find a room for 4 that leaves on 7-7 as it's all so last minute and it's Fourth of July week. But then, on 7-3, Carnival called my husband and said there was a suite stateroom that just became available and that if we wanted, we could get it. The room was meant to fit only 3 people and it's a suite that costs more, but they said they'd bring in a trundle bed if we want it. My husband did not hesitate because this was the only week that he had vacation off. So, we took that suite and have no regrets!

Since we live on the Central Coast of California, driving south to Long Beach only takes us a few hours. We decided to hang out in Southern California for a few days before our cruise so that we would be already closer by. When the day finally came, we actually got lost because we googled "Long Beach Port" instead of looking for "Long Beach Carnival Port Address". Here's the correct address of the Carnival Cruise Long Beach Port: 231 Windsor Way, Long Beach, CA 90802. We lost about 10 minutes because we were on the wrong side of the bridge. However, when we've finally found our way, we parked in the terminal parking structure right next to the Carnival Cruise Terminal for $23 a day (this may increase over time). We walked to the dome called Long Beach Cruise Terminal to wait until it was our reservation time for check-in (which you book ahead of time online). The dome reminded me a little bit of a gigantic igloo.

When we walked through the dome, there were personnel who immediately directed us to where we needed to go. Boarding passes and passports in hand, the line went really quick. We had reserved the earliest check-in time so that we could enjoy as much time on the cruise as possible. Since we booked a suite (as that was the only availability as we were waitlisted), we were able to sit in a really nice waiting area with nice cushy chairs until it was time for us to embark. That was a nice surprise. I think it was a quarter til 11AM when we were called to line up on Zone 1 to walk on the ramp to get on our cruise ship from the terminal. We had missed the opportunity to check in our suitcases, so we had to roll three suitcases up the ramp.

It was not as bad as we thought it would be because the ramp was very smooth. It's the incline that may be tough if you have bad knees but we were in good health, so it was fine and in retrospect, we're glad we brought the suitcases on ourselves as they announced later that it could be as late as 6PM until those who checked in their bags could get their bags to their staterooms. Before we could proceed to explore the ship, we went to the mandatory safety briefing as a family and got the kids' their mandatory green wristbands that kids under a certain age had to wear. After that, we lugged our suitcases towards our stateroom floor. Even though it was a bit annoying and took a lot of room on the elevator, rolling our own big suitcases for that first half hour on the ship worked out better for us because we had everything we needed already with us once we got on the Carnival Radiance Cruise Ship. However, I did put our dinner clothes in my carry on bag already so even if we didn't get our bags before 6PM, I already had clothes for my kids to change into for dinner for their nice dining room because I had anticipated that we would check in our suitcases. We like to eat at their formal dining room for dinners as cruise ships' traditional service is typically wonderful.

Day 1 on Carnival Radiance Cruise

Day 1 on the Carnival Cruise was at sea. It sailed away at 5PM so we were able to enjoy the ocean view and skyscrapers of Long Beach on our cruise ship for a few hours before we started our sail. The day was so clear and the weather was perfect. We found out from another passenger that since we booked a suite, our stateroom gets priority and should be ready as soon as we got on the ship. We went to our floor from the elevator, found our stateroom and sure enough, our stateroom keys with our names, also known as Sail and Sign cards, were already right by our door so we were able to drop off our bags and check out our room very early on!

Our Suite Stateroom

I loved our suite. It was on the 7th floor, had a balcony, vanity and tub. Day 1 was my actual birthday so my husband surprised me with the room already decorated with their birthday package when we opened our stateroom door for the first time. It made the trip so much more festive. At this point, this was my 5th cruise and on the ones before that, I only had a shower in our stateroom and never a tub. So the fact that this suite had options to either take a shower or a bath in a tub made it even extra sweet. The bathroom was significantly bigger than the cabins that I've stayed in on other cruises that I've been on. However, this is also my very first Carnival Cruise and my first cruise in a suite. The other cruises were on Royal Caribbean and Disney Cruise Line ships. The ocean views from our balcony were phenomenal while we were at the Long Beach Port (play the video below to see our Long Beach ocean view on Carnival Radiance).
Link of Video Tour on Deck of Carnival Radiance Cruise Ship

Soon after dropping off our bags and checking out our stateroom, we made a beeline for lunch on the cruise ship on the 9th floor. There were so many different things to pick from! There were: a burgers section, tacos section, and a main buffet called Marketplace. Everything tasted great and fresh! After we enjoyed our lunch, we walked around the main floors and pool area to check out all of the activities. After that, we jumped into the pool, water slides and hot tubs on the cruise ship. We were already in our swim clothes when we came on the ship so that we didn't have to change too many times on our first day. There were 2 different water slides and they were not too scary so my 7 year old could enjoy it with us!

Video Tour on Deck of Carnival Radiance

Kids' Clubs on Carnival Radiance Cruise

Video Tour of Kids' Club on Deck of Carnival Radiance

During Day 1, we took advantage of Camp Ocean (kids's club) Open House hours and went on a tour at the complimentary kids' clubs on our cruise ship. I imagine all of the kids clubs on Carnivals are very similar so even if you're not on the Carnival Radiance Ship, other Carnivals may have their kids' clubs look very familiar to this one. I highly suggest checking out the Open House on Day 1 if you have kids as it's the only time parents and other adults can come in and take a look. Otherwise, it's a closed facility for safety reasons and only kids and Carnival staff could go in and out of it. I was very impressed with the kids' clubs decor. My kids were both under 12 years old so they got to go to Camp Ocean and enjoy their activities every day. Kids between 12 - 14 years old have a separate area on the same floor called the Circle "C" room, which I think is fantastic that they have a designated area for that age group. See the pictures of Camp Ocean and Circle "C" rooms below.

Camp Ocean is blue from top to bottom and really sets a wonderful mood with their sea theme. Circle "C" is more sophisticated and has a lot of screens for video game play. Checking kids in at these clubs are free during designated hours. If kids' who are 11 years old and under would like to stay past 10PM, the parents just have to pay an extra fee by the hour; up to 1AM when they close. There is also a designated area for kids between 15 - 17 years old but I didn't check that area out. When my kids get that big in the future and we go on another Carnival Cruise, I'll definitely make sure to look for it. The kids' clubs have a daily itinerary with planned activities like crafts, dance parties and games. We only utilized Camp Ocean in the evenings after having our family dinner so that the kids can enjoy organized kids activities while the parents enjoy the 18+ activities on the ship that starts happening later in the night. The kids both enjoyed going to Camp Ocean every late evening and after a few days, they started to recognize other kids around the ship who attended around the same time. I really thought their Dr. Seuss focus for story times and activities was really neat as well! Press play in the video below to see a video of Camp Ocean that I took during Open House.
Link of Video Tour of Kids' Club on Carnival Cruise Ship Radiance

Birthday Dinner at Sunset Dining Room

Because we were a last minute booker, we had "Your Time" Dining in the Sunset Dining Room and not a designated time. The Sunset Dining Room is on a different floor and in a different area than the Marketplace buffet, which you also have the option to eat at every day for dinner. My husband really likes having formal dinners at night where we get full service because it really makes it feel really eventful every night. I also like it because it reminded me of the fancy dinners that I would watch on TV when I was a kid. I didn't grow up with nice dinners like this. Fortunately, my kids have come accustomed to this routine on a cruise ship since our last cruise on the Royal Caribbean (read my Royal Caribbean Review on our 4 Night Cruise to Catalina Island and Ensenada). So, we've dined at fancy dining rooms for dinners instead of the buffet on cruises before. What I find helpful for the kids is I'd have a pep talk with the kids before we go on our cruise that every night is a nice dinner night where we have manners and order from the menu. We get to even have dessert if we behave well throughout the dinner. At Royal Caribbean, there's a dress code for dining in the dining room. I feel that Carnival may be more casual in this aspect but we didn't know for sure so we still packed nice clothes every night for dining room service in the evenings. My husband and kids wore collar shirts and khakis with nice shoes while I typically wore a dress. On our first night, it was my birthday so my husband alerted the servers that it was my birthday at the beginning of our dinner service and when it was dessert time, they made me a birthday hat with a napkin and presented me a tiramisu dessert with a "Happy Birthday" message. My husband and kids sang with the team of servers and I felt that it was the most perfect first night on our cruise. Before dessert, I had their sirloin that's on the Sunset Dining Room menu and it was very delicious. I enjoyed it so much that I also ordered the same steak for Day 3, instead of trying their other specials.

Last year, my family and I also celebrated my birthday on a cruise but it was on the Royal Caribbean Cruise (read my Royal Caribbean Cruise Review that departed from Los Angeles). However, for the last 4 cruises, we always got the strict 5:30PM dining time for dinner. Now, I feel like we should just use the "Your Time" type dining service from now on. On this Carnival Cruise, their Carnival HUB app is the key to many activities and even reserving your table for "Your Time" Dining. When we were all dressed and ready, we would check in on the app when we're ready for Dining Room service at the Sunset Dining Room and wait for them to alert me via the app. Once I got the alert on my app, we just let them know on the app on my phone that we're on our way with a touch of a button and beeline there with our table number displayed on my phone. It was very efficient service and we could roam around the ship while we waited for the app to alert me in the meanwhile. "Your Time" open seating dining is very ideal, especially if you always have a family member who tends to be late. We're typically early diners so we were always ready by 6PM and the wait for a table had always been 10 minutes as suite passengers. I think that if you're aiming for dining closer to 6:30PM or 7PM, the waiting time may be longer as that could be prime time. I don't know for sure but that is my guess.

After a wonderful dinner service, we came back to our room and found a cute towel monkey art waiting for us, and that the attendant had pulled the trundle bed into our suite because we have 4 sleepers. He had checked with us a few hours before to make sure that we wanted that because the trundle bed crowds our stateroom and we were definitely fine with it.

Then, it was time for the kids' evening kids' club activities that started at 7PM that night, so we went to the 12th floor to find Camp Ocean and checked both of our kids in. It's a closed club so only the kids are allowed to enter and leave their door. No other adults besides for the youth staff, who work there, are allowed to walk through the door, which gave me peace of mind. After dropping them off, my husband and I went to the Trivia Night event for a bit and then, headed to the Piano Bar.

Alchemy Bar & Piano Bar

It was packed by the time we got inside the Piano Bar. Part of the reason why we didn't come right on the dot was because we wanted to get a drink. We didn't know that we could order a drink inside that Piano Bar room so we went to Alchemy Bar to get a drink first and that took awhile. It was so busy there because they were also having a mixer during that timeframe. It was pretty much busy every where during that hour on that floor. I didn't take a picture of the Piano Bar but I did take a picture of the drink that I ordered from Alchemy Bar (image below).

The Alchemy Bar's menu was so unique because it would light up when you open it. It was giving me Harry Potter vibes.

When it was 9:45PM, we left the Piano Bar to pick up our kids from Camp Ocean. We were all really tired by then as we had driven a few hours earlier in the morning to get to the Long Beach Cruise Port on time. So, we all went back to our stateroom and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Day 2 at Sea on Carnival Radiance

On Day 2, we were at sea all day but the cruise had a full day packed with activities. Just like other cruises that I've been to, a paper itinerary is provided every day (you may need to check the front of your room where they had placed the Sail and Sign cards on the card holder by your room on Day 1 if it's not inside your stateroom). We could also see the same itinerary on their Carnival HUB app during the cruise. Just like Day 1, we hit the Marketplace during the day and ate at the Sunset Dining Room in the evening for dinner. What I did differently on Day 2 than Day 1 and Day 3 is I woke up very early around 5:30AM and got ready to go to their fitness center. I am usually the first one to wake up in my family so I took advantage of this time for some "me time". So, after getting ready, I walked from my floor to the 9th floor using the stairs. Then, I walked from that end to get on the other side so that I can get on Deck 11 AFT (opposite from FWD) by walking up more steps and passing through the water slide areas, which were on the way to the fitness center. I loved being able to explore the usually busy areas in peace with only the sounds of the ocean as my soundtrack. I went on a walk like this last year on my Royal Caribbean cruise as well. Here is the video clip link that I recorded during my quiet morning walk on Carnival Radiance below.

Link to Video Tour of the Water Slides on Carnival Radiance Ship

When I got to the fitness center on the 11th floor, it had just opened and I walked on the treadmill as my work out instead of my usual jog because I had lost my balance last year on the Royal Caribbean Cruise while jogging on the treadmill and almost fell on my face (you can read about this on my Royal Caribbean Cruise review blog entry). There were only a few other people working out around the time that I was there, but when it was my husband's turn later that morning, he said it was packed!

Mini Golf and Arcade on Carnival Radiance

After the rest of my family woke up, during the day, we played mini-golf first and then took our kids to the arcade to play some games. The mini-golf is tucked on the top floor of one side of the cruise so it took a bit of effort to find, but the search was worth it. It's complimentary to play mini-golf and the views from up top were very cool.

The arcade was on the 5th floor so we trekked our way down to find it next to all the shops. To play on any of the games in the area, we used our Sail and Sign Carnival card to pay for plays so no tokens or an additional play card were needed. When we played games that earned tickets, we just had to feed them into a machine where it would load the total to our Sail and Sign card. Then, we took that same card to another machine to redeem the tickets for prizes. My sons really enjoyed playing the virtual reality game that they had there.

It's so great that they had a lot of kid-friendly activities on the ship. The kids had a lot of fun playing mini-golf and games at the arcade on the cruise ship.

Cruise Elegant Night

The Cruise Elegant Night was also on the evening of Day 2 on our cruise. We found out by looking at the top of our itinerary for the day. This night is usually really special, in which passengers dressed their best in their nice attire. It's also when they have a mega party and many cruise photographers would scatter around the ship with nice backdrops for you and your group to take a lot of pictures. Taking pictures on the cruise by professional photographers is always free on the ship. It's purchasing them that costs money. You'd always find photographers around the ship and at the Sunset Dining Room every day of this Carnival cruise. However, on elegant nights, you can take really nice family portraits. If you love getting a picture taken, you will love the many portrait opportunities on the cruise. On elegant nights, there is also usually a late night party on the main floor. We didn't stay up for the late night party on our cruise for Day 2, but did take many pictures while we were waiting for our table for dinner at Sunset Dining Room. At the end of our cruise, we bought a total of 7 prints of professional pictures taken by the cruise photographers. 

Day 3 Ensenada, Mexico Port Stop on Our Carnival Radiance Cruise

Our cruise ship arrived in Ensenada in the early morning of Day 3. When I woke up, I opened my balcony door and looked outside to check out the view. I was so excited! Click the video tour link below to see my view from my stateroom when we arrived in Ensenada.
Video Tour of Ensenada While on Carnival Cruise Ship on Radiance
For this particular cruise, Carnival Radiance only stopped at one port and that's Ensenada, Mexico. We've been to the Ensenada stop before through another cruise that we went on during our Royal Caribbean Cruise the previous year and did a 4 hour excursion (read about this). This time, we decided to skip an excursion and just got off of the ship and walked to the nearby tent area with a playground. Before we hopped off the ship, I decided to get breakfast from the Marketplace and brought it back to our stateroom balcony to enjoy the views of Ensenada. I was the first one awake again in my family and used this time to have another little "me time". On the way there, I saw a display of beautiful towel art scattered all over the pool area. It made me so happy! I loved that they did this.

Then, I went to the buffet line and got everything I wanted so that I could take it all back to my stateroom and enjoy my serendipitous balcony suite view. See my balcony view below with breakfast.

After we got ready and my whole family had breakfast, we went to Deck 0 from our elevator with our passports (for ID purposes since we were in a different country now) and Sail and Sign cards (Carnival key cards) to step off the ship and start our adventure. Immediately, I spotted the large Mexico flag.

At the Ensenada port, there was a nice bridge that we saw on the left side as we walked away from the ship that allowed us to cross over to an area that had tents with food and souvenirs for sale. They also had a clean playground with slides, which my kids were really pleased about.
After the kids played in the playground in Ensenada for awhile, they got thirsty so I went to buy water. They originally told me at a stand in Ensenada the price of the water bottle in pesos and since I didn't exchange any of my money into pesos, I asked if I could pay with U.S. dollars. There was a little bit of confusion about the money exchanges from pesos to dollars but I gave them $2 and told them to keep the change and they were content with that. After less than an hour of walking around, both of my kids wanted to hop back on the ship! That confirmed that our decision to not book an excursion this time was a good decision. There were so many fun things to do on the Carnival ship, like jump in the pool, eat all we want, play mini golf and watch movies so it just made more sense to just continue our fun there. Right when we got back on the ship and got our passports and stateroom cards checked, we immediately headed to the buffet and took our food by the pool area because they were showing the movie Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022). The kids were so hooked on the movie that we sat out there until the movie ended. Since, most of the passengers were still off the ship, we took this slow time at the pool to enjoy more water play. We changed into our swimsuits and enjoyed it for a couple of hours. I even had a second lunch by the pool area. Boy, I ate a lot on the cruise.

Last night on Carnival Radiance Ship

By the evening of Day 3, I was getting a bit sad as I knew it was our last night on the cruise ship. I've had so much fun thus far and there was still more to do. For dinner, we ate at Sunset Dining Room one last time where I enjoyed a shrimp cocktail, another steak (had the same steak as Day 1 on my birthday night) and a chocolatey dessert.

After our dinner, we took the kids to Camp Ocean where they partook in their last kids' party with other kids at the kids club. Even on the 3rd night, they showed no resistance to hanging out there with kids their age. It had been so great that they have enjoyed these fun activities in the evenings after dinner while my husband and I could attend an adults-only event every night. When they were toddlers, they didn't want to stay in the kids clubs on the cruise nor were we comfortable with it because they were still so little. We had taken them to cruises when they were babies and toddlers before on the Royal Caribbean and they had stayed with us the whole time and not go to any kids' club, so this is the first time we've really utilized the kids club to this extent where they went every night. (You can ready about our kids' club experience with Royal Caribbean on this blog link to compare.) As they've gotten older, so many things have changed as they've learned to become more social with their peers. I also have to give credit to the crew at the Carnival Cruise for being so awesome. My kids referred the personnel who worked at Camp Ocean and ran the kids' activities, the "fun guys". While the kids enjoyed their party, we went to the 80s party at the bar that night and they gave away these big glow sticks, which my husband was able to catch one for me.

It was such a great finale to our night as my husband and I were born in the 80s. After the party was over, we walked around and I wanted to eat again! I'm not sure what was happening to my metabolism but I got so used to eating so much food by the last night that I suddenly had more room in my stomach. I decided to do something different on the last hour before we picked up our kids. I wanted sushi! We paid a bit extra to dine at Bonsai Sushi so that I could get a spicy tuna roll and miso soup. I was so impressed with my big, delicious roll. My spicy tuna roll was only $6 (maybe more now if they have increased the price by the time you've read this) and it was fresh and delicious. The miso soup was quite interesting as well because they put the toppings inside my bowl and poured the soup from a teapot in front of me. I loved it all.

It was a great finale to my night. When it got close to 10PM, we went to Camp Ocean to pick up our kids. Since it was the last night, the staff gave my sons each a free Camp Ocean backpack with a cookie inside. It was a good complimentary souvenir to take home. When we got back to our room, a heart shaped towel art was waiting for us. We had planned to get off of the ship the next morning for Debarkation Day by 7:30AM so we all went to bed earlier than usual to ensure that we'd wake up on time.

Debarkation Day

There were two options to debark. We could either carry off our luggage ourselves and get off the ship sooner at 7:30AM or we could check our luggage and have the crew take our luggage the night before so that they can do the heavy lifting, but we wouldn't be able to debark until an hour later. We had made the decision to bring all of our bags and suitcases off the ship ourselves so that we could leave the ship and hop in our car to drive 4 hours home as soon as we could, because my husband had to work later that evening.

The floor to get off the ship was Deck 3. All of the elevators were clogged up because so many people were leaving at the same time so I convinced my husband to just roll our suitcases down the stairs. It's not bad since they had wheels. We did make quite a racket but the others saw what we were doing and caught on. It encouraged more passengers, who were waiting for the elevator, to use the stairs with their bags too. If you're in good health and can manage to do it, why not? It was the best decision for that scenario and we got in line to get off the ship quickly.

I had such a great time on our last minute 3 Days Carnival Cruise. Right when got in our cars to head home, my husband and I already thought of planning the next cruise. Next time, we hope to not wait so last minute and avoid being waitlisted. Although, everything did end up working so well for us. All, on a whim.

Suggested Reads:

• Read about my 4 Day Royal Caribbean Cruise on the Navigator of the Seas Cruise Ship that also stopped at Ensenada.


• Read about my 11 Day Cruise to Alaska and Canada on a Princess Cruise Ship


• Read about our 5 Nights at Moon Palace Cancun - The Grand Resort. It was like being on a cruise ship because food, drinks and entertainment were inclusive but I didn't have to be on a boat!


• Read about our family trip to Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate one of my son's birthday.


• Read about our trip to Universal Studios Hollywood to check out Super Nintendo World during our Spring Break.

Kanpai Sushi is one of the best three top sushi restaurants that I've had in San Luis Obispo (SLO) County.

Over the weekend, we walked into Kanpai Sushi in Shell Beach for dinner without a reservation for two on a whim (kids were at a last minute kids' only event). The only reservations available left on Kanpai Sushi's website were 8PM and later so we decided to take our chances and walked in around 6:15PM to see if there was room at the sushi bar, which usually required no reservation. Luckily, there was room at the sushi bar which we could see right when we stepped up to the hostesses.

The hostesses greeted us and asked us is we had a reservation to which we replied, 'no'. Then, she pulled up her tablet to look at the current table availability and said that we could sit at the sushi bar without any time limit. It was a no brainer. We said, 'yes'. To be honest, I always prefer sitting right by the sushi chefs to see them in action and hear their 'irrashaimase', which means 'welcome' in Japanese. I got to hear it loud and clear, at least 20 times that night.

After we got seated, a group of people came in and said they had a reservation for 9! It was already a full house so I think they just came in early to make sure they all rallied together on time. Usually when there's just a party of 2, like we were this night, it's much easier to find a seat. A restaurant could tuck us in a corner, at the bar, or at a reservation's table that ate faster than expected. However, I highly recommend that you get a reservation at Kanpai Sushi if there's availability online, even if you're only a party of 2. 

Our waitress was very professional and efficient. She came around with our menus and asked us for our drink order. I decided to be adventurous and ordered the Joto from their sake menu. [I apologize and realize that 'Joto' means something vulgar in a different language and in a different country but this is the name of their Japanese sake and means completely different in Japanese.]

I realized quickly that drinking cold sake required more acquisition time on my part. Next time, I'll try to remember to order a hot sake instead with my sushi. I didn't really enjoy the Joto that much but I still finished it by the end of the dinner.

When it was time to order, I decided on a miso soup, rainbow roll and spicy tuna roll. My husband ordered the 9-piece Sashimi Plate Combo; the combo came with miso soup and a salad. I thought his meal was a better deal, but my portion size were awesome.

About halfway through my meal, I thought I may have ordered too much food but I finished it all anyway! I was so impressed with everything at Kanpai Sushi. The fish was fresh, the service was top notch and the atmosphere was fun and exciting! The menu is definitely pricey, but it's so worth it for the quality.

Kanpai Sushi Address: 2665 Shellbeach Rd., Shell Beach, CA 93449

Read My Reviews About Other Seafood Restaurants Nearby at the Beach:

• Pono Pacific Kitchen in Grover Beach Review (1 block from the Grand Ave Grover Beach Access)
• Oyster Loft in Pismo Beach Review (right by Pismo Beach Pier)

DIY Sushi

When I was younger, I was more ambitious and hosted two different sushi parties. I would make sushi for everyone, but only offered two types as to not break the bank. They were shrimp tempura rolls and spicy tuna with shrimp tempura rolls. They were fun to make and my friends really appreciated it. You can now find sushi kits online that has every tool you need.

Typical Sushi Ingredients:
• nori paper (seaweed)
• sushi rice
• rice vinegar
• wasabi
• pickled ginger
• soy sauce for dipping
• small rice cooker for portability
• chop sticks

We had a movie date over the weekend in Downtown San Luis Obispo at The Movie Experience, also known as Downtown Centre Cinemas. It's centrally located and is part of a big shopping complex. 

What made this date stood apart from the rest was that I had an awesome dinner while we were watching the movie in the movie theater and my dinner is not hot dogs and popcorn. The movie theater doesn't blatantly say you can bring your own food and drinks to the movie theater, but it also doesn't say you can't. So, I ordered a California Burrito (that's my awesome dinner) from San Luis Taqueria online and picked it up 45 minutes later. We had already bought tickets online for a movie at 6PM at The Movie Experience.

Fortunately, San Luis Obispo Taqueria is only a block walk away from The Movie Experience, so we stopped in there really quick to pick up my burrito and then made our walk to the theater. I walked in there with the to-go bag in my hand and there were no questions asked.

I'm originally from San Diego and that is where the California Burrito was first created so I'm so happy that now, California Burritos can be found practically in every major city in California. San Luis Taqueria did it justice. It had the fries, the carne asada, sour cream, quacamole, pico de gallo and all the flavors wrapped tight in a very authentic tortilla. I made sure to get a small container of salsa from the salsa bar before I left the place when I picked up my burrito because without the salsa, it would not be complete! I devoured that burrito while watching the first half of the The Flash.

The Movie Experience (I can't get over how interesting this movie theater name is; so many unintentional puns) is not a large cinema but it has the best location that's smack in the middle of Downtown San Luis Obispo so there are many places to walk to before and after the movie. I really enjoyed the movie experience (see what happened?). Now, some of the seats are kind of torn but our seats reclined! This is the first movie theater that I got to sit in reclined seats so this was a real treat for me! The first few rows were reclined seats that you had to specifically pick from the chart when you bought your tickets.

After the movie was over, we decided to have a night cap before we ended the night, so we stopped in Eureka! I ordered the Farmers' Market Cocktail and thought my actual drink looked even better than what they had pictured at their bar. See the photo that I took of my drink below.

Eureka! (exclamation point intended as that's their actual name) is only a block away from the movie theater and one block from where we parked so it was perfect. When we parked at the Marsh Street Parking Structure, we picked up our parking ticket from the machine as we entered in. However, when we left, the gates going out were all open so we didn't have to pay for our way out for some reason! Surprising, we had free parking for that night! 

I highly recommend parking at this very parking structure if you're planning on going to the movie theater in downtown. It may not be free to park every night but it's so close and convenient.

If you'd like to map our adventure and see how amazingly close these places are from each other (about 1 block from each other!), here are the addresses of the places that we went on our movie date night below:

Marsh Street Parking Structure: 871 Marsh St., San Luis Obispo Obispo, CA 93401

San Luis Taqueria: 1032 Chorro St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

The Movie Experience (Downtown Centre Cinemas): 888 Marsh St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

Eureka!: 1141 Chorro St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

See my YouTube Short from this movie date night at The Movie Experience is below. It's a vibe!

Reading Suggestions:

• Read about my movie watching experience at the Regal Cinemas in Arroyo Grande.


• Read about my experience watching movies outdoors at the Sunset Drive-in in San Luis Obispo.


• Read about my staycation at the Granada Hotel & Bistro in Downtown San Luis Obispo and the places we went for that night in December when the beautiful Christmas lights were up.


• Read about my date night in Pismo Beach and the three places we went.


• Find a list of place in San Luis Obispo County where you can drop off the kids for a night of fun for Kids Night Out or Parents Night Out for an evening.


• Read about my sushi date with my husband at Kanpai Sushi in Shell Beach (part of Pismo Beach).

• Popcorn
• Chocolate
• Soft Blanket to cozy up
• Bottle of Wine or Sparkling Soda
• Box of Tissue, if the movie is a tearjerker 
• Basket with Handles to put everything together, but also can be reused by your special someone around the house

2024 Update: The Lucia Mar Summer Swim Program has finally implemented an online registration and payment system! Therefore, the infamous long line to register your kids for summer swim offered by Arroyo Grande High and Nipomo High Schools is no longer required. However, enjoy reading my old story below on when I did have to get in line to register my kids for summer swim for the previous years.

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On June 2 (a week before the school year was about to end and summer break was about to start), I made it to the registration time frame to register my kids at the Summer Swim Program between 5PM - 7PM that evening at Arroyo Grande High School. I was praying that my husband could get home from work earlier than anticipated so he could watch the kids while I wait in that traditionally famous line on the sidewalk of Arroyo Grande (AG) High School to register both my kids for their awesome swim school program. Thankfully, he did. I thought this would make it much easier for me to register them for their swim class. Well, I got in line there by myself at AG High and even arrived 5 minutes before the registration start time and there were already about 30 - 40 parents/guardians in line in front of me! Guess how long it took me to finally get to the front of the line and register my kids for their swim school this year? Click on this jump link to find the answer, quickly. I'll tell you in this post but right now, I'm going back to memory lane...because I did this before, a year ago. 

Last Year's Swim School Registration Experience

Last year, I was in line for 1 hour and 45 minutes at Arroyo Grande High to register my kids for their Summer Swim Program and I even arrived at the school 5-10 minutes early before their posted registration time. I had both of my kids with me as my husband was working a night shift and I had no childcare. I didn't think it was going to take that long as it was my first time registering for them for this swim program. I thought maybe I'd wait an hour tops since I already filled out the online pre-registration forms! Well, I was wrong. My kindergartener at the time was getting antsy but as a friendly little guy, he made friends with a few kids who were playing in the grass. A few minutes later, my older son joined in. An unplanned playdate happened while I was in line! It's becoming quite a gathering! I'm glad that happened, but I wasn't anticipating it. I didn't want to lose my spot while I was waiting in that growing registration line, so all I could do was holler from afar to my kids if they were doing something they were not supposed to do. Fortunately, I was in a line with other parents who understood and were not bothered by my loud calls.

After about 15 minutes in line, it felt like I was in line for a Disneyland attraction ride; all the parents were eager to get to the front of the line except there were a few familiar faces as most of us are parents with kids who attend at least one of the Lucia Mar School District schools. I started thinking to myself that it would be nice if there were a coffee cart that was selling craft coffee while I waited in this slow moving line. Then, 30 minutes later, I thought to myself that it would be nice if they had a couple of food trucks here selling tacos as it's around dinner time and I'd enjoy having dinner while I waited in line. Well, there were no food or drinks for sale. The only table that was collecting money is the swim school's table that sat right inside the entrance of the pool area. I think they missed an opportunity for some food sales. There were probably close to 50 parents from a glance and I think at least half of them would appreciate some sort of place to get snacks for the kids. And you know, some of us came with kids so each order could be hefty. There were kids who were younger than mine who were getting antsy.

An hour later, I was still only halfway there from the front of the line. Oh boy! My kids were getting hungry and thankfully, I had snacks in my purse. My kids would find me to eat a couple of bites and then continued to play. My kids were having so much fun playing with the other kids, they weren't bothered if I had moved a couple of yards ahead. So, when the distance got too far, I did my loud holler to tell them where I was at. Because you know, from the waist down, I look like a lot of moms in this line.

I've got to say, even though I was only able to chit chat with a couple of the parents around me, I was impressed by this entire tribe. Everyone was patient and resilient. Sure, I heard expressions of annoyance from other parents that they wished that the program would allow them to pay everything online instead. However, I think I've narrowed down to the reason why Lucia Mar District's Summer Swim Program would like parents to pay in a physical line in person like the old days. If you've dedicated this much time to get in line to register, there is less of a chance that the families would cancel their swim school schedule. That's what I think. What other reason could there be? There are so many softwares online that they could partner up to easily collect payment. The tech is there. But what they need is commitment from parents and kids for the summer. It seems to work well for them because they've been doing it this way for so many years.

It's like rushing or pledging for a fraternity or sorority and they want you to prove that you are down enough for the brotherhood or sisterhood! Except this is: are you down enough for the swim school program and commit to your initial schedule!

I don't know for sure if this is the case, but I like to find analogies.

This Year's Swim School Registration Experience

You've scrolled this far down so I'm going to tell you right off the bat that I waited for 1 hour and 50 minutes this year in that Swim School Program line at AG High. Yep, it took even 5 minutes longer for me this time. Without having my kids waiting in line with me, it was easier but it didn't make the line go any faster because it's not like the kids in line registered for themselves. It's the parents.

For the first 45 minutes while I was in line, I put my headphones on and learned about ChatGPT and how to test their API from a tutorial that I found from freeCodeCamp. I figured I'd make the best of my idling in this line and learned a bit about AI.

Just like last year, there were little kids who gathered in the grass to play with each other. There were some sighs and expressions of frustrations about how slow the line was and why can't we just pay online; but the parents stuck around. Some with even checkbooks ready in hand because method of payments were: cash, check or PayPal. There were still no food or drinks for sale (another missed opportunity again). 

Is It Worth It?

As I stood in line halfway through, I started thinking: why did I get in this line again? Is it worth it?

Since my kids attended swim school at AG High last summer, I can tell you from experience that this summer swim program is wonderful. I enrolled them for two weeks. My kids progressed considerably more in those two weeks compared to the 3 months when they were taking swim lessons at the nearby swim school business. It's because when you sign up for a week at this summer swim program, you attend every day from Monday - Friday and that helps reiterate what they are learning. I was also impressed by how patient and professional the high school athletes were. From what I can tell, many of the swim teachers (if not all) are water polo players or are part of the swim team at AG High. It's good for little kids to find role models who are teenagers and what better way to see that first hand than if they are being led and taught how to swim by these kind and cool kids?

Things to Consider Before Waiting In Line and/or Participating in the Summer Swim Program

• If you are flexible about which time(s) and week(s) that you'd like to register your kids for summer swim, then I say dodge this registration line and just come in person at their main table during their swim schedule. I even saw a parent do that on the first Monday of the summer swim program and she was able to get her kids registered 10 minutes before the start time of the next session.
• If you are definitely getting in that famous registration day line so that you can make sure you get the spots you want, bring a beverage to drink in hand (non-alcoholic, of course because you're at a high school, man!)
• Bring snacks or your dinner if you know you and your kids will be hungry while waiting. 
• If you are friends with other parents who are getting in this line, go together. It could be like a catch up session while waiting in line.
• Bring headphones if you'd like to watch a movie from your phone while you're in line. It'll make it more pleasant like when you watch a movie while you're on a plane.
• Pre-register by filling the registration forms online before coming there to pay. It'll make it easier for them when they are putting your kids' names on their schedule book/sheet. It may be a requirement before paying, as well.
• On their flyer and website, they said that they don't issue refunds on paid registrations so be absolutely sure when you sign the kids up and pay for the summer swim program by Lucia Mar District. The locations include both Arroyo Grande High School and Nipomo High School pool areas.
• I pre-paid for 2 weeks for my kids, not thinking that there is a possibility that they could pass their current level by the end of the week. That happened to one of my kids! Luckily, they are flexible with updating the level that they are placed for the next week, even for pre-paid registration, as long as there is room. There is currently no reminder system for parents to remember which session their kids are signed up for, so you just have to make sure you add it to your own calendaring system on your phone or at home.
• On a sunny day, there are very little shaded areas at the pool area, especially in the afternoon, so bring a sun hat or cap.
• Bring swim goggles for the kids as it helps kids see better in the water and give him more confidence as they are learning to swim!
• There are benches for parents and guardians to watch their kids during their swim lesson session. Last year, AG High didn't have bleachers out so some parents resorted to bringing their own lawn chairs to sit at the pool area when all of the bench spaces were taken. This year thus far, there were bleachers are out, so there's a lot of place to sit!
• Every day during the weekday in the summer, Arroyo Grande High School's Pool has Open Swim in the afternoon for families to practice swimming on their own. They now call it Recreational Swim. You can buy a pass for that. It's only for 1.5 hours a day but maybe that is all the practice you and your kids need. It can get crowded though.

Suggested Reads:
• Read about my personal review of Mustang Waterpark in Arroyo Grande.
• Read about my personal review of Ravine Waterpark in Paso Robles.
• Read about my experience at SLO Swim Center in San Luis Obispo for Family Recreational Swim Hours where my kids got to practice swimming safely in a nice warm pool with lifeguards on duty.
• Read about my experience at Lompoc Aquatic Center (in Santa Barbara County) where my kids got to go down waterslides. 

Being outdoors can create such wonderful memories but it comes with a risk. Even if the sun seems mild, it's good to have sunscreen, a pair of sunglasses and a sun hat to protect your skin. Don't forget to bring swim goggles for kids as it helps kids see better in the water and give him more confidence! 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.