I may have romanticized this festival in my head. I imagined buying a strawberry balloon from a…read morestrawberry mascot... grabbing a strawberry infused lunch from a trendy and innovative food truck... eating a homemade (organic and fresh) strawberry shortcake dessert... Ok, I definitely romanticized it. We walked down a street with standard fair-food options (corn dogs, funnel cake, towering fried foods) before deciding to skip out on lunch. I caved and got the kids a snow cone. I didn't want to pump them full of Red 40, but I was committed to the theme and ordered strawberry syrup. They loved it. I passed several shortcake options but the cake portion was the yellow store-bought circle kind and the strawberries were more of a goop. I found a homemade strawberry shortcake from an adorable little downtown store and it was okay. Not bad, not impressive. It was $7 and I ate about $4.25 of it. The area set aside for families and younger kids was a hit with my 2 and 4 year olds. The green tractor racers was a huge hit and the turns were impressively long. It's a busy festival with lots of people but they have set up many side areas/venues so the crowds are dispersed (to take full advantage of his festival download a map and plan out the music or acts you want to see) Beside my disappointment in the level of strawberriness, it was a solid family outing and the weather was perfect. If you don't have other epic plans, I can't think of a good reason NOT to go.

Signed up for the Strawberry Stampede 10k to kick off our first time visiting the Annual Strawberry…read morefestival. Other than the race, I can't believe how big of a dissapointment it was. The festival was more of a small-scale alternative to the mid-state fair including the same fair vendors, fair food, cheap craft booths with clothing and jewelry from national brands and a few from Fresno. The festival closed down about 4 blocks of streets for vendors, entertainment, and a couple for rides and bounce houses/games. There were a few booths from the same company that offered strawberry lemonade, strawberries with whip cream, and strawberries with angelfood cake. There was another booth that had cheesecake on a stick with strawberries. It seriously the strawberries to non-local gimmicky booths was about 25:1. At least there were a few local vendors offering BBQ sandwiches, but event burrito and Greek vendors were from out of town. Here's how you can make it better: get local restaurants to commit to participating and making an amazing strawberry dish! Ex: strawberry glazed meats, strawberry vinegarette, strawberry pie, strawberry sangria, sooo many options! If you could have closer to a 5:1 ratio of random vendors tobstrawberry vendors and get more local input this event could be amazing. Alternative option: don't call it the strawberry festival.. call it the AG Annual Fair Looked like a lot of the kids had a decent time, but talking with other adults in the area who voiced a similar dissapoitment from years past with no plan to return.

BUBBLES BY THE SEA... My childhood memories of Pismo Beach…read moreis that of riding ATVs (all terrain vehicles) along the beautiful beige and sandy dunes of this beach lined city. What a pleasant surprise to find myself back in Pismo, not with sand in my face, but in heels, a dress and bubblies in hand! What an absolutely fabulous time we had! Thanks to Yelp, my husband and I enjoyed an amazing getaway which happened to coincide with our anniversary weekend! At Bubblyfest By the Sea, we enjoyed endless pours of this "liquid gold" in an array of colors ranging from porcelain, alabaster, chiffon, golden, honey, blush and rose. With over 60 vendors and growers from near and far, it was the perfect venue in discovering so much that is out there. This second annual event took place at the SeaCrest Oceanfront Hotel. Being guests at this lovely hotel made parking for the event easy and convenient. We parked, checked in and off we went, to splurge and overindulge in food and bubbly. Our day started on the rooftop patio of the hotel, exclusive for VIP ticket holders. This very intimate setting with great views and comfortable lounge seating had a nice selection of reserve bubblies just for us. As with wine tasting, we started off with pours of dry bubblies, then ventured to a sweeter variety. Our hostess made sure we had everything we needed and had lunch delivered to us. After lunch, a DJ spun some tunes and champagne buckets lay in front of us, completely at our disposal and for our pure enjoyment. But wait! This VIP pass wasn't all of it. Behold a plethora of vendors downstairs! Yes, the rooftop patio was exclusive and serene, but it was time to venture out into the masses! Adjacent to the pool and in the garden area of the hotel were tents set up housing all of these wonderful food and bubbly vendors. Some of the unique bubblies we sampled were infused with almond and peach/mango...delicious! The samplings of food included farm to table caterers who provided fresh strawberries, an assortment of cheeses, ceviche, olive tapenade, mac and cheese, brownies, cookies, Muffin Goddess muffins and pink cake pops. If you enjoy sparkling wine, or would like to experience bubbly overload, mark your calendar for October 6-8, next year. If you can't wait an entire year, plan to attend one of their upcoming pop-up events: San Francisco on, April 9, and in Los Angeles on, June 2, 2016. Our objective for the weekend was definitely to have a great time, and with that, having discovered new tastes and blends, made for the perfect weekend, marked with great memories. As a result of the numerous and very generous pours, I found my favorite bubbly du jour...IVY from France. A light, slightly sweet sparkling wine made from the Muscat grape.

This was the first time I heard about such an event. Thanks to Yelp and my wife, who won the…read moretickets, we spent an absolutely perfect weekend in Pismo Beach. Let me summarize by saying that if you love the bubbly drink, you have to come to this event. I have never seen so many vendors of local, national and oversea growers/vendors gathered at one place to let us sample their finest. We were privileged to partake of the VIP Grand Tasting. We started off with a private tasting of four vendors with pretty much unlimited pours of their bubbly in a private roof top area, an hour before the main event. We were then treated to a catered lunch of chef salad and BLT with homemade potato chips. The main event was held in the grassy patio area of the hotel facing the Pacific Ocean. With 60 growers/vendors, there was enough alcohol to give everyone a very happy bubbly buzz! But lest not forget the growers/winemakers who poured and answered questions about their products. We were introduced to a few who we will be buying from in the very near future! On top of the bubbly, Field to Table was there feeding us cheeses and delicious appetizers. The weather was perfect, the alcohol was flowing, the people were friendly and everyone was having a great time. The event was well organized. We will be back next year!

This was my first time at the Mac and cheese festival (and great wine tasting too). Didn't know…read morewhat to expect. It was amazing! Worth every penny of the price. The wine selections were vast and I enjoyed so many great local wines that I had not had before. Wowed by the selection of the Mac and cheese. Fun to vote for my favorite. Fun band to dance to. Jessica who was one of the organizers did a fabulous job! Will definitely be back with more friends!

I unabashedly love mac n' cheese and so as a newcomer to the area, I was excited to go to a…read morefestival that celebrates all things macaroni and cheese. I bought VIP tickets well in advance. On "game day" we showed up a little after they opened and almost turned the car around. Mayhem. I've never seen lines so long just to get in an event. No signage whatsoever. I didn't realize there was a (empty) VIP line until I had already been waiting 15 minutes in a line that stretched as long as the eye could see. Once again, zero signage. I finally figured it out and we were in within minutes. There was a lot of disorganization at the entrance. I made a point of making sure they scanned my tickets because no one seemed to be asking. Lots of confusion. The VIP lounge was okay. The sweet treats from Jamie and Amy's were amazing. The mac n cheese from Jeffry's was killer but cold. The selection of wine and beer was a 6/10. Down on the festival grounds the lines were insane and at some times, intense. No one knew how to separate the lines properly. People bumping into each other, personal lawn chairs and blankets scattered EVERYWHERE. WTF people?!?! Blankets? Everywhere. Why????? I tried about 6 types of mac n cheese. Some were good. Some were just okay. Most of them were cold (sad face). For the price, this was definitely a "one and done." Sad to say, I probably won't go back.

It is always a pleasure to come to Pismo. The times we have come it is always clean and pleasant…read more Also, every time we come we find sea creatures or spices on the sand. This time we found a lot of by the wind sailor according to Google. And also some sand dollars. Last time were jelly fish, and the time before that were a lot of clams. I am always puzzled. I always have to walk barefoot on the beach for at least half an hour to an hour to recharge. You know science say that. Then depending on the time of the day we can lay down on the beach to wait for the sunset or go to the pier and find a bench and wait for it. This time we did the second. I took my book and enjoyed reading while waiting. It is very peaceful just to seat there read and enjoy the sound of the waves coming in and out. I am a sunset lover so I don't mind the drive from Fresno just to enjoy the beautiful time here in Pismo. Also the weather just perfect. If it's cold in Fresno it is warmer here. If it's hot in Fresno it is colder here. It's a win, win always. Highly recommend this beach for sunsets. Compared to Morro Bay that it's always gloomy. So, come and enjoy the views here in Pismo.

Pier is beautiful and flooring is stable af…read more Beach is Clorox clean. I swear!!! Visitors, locals, and staff really keep this beach clean. I didn't see any trash except in the trash can where it belongs. Weather was nice and cool. Locals are friendly and nice. We had a few of them give my ex gf and me some unsolicited conversations that made us smile. We had another local offer to take pictures of my ex gf and me with her phone. So nice. Wish folks were this nice and friendly in Los Angeles County . Male and female restrooms were clean when we needed them. Lots of places to eat and shop. Most are pricey. If you want souvenirs, definitely go to the outlets, a mile away from the beach. Biggest issue with beach (and any other beach) is available free public parking. We actually got lucky to find a nice spot while a person was leaving.

We love coming to this every year! It usually takes place on the last Friday & Saturday of…read moreSeptember. In comparison to the Strawberry Festival, it is small, but there are still plenty of vendors and a decent selection of food. They have bounce houses for the kids and other activities. On Saturday morning, from 10am-12pm, there is the parade. It features lots of local businesses, people running for office, schools, veterans, etc. For such a small town, the parade is quite long! But, the kids have a blast and a lot of the groups pass out candy. I love having the excuse to support local businesses, so we'll be back next year!

Ask my husband - as we pulled into the main heart of the Village, I kept saying, "I want to live…read morehere!" The charming mix of unique architectural styles with varied textures and accents is reminiscent of many of the old Gold Rush-era towns in the Sierra foothills. I definitely prefer vintage character to contemporary glass and steel, so felt right at home. We grabbed a sandwich at Branch Street Deli, then wandered several blocks to check out the window displays and real estate postings. We even ventured out onto the swinging bridge, and noted the gazebo nearby. Free parking is also a plus. As we left the business district we cruised on several adjacent residential streets. It seemed like each cottage was cuter than the one before. The Village of Arroyo Grande is loaded with character. Can't wait to go back and explore more.

The Village of Arroyo Grande is always a pleasure to visit. Be it for the harvest festival, the…read morestrawberry festival, the farmers market, or ... Every time it is a fun stop and the stores and restaurants are so welcoming. Come on in and take a walk and enjoy

I have never taken the time to truly be in the moment and really chill when in California and see…read morebeyond the obvious gorgeous beaches, sunsets and sights. This 8 day leisurely drive to and from SF was beautiful and stopping at will and experiencing this farm in San Luis Obispo was so peaceful and fun. Open fields for acres, a beautiful calm in the air, no loud noise and no horns or city sounds, beautiful flowers in every color that greet you and make you smile; apples and then more gorgeous and delicious apples that you leisurely pick and place in the basket that fills up fast. A wonderful and warm Manager Olivia who lives in the area and loves what she does. A lovely store with Halloween Knick knacks and jars of honey and other delicious items. A nice area for kids to play. We loved the SLO Creek Farms just off the 101 in San Luis Obispo.

One of our favorite places to come as a family! We have been visiting every year for almost 5 years…read morefor their apple picking in the fall! The service is always so sweet and inviting! The snacks are fun and we love taking pictures in the fields!

Scott the owner was very nice. He is just opening the store. Bright murals and paintings decorate…read morethis local. There is currently a selection of merchandise, prints, and paintings for sale. He stated that he also owns a store in Montana so he is just getting this shop ready. I think there was a variety of items for sale at different price points. I think for people wanting to take a souvenir home this place should be your first stop.

Like someone said, $27 entry fee gets you 5 live bands. You really can't beat that alone…read more Once inside, they had a few food trucks to chose from, pizza, oysters (duh), clothing stands, art. They also had some people in costume on stilts and people dressed in costume with water guns to make things more fun for the fest goers. I didn't like how you HAD to buy a glass in order to drink a beer or wine ($13 for beer with $8 refill). They said they'd give you the glass of the beer you first bought but mine wasn't in that glass. Also, I accidentally dropped my glass in some sand and they would NOT give me a clean glass. All that money and they wouldn't give me a new glass.... All in all, I'd definitely come back. It was a fun day and well organized.

This was not what I expected. The tasting tickets were sold out when we arrived and the entry fee…read morestill cost us $27. It was a very cool festival vibe with lots of great food, beer and art as well as fun costumes, face paint and other awesome feasts for the eyes. Live music and stills walkers were an added fun feature. I would absolutely come back here again.