Travel Journals: San Luis Obispo '15 - Settling in, Citrus & Tango!

We're wrapping up our first week in San Luis Obispo, but first a final word or two about the road trip. In the southern California desert, we passed an exit for Zzyzx Road and the unincorporated town of Zzyzx, which has its own entry on Wikipedia.

Also, I always said that when Carol retired we'd never see the sunrise in Minnesota in January again. On our third try, we achieved that goal, hitting the road in the dark on Jan. 1. (Previously a day of rest after New Year's Eve parties brought us a Minnesota sunrise.)

We brought our own ancient road bikes along this time, foregoing the adventure of buying and selling on Craig's List. I spent a pleasant afternoon in the sun cleaning winter gunk accumulated over 2,000 miles from the bikes.

Our new SLO home is pretty tiny, but we are learning to dance around the place without stepping on each other's feet. Rowdie is a little slower learning the dance steps. The yard boasts of an orange tree with delicious, sweet fruit and lime trees whose fruit complements a gin and tonic nicely. Next to our yard is a community garden to which we have access - herbs and all the lettuce we'll need.

Speaking of dancing, we walked to the Grange Hall last night for a tango lesson. The Grange Hall also hosts a Tuesday farmer's market, where some delicious local salsas and tortilla chips are available.

(Click on any photo to make it screen size.)

Our Front Yard

Our Neighborhood

On the morning dog walk, ten minutes from our home

More benefits of walking the dog in SLO

And still more! My treasure at the end of the rainbow!

In our first week, we have hiked, cycled, gotten our library cards, joined the local YMCA, visited vineyards, had a beach picnic, taken in two stunning exhibits at the local art museum, heard a talk by one of the artists currently exhibited, dined out twice (it's Restaurant Month!) and attended a piano concert at Cal Poly. Wow! That's everything; I guess we might as well come home.


"Reflections," Photo Exhibit at San Luis Obispo Museum of Art

"An Ocean Garden: the secret life of seaweed"

We heard Josie Iselin, the artist who created "An Ocean Garden," speak today. My photo doesn't do her work justice. Check out this exhibit and her other work at www.josieiselin.com. She scans actual specimens of seaweed and then prints them.

Denizen of the SLO Art Museum

We're also eating Mediterranean. Salads, cheese, wine, avocados (practically given away at local stores and farmers' markets), delicious olives. The other day I took guacamole and chips to the yard for lunch. When I sat down, I noticed that among the chips had mysteriously appeared two Oreos. No end to the healthfulness!

The "Y" had an open house yesterday, featuring several twenty-minute demo classes, a great opportunity to try out options and come face to face with reality. "Boot Camp" sounded fun but turned out to be a rude reminder that I am no longer thirty years old, or forty, or... "Zumba" - work out to Latin music - how cool would that be? After making it ten minutes through Boot Camp, I decided to watch Zumba from the sidelines. What was I thinking? (Note: Carol does Zumba. I have new respect for her physical abilities!) I tried "Into Action," which uses music "from Sinatra to Swing to the Supremes" and is "appropriate for seniors and beginners." I think I found my match.

Here's the rest of the week in pictures.