Page 124 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2021 REDISCOVERING CALIFORNIA'S CENTRAL COAST

ago now exceed a million dollars. It’s probably the Stream trailer helps visitors with information and
same in Pismo where a lively counterculture lives reservations.
on in a community it helped make a tourist desti- Steps from the PISMO BEACH sign is a fun
nation. recreation area for kids. The marine-themed
In the past, Pismo Beach was famous for its giant playground is built on a rubberized pad so young-
clams of the same name. Almost harvested to ex- sters can safely climb, crawl and slide on the giant
tinction, the clams have made a comeback and dig- marine animal sculptures. The morning we vis-
gers with a license can harvest them. But don’t ited, it was already filling up with rambunctious
count on making a batch of clam chowder from boys and girls.
them: The minimum size for a legal Pismo clam is Another family fun destination is just a short
4.5 inches in diameter. And the last legal sized drive out of town at the Monarch Butterfly
clam was dug in 1993. Grove. Tall eucalyptus and Monterey cypress
Today, city leaders have pulled out all the stops shelter the black and orange winged visitors that
to create a beachside escape that caters to locals migrate here from their summer home to spend
and visitors alike. We’ve been to several cities the winter. We were there in October, well before
around the world that have spelled out their the butterflies’s peak December through Febru-
name in giant letters at a scenic spot, creating an ary. But we and others wandering the paths spot-
instant icon and selfie magnet. Here a PISMO ted a few early arrivals flitting around the
BEACH sign welcomes everyone to its historic grounds. Scattered around the grove were illus-
pier. And what a pier it is - wide, long, and dotted trated signs, packed with information about the
with point-of-interest signs and plenty of com- life and migration of the Monarchs. Near the en-
fortable benches for viewing surfers catching trance, a native garden plot showcased Monarch
waves below. At the foot of the pier, a visitor in- plant and nectar food sources.
formation center housed in a classic silver Gulf

124 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE 2021