SLO California Captures My Heart

One thing many people don't know about me is how much I love this little town of San Luis Obispo, California. 
Being from the midwest, people have no idea where this little hidden town is or why its awesome. But I know about it from the tragic criminal story of Kristen Smart. I got to visit and todally loved it! 
SLO is near the west coast of California, it takes about 15 minutes to get to the closest beaches. And it's stuck right about half way between Los Angeles and San Francisco. 
Oprah once called it the happiest town in America!
San Luis Obispo is the hometown of Cal Poly, the school where Kristen Smart went to a party that fateful tragic night. But aside from that its a pretty sweet school with lots of cool majors and lots of emphsis on agriculture. Not a super great sports college, which is fine to me, I'm not super great at sports either. 
But other than the college, there's a very cute downtown, great outdoor activites, and great weather. 
There are also lots of wineries (and yall KNOW how much I LOVE my wine!!!)
In San Luis Obispo itself there's Edna Valley, with several delicious wines being made. But up north, in Paso Robles CA California there are so many great wineries! Paso native wines are to die for. So many varietals - Syrah, Pinot, Merlot... yum. You can go tasting at most of them which is so much fun and a great way to learn about and try out so many good new wines.
SLO is also close to lots of cool things. You can get to Santa Barbara easily, and on the way you can drive through the adorable towns of Los Olivos and Santa Ynez California. They seem like they would be little hick towns, small and kinda in the middle of nowhere, but they're rich yall with massive estates. I think it's a hideout for lots of wealthy and celebrity folks. (Maybe like Montecito California?)
There ARE lots of grapes growing there, and it looks like lots of wineries maybe in Santa Ynez but I haven't tried them yet. 
Anyway, the whole Santa Ynez valley is quite pretty, but it gets freakin hot and you don't want to get a flat tire when driving through there (ask me how I know). So I'd rather just drive right on through Santa Ynez over the cool bridge and get to Santa Barbara for the shopping and the nightlife. 
Everyone knows Santa Barbara! 

But mostly I'd rather just stay in San Luis Obispo (SLO for short) and hang out there. It's definitely slow (some people say it's called SLO for a reason 🥴) 
So, I'll go back someday, maybe to celebrate the felony conviction and prison sentencing for that scumbag who killed Kristen. But maybe I'll just go back for fun someday.