A slow month in SLO, the Hearst Castle, and a crooked Christmas Tree
San Louis Obispo, CA is a lively little city filled with charm. It feels like a well-kept secret we were lucky enough to stumble upon. Its details feel whimsical, inviting, and unmistakably SLO; the brown street signs use a font you would find on the cover of a Lord of the Rings novel, and the streets are lined with gorgeous and massive ficus trees. Their branches all tangle together in a beautiful way, their bark smooth and gray, and their tops are bursting with bunches of leaves. They look a bit like giant broccoli framing both sides of the street. There is a stonelined path around the city’s river downtown, which we were lucky enough to see decorated for the holidays. Giant ornament archways to walk through and holiday lights all blinking to the beat of Jingle Bell Rock. This is the longest we’ve spent in one place for a while, and it's felt really nice. Forty days to get to know the local scene: the best coffee spots, the best food trucks and brewies, the best yoga studio. There is so much to see and do here, forty days wasn’t even enough. We filled most afternoons with one of the many nearby hikes in the surrounding hills, some through beautiful farmland, most with an ocean view, and one in particular with a Christmas tree made of lights at its peak that you can see from downtown. After a few weeks of blue skies, I found myself no longer checking the weather. There is no need; it’s always sunny and 65 here. Flowers are in bloom in December. It’s a Groundhog Day of wow what a beautiful morning when we step outside for our morning walk. It’s like we’re living in an alternate universe. Amesbury Ashley is home, defrosting by the fire after a long, cold run, warming up her fingers with a mug of coffee. SLO Ashley is wiping the sweat out of her eyes and watching the waves crash into the shore as she runs along the beach. It’s an odd, but wonderful sensation. To spend a moment thinking of the choices we make and where we are because of them. I think we’re both incredibly grateful to be where we are right now.
Pool #2 with two million mosaic tiles
Fireplace in the gathering room with a Pope's chair
One of the many beautiful and HUGE tapestries that covered the walls
December started off with a magnificent Mexico trip for Matthew, filled with whale shark snorkeling, drinks in coconuts, and world-class tacos. I hunkered down in SLO and got into the holiday spirit. Strolled the decorated downtown for a little holiday shopping, watched some Christmas movies with Gus, and visited the Hearst Castle for a holiday tour. The Hearst Castle is a local gem. Certainly touristy, but absolutely incredible in its own right. Built by William Randolph Hearst from 1919 to 1947, Hearst filled his family’s 40,000 acres of ranchland with lush gardens, two pools, lodging for up to 150 guests, and an actual zoo for his guests to enjoy, complete with elephants, polar bears, zebras, tigers, and more. The Hearst Castle became known for the Hollywood A-listers who would come and enjoy Hearst’s masterpiece. Folks like Greta Garbo, Charlie Chaplin, even Winston Churchill were known to have visited. The Hearst Castle is now a California State Park, allowing visitors like me to take a tour of the grounds and be in the same room where Bing Crosby serenaded partygoers at the piano or Cary Grant charmed guests in the elaborately decorated sitting rooms. Walking through the halls of the estate felt like taking a walk through history in more ways than one. William Hearst enjoyed curating exceptional pieces of art and history as well, so not only is the place itself full of memories that happened within its walls, Hearst surrounded his outdoor pool with columns from Ancient Rome and adorned his sitting room with chairs that once belonged to a Pope. Everywhere you looked was richly decorated with a piece from another time. Statues in every garden, every stone building intricately carved with beautiful details, and giant tapestries hung on every wall. I got to see the billiards room, movie theater, cozy sitting rooms with a massive stone fireplaces, the guesthouses with indoor plumbing, showers and electricity, (quite the treat for the 1920’s!) and an indoor pool adorned with two million glass mosaic tiles, most a bright blue like the ocean, detailed with a pattern of tiles made with pure gold. It was an absolute dream to walk through all of these spaces and take it all in. To imagine the elaborate parties that were thrown and the memories made. A quick trip back in time to see how the other half lived.
Felsman Loop Trail
Views from Downtown SLO
When Matthew came home, we did our favorite hike in town on Saturday morning, a sunny start, climbing the rocky path up to Bishop Peak with breathtaking views of the surrounding hills and ocean. And its opposite on the other side of the mountain, a gentle jog through the grassy hills of Felsman loop, somehow looking straight out of the English countryside. We went to a recommended local taco spot for lunch, also good here in SLO, but most likely not as good as Mexico. We got a few chores done, but made sure to sprinkle in a few brewery stops along the way.
Detour after cows blocked the trail on Jackson Ranch Loop
Discovery Trail at Pismo Preserve
More cows at Pismo Preserve
Beach run selfie at Pismo Beach
We spent our weekends right in SLO, which was a nice change of pace. I feel like we have really been packing it in and trying to see everything we can at each place we’ve been so far, but SLO has been slower. There are so many beautiful outdoor spaces to explore under 30 minutes from downtown, so we took advantage. We visited the Pismo Preserve several times and hit up our favorite local spots in the Pismo beach area after. The preserve has gorgeous rolling farmland with cows lazily feasting on its grass, ocean views from just about every trail, and western hemlock groves with long mint green moss hanging from their branches like beards. Pismo Beach itself was also wide and gorgeous. We walked the pier and ran a few miles along its sunny shores. We checked out the Jackson Ranch Loop which was more beautiful rolling hills through farmland. A large family of cows were hanging out right in the middle of the trail at one point so we had to reroute for a bit. The babies were incredibly cute and fluffy brown. All of SLO’s hikes offered great views of the surrounding hills and of downtown itself. It was so enjoyable to explore a new little trail each day and take it all in.
Every Thursday night (all year round!) San Louis Obispo closes down one of its busiest downtown streets to host a variety of vendors for its well known Farmer’s Market. We made the short walk downtown to take in the sights just once. There were loads of fresh vegetable vendors, artists, face painting, live music, and too many food vendors to count. Baked goods, street meat, ice cream, Indian food, tacos, just about any cuisine you can think of were an option. It stretched several blocks which was really cool and all of the bars and shops that regularly line Higuera stayed open late to be part of the festivities. Just having fresh vegetables available and an outdoor market to walk through every week of the year seemed pretty special!
Foggy views from the Bluff Trail at Fiscalini Ranch Preserve
Fiscalini Ranch Preserve Loop
Our last weekend in town we did a morning hike through Fiscalini Ranch Preserve and explored a nearby beach town called Los Osos. The start of the hike felt almost rainforest-like. Long green vines tangled their way up and around massive trees that hung above us in a canopy. The giant trees slowly got smaller as we made our way closer to the ocean. The trail went over some rolling hills until it reached the coastline. The Bluff Trail curved alongside the water where you could watch the waves splash along the rocky cliffs. We made our way back through some gorgeous forest with some big colorful mushrooms we stopped to admire. This little hike had it all; beautiful forest, ocean views, and farmland. We stopped for a very tasty lunch and beer at Beerwood. Highly recommend! I tried their soup of the day, an artichoke bisque, and a citrus salad served with toasted, buttery bread. It was so tasty and unique! Matthew had more tacos I think. The beer was really good too.
The crooked Christmas Tree in Ocean Beach
Ocean Beach Pier
On Christmas Eve we loaded up the big blue truck so we would be ready to meet the Jennings in San Diego the next day. It rained for only the second time of our entire stay. We took off early Christmas morning and didn’t hit any traffic at all. The drive down to San Diego is mostly along the coast, so there were beautiful views of the ocean, even if it was rainy. We began our Christmas festivities at a cute little brunch spot with Julie and Dave, strolled through Little Italy with a latte, and then made our way to our home for the week in Ocean Beach. OB’s vibe was young and quirky. The sidewalks were filled with hippies, surfers and tourists like us trying to soak up some sun on our holiday break. And even on Christmas, the brewery and restaurant scene was vibrant. We walked down to the beach to catch the sunset and put our toes in the water. We saw the ‘crooked tree’ the OB neighborhood is known for, decorated with a galactic theme with planets, aliens and handmade star ornaments. The tree itself was symbolic of the OB vibe; artsy, a little weird, a strong community vibe and sand at its roots. It kept surprising me how many people were out and about on Christmas, toddlers waddling their way across the sand like they’d had one too many egg nogs, couples walking hand-in-hand along the waves, even a few swimmers crazy enough to brave the chilly water. In New England, Christmas feels like the one day a year that every business closes its doors so everyone can hunker down in the pajamas, watch Christmas movies, eat good food and not leave the house all day. Here in San Diego, families go outside on Christmas because it’s beautiful and sunny. What a concept. After the sun went down, we made our first of many visits to one of Matthew’s favorite breweries in town, Kilowatt. Complete with funky flavors like Coconut Pineapple Blonde, Chocolate Macadamia Stout, and a Pickle Sour Beer, this spot had 3D glow-in-the-dark art, old school arcade games, and other handmade games that kept us entertained for a few beers.
Sunset at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas
Torrey Pines beach stroll
Sunset Cliffs
We had a wonderful week in San Diego despite a few rainy weather days. We explored many of its neighborhoods via the Matthew tour, which generally consisted of a beach walk and a brewery. We wandered through Balboa Park, North Park, Mission Bay, Torrey Pines, Encinitas, and Coronado. Our spot in OB was about a mile walk from Sunset Cliffs, so we ran there just about every day. One evening, we were treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets I’d ever seen; the kind where it’s been cloudy all day, and you’re not sure there will be anything to see, and then suddenly the sky explodes in bright oranges, reds, and purples, lighting up the dramatic cloud patterns.
What made the week especially meaningful was the time spent together. We felt incredibly grateful that family members and friends traveled to be with us, carving out time during a busy season just to share meals, walks, conversations, and laughter. Being together in that way made the holiday feel slow and full. Happy Holidays from the Mashleys! And here's to another year of adventure in 2026!
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