PLENTY FOR SPOUSES AND GUESTS TO SEE AND DO

This just might be the quintessential small town: tree-lined streets, a compact downtown, grand old buildings and a slow easy pace that makes it perfect for an overnight getaway.

San Luis Obispo provides plenty to see and do for spouses and guests while Council members are in business sessions.

Halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, the city offers plenty of shopping, a wide selection of restaurants and several worthy historical sights, including Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, founded in 1772 by Father Junipero Serra.

The city has a distinctive mix of old and new–antique shops, vintage clothing stores and several used-book sellers, along with modern pedestrian malls, featuring familirar retailers like Pottery Barn, Banana Republic and Sephora.

Best of all, it’s concentrated in an area of about four square blocks, making a car unnecessary. The downtown area is small enough to be navigated on foot, but there will be lots of walking, with plenty of shade trees and benches located around town.

If shopping isn’t on the list, there’s still plenty to explore. Start at the old mission, located at Monterey and Chorro streets, with its clay tile roof and adobe walls in a park-like setting near San Luis Creek. There are docent-led tours but visitors can walk inside during daytime hours and see the wood-beam ceiling, altar and prayer room.

A perfect place for lunch is Mission Plaza, a grassy spot that sits between the mission and the creek and is popular for festivals or community events. It’s shady, with several benches, and offeres a short creekside walk and a footbridge to shops on Higuera Street.

The San Luis Obispo Historical Museum, a red brick building that once housed the city library dates to 1905, should interest tourists. It holds plenty of artifacts and old photographs of the county’s early days.

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