When I noticed a considerable heatwave headed to the Bay Area during the July 4th holiday weekend, I looked for nearby places where daytime temperatures would be more moderate. After looking at Morro Bay, Pismo Beach, and Lake Tahoe, Inna and I decided to book 2 nights at the Inn at the Pier Hotel (a Hilton Property) on Pismo Beach.
Initially, only Inna and I were planning the trip, as Alex was scheduled to fly to Liberia, Costa Rica, to attend the Witch's Rock Surf Camp in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. On Thursday, June 30, Alex was supposed to fly out to Houston on the way to Liberia on United Airlines at 5:00. However, he discovered his flight was canceled when he arrived at the San Francisco Airport. He rebooked for a direct flight to Liberia on Saturday, July 1, at 13:00.
However, on Friday, before the flight, at 01:30, Alex started to have problems breathing, and we rushed him to the Emergency room of the Good Samaritan Hospital.
He was given oxygen, and an IV was set up. An x-ray of his chest was taken, but no issues were found with his heart or lungs. Dr. Mayur Kashi, the emergency doctor on duty, started to suspect that Alex over-exerted himself during weightlifting, which caused him to have difficulty breathing. After 2 hours at the hospital, Alex began to breathe easier, and his chest pain diminished. We drove him home at around 04:00 and went to sleep.
When we woke at around 09:00, we decided to cancel his trip to Costa Rica and offered for him to come with us to Pismo Beach for a nice, relaxing vacation. We were supposed to drive to Morro Bay on Saturday but decided to rest at home to give Alex more time to recover.
Sunday, July 2, 2023
On Sunday morning, at around 09:00, we loaded up our Toyota Sienna minivan and started the 3-hour drive to Pismo Beach. There was some traffic on the road, but it was pretty good. We hoped to eat lunch at our favorite Ventana Grill, but lunch was served at 14:00. Instead, we ate in San Luis Obispo (SLO).
At SLO, we parked downtown and walked by our favorite Granada Hotel & Bistro. After being seated outside on this lovely day, we ordered the following items:
- Appetizers: Deviled Eggs
- Alex: Fried Chicken and Waffle
- Inna: Granada Cubano (pork)
- Boris: Sweet Potato and Chorizo Hash
Alex liked his fried chicken and waffles, and Inna enjoyed her Cubano sandwich. I found my Chorizo Hash too spicy.
After lunch, we drove 20 minutes to Pismo Beach, getting stuck in traffic to park at our Inn at the Pier Hotel. We checked into room #141 on the 1st floor and took our beach chairs and umbrellas to the beach.
We spent 3+ hours on the beach, relaxing and walking. There needed to be more waves for me to surf. I was even cold and had to jump up and down to warm up.
We decided to try the hotel's restaurant upstairs - The Inn at the Pier Bar / Cypress Beachhouse for dinner. After being seated in the bar area, we ordered the following items:
- Olives
- Bison Meatballs
- Chips & Dip
- Crudo
Table service was prolonged, and we had to wait over an hour for our food. Although the location was excellent, I was not impressed with the restaurant and came out hungry.
We decided to try eating at the nearby Cool Cat Cafe. We ordered the following items:
- Boris: Fish & Chips (3 pieces)
- Inna: Fish Sandwich on a lettuce wrap
- Alex: Elvis Melt, Chocolate Shake (Nutella, Oreo, Reese's Pieces)
The food and service at Cool Cat Cafe were top-notch, and we enjoyed our time there.
Monday, July 3, 2023
After waking up at 08:00, I showered and prepared for my morning work meeting. The meeting went well.
Later in the morning, Inna and I decided to stop by Kraken Coffee next door to our hotel. As Kraken was closing at 11:00, we barely made it. I ordered a mocha with oat milk, while Inna and Alex ordered matcha lattes.
After enjoying our drinks, we walked to the nearby Pismo Pier. I noticed nice waves and decided to try SUP surfing for an hour. I returned to the hotel and used Hotel Valet to get our Toyota Sienna out. I put on my Promotion 4/3mm wetsuit and removed my Fanatic Allwave 9'3" SUP with a paddle.
Here is a short video clip of my SUP surfing that Alex recorded on his iPhone camera:
I walked over to the southern portion of the Pismo Pier and got into the water. The water was quite warm, and I quickly paddled out to a place where waves were breaking. I had a fun session, catching about 8 waves. It was nice to SUP surf on a beautiful sunny beach with a sandy bottom.
At about 12:30, I returned to the hotel and changed out of my wetsuit. Inna, Alex, and I ate lunch at the Cracked Crab nearby. After walking there, we sat down and ordered the following items:
- Appetizer: Poke Appetizer
- Alex: Clam Chowder, Crab Roll
- Boris: Fish & Chips (Alaskan Cod)
- Inna: Crab Bisque, Crab Louis
I enjoyed the fresh Fish and Chips, and Inna and Alex enjoyed their crab dishes. We enjoyed our lunch here!
We returned to our hotel to continue working (stopping by MilkT for some boba tea). The tea was a bit sweeter than we liked.
In the evening, we walked up and down the long stretch of Pismo Beach. It was more secluded than on Sunday, and we enjoyed strolling alone.
As our friends Ira and Sasha stopped at Avila Beach for the night, we decided to eat dinner with them at Blue Moon Over Avila. After sitting down at a lovely table with a fire pit, we ordered the following items:
- Appetizer: Bubbling Brie
- Inna: French Onion Soup, Penne Pasta (with seafood)
- Boris: St. Louis Ribs
- Dessert: Chocolate Ganache Tort, Cookie Skillet
- Drinks: SLO Cider Dry
We especially loved the French Onion Soup, which had to be one of the best I've ever had anywhere. The St. Louis Ribs were also exceptional! However, the Penne Pasta was a bit harder than I liked (but Inna said it was the way it was meant to be). I was less excited about the Ganache Tort.
Tuesday, July 4, 2023
I woke at about 07:00, hoping the surf forecast would be favorable. Unfortunately, the waves were relatively small, and the surf forecast changed from fair to poor. I decided to sleep a bit longer and then woke at 08:30. I decided to walk around the pier and see how things were going.
I noticed that the parking lot in front of our hotel was blocked off for parking and that many street vendors were setting up their stalls. The Pismo Pier was locked and closed (probably for the upcoming July 4th Fireworks), and the beach was already quite busy with activity.
I looked at the waves, but there was nothing favorable to surf - just the usual small beach break.
I returned to the Inn at the Pier Hotel, and Inna and I decided to walk the beach. On the way there, we stopped at Kraken Coffee. I ordered a mocha with Oat Milk while Inna ordered her latte. We also shared a small pastry.
We walked 2.5 miles along the beautiful sand of Pismo Beach until we reached the offroad vehicles parked on the beach. We then returned to our hotel and packed our belongings.
After loading our Toyota Sienna, we drove a few miles to Ventana Grill for lunch. We had to wait about 25 minutes before our table was ready. During this time, we walked around the area, looking at the various Pelicans who inhabit his part of the coast.
After sitting down at Ventana Grill, we ordered the following items:
- Appetizer: Pacific Nachos
- Boris: Fish & Chips, Iced Tea
- Inna: Clam Chowder Cup, Lying Paloma (drink), Asada Tacos
- Alex: Clam Chowder Cup, Sunset Margarita, Quesabirria
I liked the Pacific Nachos and my Fish & Chips, and both Inna and Alex enjoyed their clam chowder and tacos.
We had an uneventful drive back to San Jose (about 3 hours), arriving home at 17:00.
Pismo Beach Trip Review
Highlights
Lowlights
- Prolonged food service at The Inn at the Pier Bar / Cypress Beachhouse. It might be a good place for an alcoholic drink, but not for food. In addition, food portions were tiny.
- Crowded, cold conditions on Sunday, July 2. Pismo Beach is so much better on a sunny day!
