Bishops Peak

At 4 miles rountrip, Bishops is just enough to get the heart pounding a bit. As part of the 9 Morros Hills or the Nine Sisters, Bishop's Peak stands the tallest at over 1,559 feet. From the top you can take in a 360 degree view of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly, Laguna Lake, and the surrounding countryside.

With a nice even pace and half hour or so rest at the top, Bishop's Peak should take you a little over 2 hours to complete. Parks and Recreation does the patrol the area from time to time so unless you want to face a fine or are very sneaky ;P stay on the maintained trail because they will ticket you.

Directions: Exit Highway 101 on Santa Rosa and head North towards Highway 1. Take a left on Foothill. Right on Patricia. Pass the school and drive for about another half mile until you see the Bishop's Peak Trail head. No restrictions on parking.

Links: http://virtualslo.com/attractions/Attraction.php?id=49
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g33026-d279177-Reviews-Bishop_Peak-San_Luis_Obispo_California.html

Jalama Beach

Jalama Beach is another little know treasure of the Central Coast. Located about 15 miles from Lompoc, Jalama Beach is a surfing Mecca. Its breath taking views, pristine beach, and world famous Jalama Burgers combine to make this the perfect camping location as well.

Fees: Overnight Camping........ $20
Additional Vehicle.......... $10
Day Use Parking............. FREE

Directions: From Santa Maria take the 101 south to the Lompoc exit, take the 135 to PCH 1 thru Lompoc. Stay on PCH 1 leaving Lompoc. Take the Jalama road on the right and follow to Jalama Beach. Estimated time from Santa Maria: 70 minutes.

Links: http://www.jalamabeach.com/

http://www.santabarbara.com/activities/camping/jalama_beach/

Ice Blocking

Ice Blocking is another one of those thingamajigs for when you're really bored. Here's the basic concept, go down to albertons, buy a 99 cent block of ice, find a hill with grass, ride down said hill. It's cheap, it's easy, and it's surprisingly fun no matter how old you are. Just don't blame me if you break your neck!

Point Sal Hike

The Point Sal Hike is one of the best on the Central Coast. That is, if you can handle it..! Back in the day there used to be a road that took you out almost all the way to Paradise Beach, but over the years, storms and landslides have made the road undriveable. I've even heard that Elephant seals used to make this beach home, but they are long since gone.

Nevertheless, this is one of the better hikes out there, culminating with the pristine Paradise beach that you will more than likely have all to yourself. There's even a small tide pool.
This is a difficult hike though, being about 12 miles round trip, and many parts of it are steep hills. There are a few shortcuts out there if you can find them. One being where the foundation of an old cabin is. Expect to spend the better part of a day on this one.

Directions: From the 101 take the Clark Av. exit in Orcutt, just south of Santa Maria. Head west until the road ends at Hwy 1. Turn right. Turn left on Brown Rd. You will see a gated road on the left which is Point Sal Rd. There is a parking lot where you can park and start up the trail.

Links: http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/PointSal_7480.asp
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=605

Mustang Water Slides

Mustang Water Slides is great for those days where its just too hot to do anything. They have two 600 ft. water slides as well as pools, spas, mini slides, and a 38 ft half pipe that you can ride down. Depending on how long you want to stay there, costs range from $7.75 for one hour, to $17.00 for all day. It's an awesome way to stay cool during the hot summer. Mustang Water Slides opens up May 2nd for the summer season so you don't have long to wait.


Directions: Take the Grand Ave exit in Arroyo Grande off Hwy 101. Turn east and follow the signs to Lopez Lake. The Mustang Waterslides are located inside the Lopez Lake County Campground 10 miles east of Arroyo Grande.

Links: http://www.mustangwaterslides.com/

Santa Maria Style BBQ

Santa Maria Style BBQ is considered by many to be the best BBQ in the world! Take a stroll down Broadway and you're likely to find many a BBQ stand ready to deal out the delicious Tri Tip we're famous for.

If you got yourself a BBQ pit, call the guys over, slam some steaks over the grill and throw back a few brewskies while the aroma of Santa Maria Style Tri Tip fills the yard.

This is a great idea for one of those nights when you just want to relax and chill with the friends a little.

Instructions:

So first things first, buy yourself some Tri tip. Now the butcher usually tries to trick you by leaving about an inch of fat on the bottom where you can't see it in the packaging. Not only is tri tip usually cooked with all the fat cut off, this also adds to the weight and makes it cost more, so ask to have it cut off.

Next you need some Santa Maria Style Seasoning or Susie Cue as we Santa Marians call it. If you can't find it, just make yourself up a concoction of equal parts salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and fine parsely.

Now slather it all over the Tri tip. I don't mean sprinkle, slather it. It should almost look like someone through it in the dirt when you get done with it.

Lastly, BBQ the Tri tip over a pit ( this is IMPORTANT ) of Red Oak. That's the true secret. Its going to take about 30 mins to cook so sit back, drain a few brewskies and let the good times roll. If you have a temperature guage, 130-135 F is usually medium well and 140 F being Well done.

Now here's the best part. Don't worry about screwing up (I don't know how you would do that but I digress ) or experimenting for that matter. Is almost IMPOSSIBLE to cook a bad Tri tip. Sometimes I like to spray on a little Teriyaki/Soy sauce while its cooking to give it a little kick.

Links : Testa Catering
http://lospadrescounty.net/et/smbbq.html
http://home.earthlink.net/~jimbatterson/smbbq.html
http://www.santamariaelks.com/history/tritip.html

Dune Boarding

Dune Boarding is the poor man's snow boarding. Oso Flaco has some incredible dunes that are untainted by all the dune vehicles in nearby Oceano. It's about a mile walk from the parking lot to the dunes so be prepared. Bring an old snowboard (the sand might scratch it up a bit), or take the trucks off a skateboard and nail some shoes onto it nice and snuglike. Pull yourself up the largest dune and let the good times begin! Bring some soda and snacks and when you're done boarding, you can eat lunch while enjoying the view. There may be a small parking fee so be prepared just in case.

Random fact: Oso Flaco and the Guadalupe Beach area was the location for the filming of the 1923 movie, The Ten Commandments. Apparently, buried about 6 feet under ground is the original set spanning 2 football fields, complete with the sphinx and pyramids.

Directions: Three miles north of Guadalupe off Hwy 1, watch for the small sign that points west of the highway and follow it to the end.

Links: http://www.centralcoasttourist.com/Parks_n_Recreation/State/Oso_Flaco/oso_flaco.html

http://www.beachcalifornia.com/oso.html

Sky Dive Santa Barbara

Sky Dive Santa Barbara is located in Lompoc right next to the airport. A bit misleading given the name if you ask me but well worth it. Sky Dive Santa Barbara offers the highest tandem jump in the world at over 18,000 ft! In addition it offers jumps at 10,500 ft (40 seconds of free fall) and for only $19 more, 13,000 ft (60 seconds of free fall).
Prices range from $199 to $299 with discounts give to groups, military, seniors, and repeat jumpers.

This is definitely something everyone has to experience at least once. The views are incredible and the staff is awesome. If you still have a little Christmas money left over, this is the place to spend it!

Directions: Heading South on Hwy 135 after Santa Maria, turn right on Vandenberg Air force Base/ Lompoc exit onto Hwy 1. After 6.5 miles turn left at VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE
After 6 miles, turn right at the Lompoc Exit After less than a mile there is a Lompoc Airport sign on the right, turn right into the airport on George Miller Drive
1801 N H St Suite G Lompoc, CA 93436

Links: http://www.skydivesantabarbara.com/

Crux

Crux is a great location if you're looking for something fun, challenging, and a bit of a workout. The price is not bad either. First timers pay $22 to climb all day, which includes a 25 minute instructional video on safety and training. After that, it's only $12 to climb all day if you return within a year. Crux provides you with all the necessary equipment and there's almost never any downtime waiting for a rock to climb.


Directions: Take the Price St. Exit off the 101. Turn right onto Hinds Ave which turns into Price Canyon Rd. Turn left onto Edna Rd/ Ca-227. Turn right onto Orcutt Rd. Turn left onto Laurel Ln.
1160 Laurel Ln San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-5823

Links: http://www.cruxslo.com/