SLO LIFE Magazine Oct/Nov 2021 by SLO LIFE Magazine

LIFE SLO magazine

COASTAL GETAWAY

DOWNTOWN CHARM HEALTH TRENDS

KITCHEN N RENOVATIO

LOCAL REAL ESTATE BY THE NUMBERS EXPLORING SKIES

TIMELINE REVIEW

ASONAL VORITES

UPCOMING EVENTS OCT/NOV 2021 SLOLIFEMAGAZINE.COM

MEET

BRYAN IDLER

OCT/NOV 2021

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

More than just your local print shop.

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M O D E R N • C L A S S I C • J E W E L R Y

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W W W . B A X T E R M O E R M A N . C O M

OCT/NOV 2021

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YOU MATTER TO US. We are welcoming our community back with the same dedication to providing a healthy and affordable mode of transportation. With our rider’s health and wellbeing always the top priority, we continue to maintain a rigorous cleaning and sanitizing program for when you choose to board.

We’re here to safely take you where you need to go.

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OCT/NOV 2021

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Early detection can save your life. Make time for your

mammogram.

Mammograms are the most effective form of early detection of breast cancer, but “early” is key. We’re here to help you stay on top of your breast health. Our innovative screening services include: 3D Digital Screening and Diagnostic Mammography Breast MRI and Ultrasound Ultrasound-Guided Breast Biopsy SAVI SCOUT® Wireless Breast Tumor Localization Bone Density (DEXA) Scanning

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CONTENTS 22 Briefs 24 View 26 Q&A

NOW HEAR THIS

PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE 14 Info 16 Sneak Peek 18 Inbox 20 Timeline

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| OCT/NOV 2021

Volume 12 Number 5 Oct/Nov 2021

MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR

Anthropologie

Makes the Scene

Anthropologie’s unique mix of fashion, home and lifestyle has made it one of the most popular retail brands nationwide.

Anthropologie Opens in Downtown Centre Perennial favorite Anthropologie has opened it’s newest location on Higuera Street (between Apple and Athleta) in Downtown San Luis Obispo. With its highly curated mix of casual fashion, festive home accessories and eclectic gifts, this vibrant new store has already made itself known to locals and visitors alike. The San Luis Obispo Collection is excited to welcome Anthropologie to its family of 30 world-class and locally-owned brands in Downtown SLO. www.anthropologie.com D OW N TOW N

S LO

I S

T H E

P LAC E

W E

WA N T

B E .

Co u r t S t r e e t • M o n t e r e y S t r e e t • D o w n t o w n Ce n t r e OCT/NOV 2021

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dwelling

Real Estate

Health

Getaway

68 TASTE

ARTIST

40 Author

WINE NOTES

42 Explore

44 On the Rise

78 brew

46 Animal Kingdom

82 Happenings

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

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OCT/NOV 2021

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE

Ramekin Have you ever heard of something called a ramekin? Neither had I. Until my wife bought a half-dozen of them. They’re tiny four-ounce ceramic bowls that look like the bottom half of a coffee mug. Apparently, the French came up with them—they use them to make crème brûlée. In our house, they’re used to maintain the balance of power. Let me explain. We have three kids, and there is a never-ending competition for scarce resources. And the scarcest of those resources is ice cream. I suppose it dates back to the dawning of time when our ancestors first started walking upright. It’s not difficult to imagine three siblings foraging on the savanna when one of them stumbles upon a beehive dripping with honey, or a single, massive fruit hanging low on a tree. The question immediately becomes: How do you divvy the thing up? For me and my two sisters, back in the day, following deliberations that rivaled the Constitutional Convention, we developed an elaborate system of checks and balances which included three co-equal branches of government: There was the scooper, there was the spotter, and there was the chooser. After the melamine rainbow-striped bowls were placed on the Formica orange and brown countertop and the spoon was conferred upon the scooper, the ensuing process was adjudicated as if it were a trial before the Supreme Court. Over the years, claims of injustice have been made by our kids—although the three of them could not possibly be more different, their outrage is always the same: With one arm holding open the freezer door as they stand in a semi-crouched fight-or-flight posture in the enshrouding mist, they’ll shout, “Who ate the ice cream?!” Enter the ramekin. Since our kids were unable to come up with their own system of government, one was forced upon them. Back at Santa Cruz [Go Slugs!] when I was studying political science, my professor would have called this a “benevolent dictatorship.” Under this arrangement, peace is maintained by an allpowerful leader. And there is no question who that is when it comes to the thirty-or-so square feet making up our kitchen. Order was restored when my wife stepped in to impose her will on the competing factions after one particularly impassioned dust-up over some Mint Chip going back ten years or so ago. The law was plain and simple: You can have as much ice cream as you want, as long as it fits into a single ramekin. To this day, the scooping of ice cream at our house has evolved into a ritual on par with the cultural traditions forged around the Tandoori ovens in Bangalore and the Matcha tea makers in Japan. First, the ramekin is placed ceremoniously on the kitchen island. Next, the ice cream is inspected—and always includes a smell test—before a tablespoon is carefully selected from the silverware drawer, the flatter the better. From there, a massive cantaloupe-sized scoop of Cookies and Cream is plopped into the tiny bowl. This is where the magic happens. If it were possible to make diamonds out of ice cream, it would happen in our kitchen. The ramekin rule is why our kids all have such finely toned forearms. Without exception, they lean in and grunt, lifting themselves off the ground as they force every ounce of their body weight onto the spoon, packing it so tight that it more closely resembles a frozen hockey puck than it does a frozen dessert. I wonder who had it better: My sisters and me or our kids? And I wonder how it will be someday—I wonder how their kids will divvy up the ice cream? Thank you to everyone who has had a hand in producing this issue of SLO LIFE Magazine and, most of all, to our advertisers and subscribers—we couldn’t do it without you. Live the SLO Life!

Tom Franciskovich tom@slolifemagazine.com 12

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

p.s. If you’d like to read more visit me at tomfranciskovich.com | OCT/NOV 2021

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CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sheryl Franciskovich CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Charlotte Alexander Jeff Al-Mashat Brant Myers Lauren Harvey Paden Hughes Zara Khan Jaime Lewis Andria McGhee Joe Payne Brian Schwartz CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS David Lalush Lisa Maksoudian Todd Meaney Mark Nakamura Vanessa Plakias Zachary Scott CONTRIBUTIONS Have some comments or feedback about something you’ve read here? Or, do you have something on your mind that you think everyone should know about? Submit your story ideas, events, recipes, and announcements by visiting us online at slolifemagazine.com and clicking “Share Your Story” or emailing us at info@slolifemagazine.com. Be sure to include your full name and city for verification purposes. Contributions chosen for publication may be edited for clarity and space limitations. ADVERTISING If you would like to advertise, please contact Tom Franciskovich by phone at (805) 543-8600 or by email at tom@slolifemagazine.com or visit us online at slolifemagazine.com/advertise and we will send you a complete media kit along with testimonials from happy advertisers.

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OCT/NOV 2021

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| SNEAK PEEK

O N THE C OVE R

behindthe scenes B R YA N I DL E R

BY VANESSA PLAKIAS

When I asked Bryan if there was a special place we could meet, he immediately suggested Meadow Park. He grew up playing there, and had many fond memories—one of the best being an overflowing drainage ditch that runs down the center of the park. Bryan said he’d take tubes out there and ride down Meadow’s mini river.

As we walked up South Hills, we talked about last year’s fire. Such a scare coming so close to so many homes. Our firefighters, both land and air, were such heroes and got it out quickly. I commented that the tree he was standing under looked like it had fall ornaments on it, which was actually burn from the fire. 16

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Another special spot for Bryan is a South Hills trail he hikes with his kids. We decided to visit the new wooden boardwalk—no more muddy hikes, thank you rangers of SLO City!

of a tre e dd leboa rds a nd is a bit Brya n su rfs, ka ya ks, pa ple cou a as he cli mbed up on cli mber. He re mi nis ced ck s. lim bs a nd did a few tri SLO LIFE

GRATEFUL & GROWING These last 18 months have taught us a lot, most importantly that family, friends and an occasional cold beverage is where it’s at. From our growing family to our clients, consultants, and contractors, thank you for your support and encouragement!

ARC HIT EC T URE L AN D SC APE IN T ERIO RS M ED IA

Our growing TEN OVER family at our annual summer party. TE NO VE RSTUDIO.COM OCT/NOV 2021

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DENISE and JOHN ALLEN OCT/NOV 2021

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| TIMELINE

LOCAL

august 2

august 21

The parents of missing student Kristin Smart testify during the opening day of a preliminary hearing for the two men accused of killing their daughter and hiding her body. Paul Flores is the last person known to have seen the Cal Poly freshman on May 24, 1996. He is accused of raping or attempting to rape Smart before killing her; and Ruben Flores, Paul’s father, is accused of helping his son hide her body. After the hearing, which lasted nearly two months, Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen ruled on September 22nd that prosecutors have established probable cause to move the murder case forward to trial.

More than 130 early warning system sirens are tested throughout SLO County, and they all work—except for one near Highway 101 and El Campo Road just south of Arroyo Grande. PG&E and county officials are investigating the one malfunctioning unit, putting backup alert and notification procedures in place should the siren be needed in a real emergency. Located from Cayucos to the Nipomo Mesa, the sirens can sound for any local emergency that requires people to take action, such as a tsunami or nuclear incident.

august 9 A project to revitalize streets in the downtown SLO area begins, with some temporary lane closures and traffic delays during the four months the improvements will take. Completion is expected in time for Christmas shopping, the improvements include: New on-street accessible parking on Marsh and Higuera streets, pavement repair and replacement, enhanced roadway striping and bike lane improvements, sidewalk and curb ramp upgrades, and two new pedestrian crossings with flashing beacons: one at the intersection of Higuera Street and Johnson Street, and a new raised mid-block crosswalk on Higuera between Nipomo and Carmel streets.

august 20 SLO County opens its first detox facility on the campus of the 40 Prado Homeless Services Center. The $1.5 million, ten-bed Medically Assisted Withdrawal Treatment (MAT) Center will treat patients on a thirtyto-ninety-day, case-by-case basis.

august 23 Nearly 11,000 gallons of sewage spill into a storm drain connected to San Luis Obispo Creek at the Silver City Mobile Home Park on South Higuera Street. The release was reportedly due to a sewage line blockage. City utility workers helped the mobile home park’s crew clear the blockage, but officials say the mobile home park is responsible for maintaining the system. 20

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

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august 26 San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi

Harmon, having served as mayor since 2016, announces she’s

resigning with more than a year

left on her term to take a position as a statewide climate advocate with a Santa Cruz nonprofit agency. The move surprises

colleagues and residents alike. She says she is leaving office in late

September to begin her position as a senior public affairs director at the Romero Institute, a law

and public policy center. The city

council subsequently announces it will vote to appoint a new mayor at its meeting on October 5.

august 31 The U.S. Department of Justice releases a report finding that conditions at the SLO County jail violate the rights of prisoners by, among other things, failing to provide adequate medical care and subjecting some prisoners to excessive uses of force. The report calls upon the jail to make changes to address the constitutional violations found during an investigation by the department’s Civil Rights Division and the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. A written notice of the supporting facts and the minimum remedial measures necessary to address them have been delivered to the facility.

REVIEW

september 14

California voters reject the recall of California Governor Gavin Newsom. The SLO County Clerk-Recorder’s Office saw a little more than a thirty percent rate of return (some 56,000 votes) from the 185,000 ballots it mailed to all registered voters in mid-August.

september 17 september 1 As part of the Laguna Lake Natural Reserve

Conservation Plan, the City of SLO takes its first

steps toward restoring the lake over time with a new,

ongoing maintenance program. Decades in the making, the $715,000 project will help restore water quality,

make the lake deeper, and allow for more recreational opportunities. Dredging, scheduled to start mid-

September, may produce some temporary inconveniences for visitors, but the disc golf course, hiking trails, playground, and dog park will remain open.

september 11 Remembrances take place across the Central Coast on the twentieth anniversary of the day terrorists attacked the United States. In San Luis Obispo, the music of bagpipes, ringing bells, and student-authored reflections were offered up during a ceremony at the San Luis Obispo World Trade Center Memorial at Fire Station 1 in partnership with American Legion Post 66 and SLO City Union 3523.

september 11 Cal Fire suspends all outdoor open burning in SLO County, effectively banning any campfires, warming fires, and ceremonial fires. The order, made under the authority of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, reflects current fire conditions and the deployment of local resources to Northern California to help battle the growing wildfires there. The suspension will be reassessed when critical fire conditions decline or when fire suppression resources return from Northern California.

The SLO Food Bank unveils new designs for each of seven delivery vehicles to be displayed as they travel throughout the county distributing nutritious food to those most vulnerable in the community. Thanks to Verdin Marketing’s annual charitable event designed to help a local nonprofit re-brand itself, the new designs help connect vital aspects of the Food Bank’s mission with SLO County’s vibrant agriculture, volunteers, donors, and other community partners.

september 17 Local leaders and homeless community members acknowledge the number of unhoused people seems to be rising, pointing to numbers from the last Point in Time count conducted in 2019—reporting 482 homeless residing in the City of San Luis Obispo and 1,483 homeless countywide–showing a 32% increase from the previous 2017 survey. In an attempt to address the growing issue, on April 13, 2021 the City of San Luis Obispo cited its “significant efforts and financial contributions towards solutions” including: substantial annual funding to CAPSLO for the operation of the 40 Prado Homeless Services Center and Safe Parking programs; increasing funding in its next budget cycle for a 25% expansion of shelter beds at 40 Prado; the implementation of a Community Action Team (CAT) partnering with Transitions Mental Health, which pairs a social worker with a police officer to improve outreach and services to homeless residents; a planned expansion to its CAT team by adding another social worker and creating a Mobile Crisis Unit with an EMT; and the construction of affordable housing units. Despite these efforts, “the impacts of homelessness persist” leading to the passage of two ordinances relating to shopping carts, and tents and structures erected in parks obstructing public use and enjoyment. Months later, on September 17, 2021, attorneys from the California Rural Legal Assistance, Public Interest Law Project, and the Law Office of Babak Naficy in SLO filed a federal lawsuit against the city on behalf of five homeless residents and the nonprofit Hope’s Village of SLO claiming it is “criminalizing homelessness.” SLO LIFE OCT/NOV 2021

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| BRIEFS

SVOG Twelve SLO County entertainment venues recently received more than $8 million in total assistance from the SBA’s Shuttered Venue Operators Grants program that helps businesses hit hard by the pandemic. Amounts awarded included approximately $1 million to the Fremont Theatre, $687,000 to the PAC, $244,000 to the Palm Theatre, $189,000 to SLO Rep, and $122,000 to KCBX.

“I purchased an electric vehicle myself last year and love it!” City Councilmember Jan Marx shared her support for the city’s participation in National Drive Electric Week September 25 to October 5. Virtual events, an EV showcase at Farmers Market, and a “ride and drive” at the Madonna Inn were designed to raise awareness of the benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars, trucks, and bikes.

$3.4 million The amount the IRS will receive in restitution from cannabis entrepreneur Helios Dayspring, who in July agreed to plead guilty in federal court to felony charges including bribing a SLO County supervisor and failing to report millions of dollars in income. Facing a maximum sentence of thirteen years in prison, he is cooperating in the ongoing government investigation. 22

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59 cents The average additional cost PG&E customers will begin to pay per month in 2022 over an eight-year period to help cover the $3.8 billion cost of decommissioning the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant when PG&E’s operating license expires in 2025.

Grants-In-Aid A SLO City Council program offering $4,000 promotional grants to cultural, social, and recreational activities that make significant contributions to the city’s overall quality of life. Twenty-five in-person, virtual, or hybrid events will be chosen during 2021-22 by the city’s Promotional Coordinating Committee on a monthly review basis until the program’s budget of $100,000 is exhausted.

32nd For thirty-two years, Cuesta College has been awarding scholarships and holding an annual reception for donors and recipients. Nearly 500 scholarships totaling $357,890 were awarded to 346 students at this year’s “virtual” celebration held August 6.

OSAT 2021 Open Studios Art Tour, a program of the County Arts Council, takes place over two weekends: October 9-10 and 16-17. Free to the public, its fine artists and crafters open their studios to showcase their art and share their process.

“If you want to invoke change, student government is the way to get your voice heard . . .” Dawn Grillo, newly-elected president of the Associated Students of Cuesta College, represents the student body on the community college’s Board of Trustees and also serves as president of the Black Student Union. She is currently working on an associate degree in math, intending to transfer to UC Berkeley.

-5% According to its 2020 Annual Crop Report, SLO County’s overall crop value of more than $978 million is down just slightly from 2019, but down more than five percent from the record high recorded in 2018. The top ten commodities in 2020 were, in order: strawberries, wine grapes, avocados, cattle, vegetable transplants, broccoli, cauliflower, head lettuce, cut flowers, and lemons.

Best in the West—again Cal Poly has been named the best public, master’s-level university in the West for the twenty-ninth straight year in US News & World Report’s annual Best Colleges guidebook released in September. It also lists Cal Poly as second overall in the West—up one step from last year—and as the top-ranked public university in the region. SLO LIFE

OCT/NOV 2021

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

FALL COLOR | VIEW

BY MARK NAKAMURA

o celebrate my retirement from teaching, my wife and I traveled to New England to view the fall colors. The following autumn, I traveled up to the Yukon Territory to photograph the yellow aspen covering whole mountainsides. Yet, we have our own beauty right here in San Luis Obispo County that rivals anywhere else.

One of my favorite hikes is up Terrace Hill in San Luis Obispo, off Bishop Street. It offers one of the best views of San Luis Obispo with easy access, about a quarter-mile jaunt up from the street. Last fall, while photographing at sunset overlooking the city, I realized how we have our own unique fall palette of colors on the Central Coast I took four photographs on my Sony a7r IV, outfitted with a Sony 24-105mm lens set on manual focus, manual shutter speed, and manual f-stop. I zoomed in to 70mm

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| OCT/NOV 2021

and photographed this autumn scene. Originally, it was one of four photographs taken on my tripod for a panorama, but this one image stood out, mainly because of the composition of the Jennifer Street Bridge and the downtown houses and buildings with the autumn trees showing off their own hues of the season. One of the reasons for sharing my photographs and the stories is to open up your eyes to the wonders right here on the Central Coast. Whether you view the city from Terrace Hill or enjoy the red hues of the fall leaves of your favorite vineyard, take in the visual feast of colors. If you live in San Luis Obispo County, why leave paradise when you’re already there? SLO LIFE

MARK NAKAMURA, pursues his passion in landscape photography as well as capturing the joys of weddings, families, events, and sports around the Central Coast. Find him on Instagram @nakamuraphoto

PALETTE

OCT/NOV 2021

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| Q&A

Taking Flight The career trajectory of the San Luis Obispo Airport (SBP) Director of Airports, COURTNEY JOHNSON, resembles the rumbling jets launching off the runway as they take flight. We finally convinced her to sit still long enough for a wide-ranging, get-to-know-you conversation. Here is some of what she had to say…

Okay, Courtney, where are you from? Alright. I was born and raised in Bakersfield, not too far away. I’m a Valley transplant. I have two sisters, one adopted and one biological. One of them is a golf pro and the other is a CFO/ Controller. My mom actually worked at the school I attended growing up, which was awful because you couldn’t get away with anything. [laughter] My father owns his own electrical company. He does the big substations and is constantly traveling around California. My grandparents lived over here, so I came over as soon as I had the opportunity. It’s a beautiful county. I’m really lucky. What were you like as a kid? Oh, gosh, I really don’t like to talk about myself. But, okay, let’s see . . . we had all the neighborhood friends and we’d run around, run amok. And then, as soon as the street lights came on, you had to be home for supper. Also, I was in theater. Nothing too exciting, just school plays and stuff like that. I graduated high school early—sixteen years old—and went straight into college. After that, I got a job at the airport in Bakersfield. It was an accounting position, and I just fell in love with it. You never go back once you get into aviation. I was there for about six years before I was hired as the Deputy Director of Finance here in San Luis Obispo. A couple of years later, the director left, and I was promoted. What is the most misunderstood aspect of the airport? Most people don’t know that we don’t take any tax revenue. We’re a standalone entity, an enterprise fund, which means that all of our revenue comes from our airport operations, whether it be a tenant paying rent, or the airlines, or our concessionaires. All of our money is made in-house, and we do not take any local tax. No county funds. We’re completely self-sustaining. 26

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

So, when you see all those projects going on out there, the new terminal, runway rehabilitation, and so forth, those are all paid for independently. But, at the same time, all of those passengers coming into the county are generating revenue, whether that’s their TOT [Transient Occupancy Tax] or the money they spend while they’re here. Overall, the airport makes a significant contribution to the community, to all of us. What flight gives you the most headaches? Without question, the San Francisco United flight. It always gets socked in there. That’s the primary issue at SFO, the fog. So, when that happens, they shuffle around all the arriving planes and we’re kind of the last man on the totem pole, being a regional airport. That’s probably the most infuriating one for everyone here, the United San Francisco flight. That’s the one. That’s the culprit. I will say, beyond that, there are always challenges, but I see them as opportunities. It’s a constant juggling act. That’s also what makes it exciting— just knowing that what you are doing has such an impact on the whole region. What do you like to do for fun? Well, I actually have six-year-old triplets—two identical girls and a boy—and they take up the majority of my free time. I’m not married. I’m a solo mom. We got a divorce probably three years ago, and he’s away in the military. So, when I’m not at work, I’m at home juggling their activities. They’re in kindergarten now where we live in Nipomo. They love it, and it’s been a great adjustment. Last year, I juggled stay-at-home airport director slash preschool teacher. It was a very interesting year to say the least. Somehow, we all made it. But, to answer your question, I’d say when I get a quiet moment, I like to read. Murder mysteries mainly, just to keep things interesting. SLO LIFE

| OCT/NOV 2021

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| NOW HEAR THIS

LigHt in the Dark BY JOE PAYNE PHOTO COURTESY OF GHOST/MONSTER

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| OCT/NOV 2021

Music is always there for us, whether in times of abundance, or times of need, times of growth, or times of great pain. For songwriter and lead singer of the band Carbon City Lights, Michael Venia— also a recent contestant on “The Voice”—music was a portal to another world from his childhood home of Saudi Arabia. He grew up in a musical household filled with instruments, lessons, and records. Music took Venia across the world to Toronto, Canada, where he performed gig after gig with a band made up of childhood friends. It was later, after the band broke up, and Venia spent “countless hours” in his Toronto apartment writing songs and recording that his current project was born. “I lived in a condo downtown and my blinds, I would just leave it open all the time when I went to bed, and I would see the city lights,” Venia said. “And the ‘Carbon’ part is more mysterious; I went through a lot of different phases with my music and my writing style. The stuff I was writing about, it was a lot of darkness and lightness and positivity. So, I just like the contrast in Carbon City Lights.” After a move to San Luis Obispo with his wife, Venia connected with musical locals to form a full band in 2018. You might recognize members from other popular SLO-based bands over the years: Bret Heenan is the lead guitarist, Dan Hernandez plays bass, and Gerald Purify is on drums. Local institution and cellist Bob Liepman joins the band from time to time as well. The sound of Carbon City Lights is firmly in the alternative rock genre with crisp or distorted guitars, driving bass and drums, and Venia’s unique voice. It’s a sound that Venia grew up steeped in with his siblings, he explained, but it wasn’t all he enjoyed. “Being in Saudi, you’re typically not exposed to music in general I would say, but my brothers had a lot of the grunge, ‘90s-era music going,” he said. “Pearl Jam was one of my favorite bands, but my parents listened to older music, so I was introduced to The Beatles. It was really diverse.” The group has truly explored their musical range in their latest album “Flame in the Winter,” but for Venia, the project is an expression of possibly the most challenging and difficult time in he and his wife’s lives. The couple lost their son at birth, a deeply personal devastation, he explained. But, thankfully, music was there as a liferaft, and the new album serves as tribute to their son. On the track “Lights” Venia sings: Head down a dark road, yeah / We’re seeing all the other headlights / And in the dark times, you’ve got a candle blowing in the wind / And when the night falls, yeah, you’re the light that I see coming in / When your light shines, it goes on and on and never ends Carbon City Lights has found a welcome home on the Central Coast from those rooting for Venia’s efforts on “The Voice” to those who have already bought the album or make up their regular audience. For lead guitarist Heenan, who has lived and played music locally since 1988, that support speaks to a SLO Life culture that includes both listeners and performers. “There is a lot of freedom and opportunity,” Heenan said. “I don’t think there’s a SLO ‘sound,’ but there is a SLO ethic. Musicians are really supportive of each other here … you’re just absolutely free to develop your own sound. There’s not a lot of conformity here.” Visit carboncitylights.com for more information on their albums and upcoming shows. SLO LIFE OCT/NOV 2021

JOE PAYNE is a journalist, as well as a lifelong musician and music teacher, who writes about the arts on the Central Coast.

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR

pro file PHOTOGRAPHY BY VANESSA PLAKIAS

He was one of many young men returning from the war, but Bud Idler paid close attention to the details. And the broken-down washing machine at the encampment affectionately known as “Vet Ville,” which was situated adjacent to the Cal Poly campus, fascinated him. A few years later, he took a job with a local appliance repairman. Then, in 1954, he went out on his own. Today, closing in on seventy years later, his grandson, BRYAN IDLER, along with his sister and his father, are the principles of Idler’s Home, a Central Coast mainstay, which now has five locations and over eighty employees. Here is his story…

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

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SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

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lright, Bryan, we always like to take it from the beginning. Where are you from? Actually, I was born right here in San Luis Obispo, at Sierra Vista Hospital—same place we had our baby a few months ago. Then, from there, I was raised in Atascadero. I have one older sister. I worked at our store, both of us did, when we were kids. I quit something like fifteen times. I’d come in after school, or during the summers, and wash the trucks, shove cardboard into more cardboard boxes, and sweep—lots of sweeping. Then I started getting old enough to be able to work in the warehouse. I don’t know what the payment was back then, whatever minimum wage was. I had my own timecard; I punched a card. Okay, let’s go back to when you were a kid. What did you do for fun? Mostly, I surfed. I surfed a ton as a kid. And, I played soccer, baseball—all the sports. You know, typical kid, hanging out with friends and stuff like that. I was also always really into reading and writing and journalism. I kind of wanted to do what you’re currently doing with the magazine. That’s sort of what I did in college: English literature. Did a lot of creative writing. It was a lot of stream of consciousness stuff. I was super into Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg back then—the whole San Francisco renaissance thing, which I thought was pretty cool, the whole “On the Road” mentality. This was back when I was in college at San Diego State. I guess I just wanted to get away from here for a little a while. Then you realize, like most people that grow up here, you have to come back. What did you do after graduation? After graduation? You know, I wasn’t quite ready just yet to come back. So, I was bartending down there and always keeping an eye on the Craigslist job postings. One day, I saw a post that said something like, “Low pay, hard work, sailing on the East Coast, email your bio.” So, of course, I responded to it. I thought that sounded great. [laughter] I got a call, and got the job, which ended up being with Maxwell Kennedy, who is one of Bobby Kennedy’s sons. He lives in Los Angeles, but the whole family spends the summers back at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port. I worked for him for two years. I actually drove a boat across country four times, back-and-forth, and a whole lot of other random things. Tell us more. It was an incredible experience, honestly. I found myself cooking lobster every night for everybody, and sailing on a fifty-five-foot wooden yawl, and taking care of the boat. I became sort of a main guy for maintenance and odd jobs. It was fascinating to see how this other echelon lives. I played backgammon with Ethel Kennedy—she usually beat me. I won once. Got to meet Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was back there with part of the family at that time. There were some really big names around and they were all very nice people. You mentioned that you were asked to do “a whole lot of other random things.” Yeah, Maxwell would say something like, “I’ve got 500 acres in Nova Scotia, and I got this cabin being shipped over from China.” It was a Lincoln log-style, tongue and groove thing that came with directions, like a big manual on how to put it together. You just start building. After I finished, he said, “I got three more of them. Can you go build those, too?” Oh, sure, let me just go do that real quick. [laughter] That’s where I probably learned my most problem-solving skills. He’d say, “Hey, get this huge 700-pound anchor ball up there because I want to use it as a decoration at the driveway entrance.” So, I start to wonder: How do you get that thing in the back of a truck? I actually still talk to him occasionally. He called me last year and said, “Hey, I’m getting in a riverboat to go down the Mississippi, you want to come? I’ll fly you out next week.” I was like, “Uh, I’m married now, and we have a baby on the way, and I’ve got this job, so I can’t really do that anymore, but I appreciate the offer though.” So, when did you return to SLO? It was 2010. I was working the warehouse installation at Idler’s, just starting back at the entry level. I was also working downtown at Mission Grill as a bartender. After a while, I finally got up the nerve to talk with the hostess—Cassie. That was about ten years ago now. We’ve been married for seven. We have two kids. Sullivan, or Sully, who is two years old. He’ll be starting at the Montessori school here where Cassie taught for almost ten years. And, we have Lennon. He’s two months. When we were leaving the hospital with Lennon, there was >> OCT/NOV 2021

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

some old guy that said to us, “Lenin?! You called your kid, Lenin?! That’s a communist name!” [laughter] I started to say, “No, no, not Vladimir Lenin the Soviet, but John Lennon, the Beatle.” Then, I thought I’m going to play dumb and ask him, “What’s a communist?” Instead, I just smiled and nodded as we walked out. What are you up to these days? You know, I feel like my life just definitely revolves around my kids. I got plenty of time for myself back in the day. I just want to give it all to them now, that’s what I’m all about. And I’m so lucky. My wife, Cassie, she’s amazing. She’s everything I’m not, which is a lot. She’s super creative. We have a little studio in our backyard where she’s getting a pottery business started. It started to get a bit of traction, but now she’s so busy with the kids. We’ll get back on track at some point. For now, it’s all about the simple things, like taking our stand-up [paddleboard] out to the bay where it’s nice and calm. We try to get in the water as much as we can. And we do some short little camping trips. We 34

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| OCT/NOV 2021

got a van this year, an old ’99 Eurovan, which I’ve been kind of working on a bit on the side, mostly just making it look nice. Let’s shift gears for a minute—pardon the pun—and talk about the history of Idler’s. You sure? It’s a long history—1954. So, my grandfather was living on the Cal Poly campus. It was a section they called “Vet Ville” way back in the day. A lot of the veterans actually stayed there, lived on campus. He was a veteran of the World War II, my grandfather was, so he stayed on campus and started fixing washing machines and stuff. That’s how he got his start, he started working for a company that was, I forget the name of it, but up on Monterey Street, a little tiny appliance shop. The owner couldn’t afford to pay him, so he ended up giving him the business after he went bankrupt. He told him, “If you can make a go out of it, go for it.” So, he worked hard and made a go of it. Later, he moved to Broad Street, the same building Big Sky Café is in now. That was one of our original locations, right downtown.>>

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When they remodeled it for the restaurant, they found old Idler’s signs, which is pretty cool.

That’s the best thing, having a chance to visit with those people, because I feel more connected to him.

What do you know about those early days? Well, I know that it was a full-on family affair back then. My grandfather had five kids, two daughters before the war, and three sons after the war. So, my dad and his siblings, they all worked there. Then his sisters, my aunts, were having kids, too, so there were different generations involved. It was pretty crazy from what I’ve heard. My grandpa died in ‘79 and I was born in ‘84, so I never got to meet him. Then my father and his two brothers were in the business. It kind of went different directions through the years, until everything eventually consolidated with my dad taking the helm, so to speak. Honestly, now, probably just like always, it’s a wild ride every single day. It’s always different, and that’s what I love about the business. It makes it interesting. You’re always talking to people, great people in our community. Sometimes I get to talk to people who knew my grandfather.

So, looking forward, what does the future hold for you? I don’t know. I have no idea. Really, I don’t. I’m just super excited to raise my family. If my kids want to do what I’m doing, great. If they don’t, that’s fine, too. I never got any pressure from my dad to come back into the business. Neither did my sister, we just gravitated back to it eventually on our own terms. I want to raise my family. We might even think about another kid—have three. We have to get past this newborn stage first. So, whatever happens, I’m just excited to raise them and just to continue to be a bigger part of the community, both professionally and personally, whatever that looks like. Honestly, I’m kind of a go-with-the-flow guy. I don’t necessarily segment or organize my life. I’m more planned than I used to be, but I just want to see what the future holds. I don’t really know—and I’m okay with that. SLO LIFE

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| OCT/NOV 2021

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| ARTIST

ARTIST PROFILE

Janice Stone BY JEFF AL-MASHAT PHOTOGRAPHY BY ZACHARY SCOTT

rroyo Grande sculptor, Janice Stone likes things that are built to last. She identifies that concept regularly as a driving theme in her artwork. She is interested in structure, and order, and likes the idea of how things fit together to make them strong and give them longevity. The dichotomy in her work though, is that the pieces she produces, while meticulously crafted, appear to be delicate and suggest they need to be handled with care, which creates a great tension in the work that immediately draws you in. Many of the pieces are utilitarian items like plates and pots. Others are small figurines. They all seem unassuming at first, but they are often decorated with powerful imagery like Baobab trees or figures that could be interpreted by a viewer as angels from one angle or warriors from another. Other pieces have intricate skeletal structure designs, which have an elegant form, but suggest strength and sturdiness. This approach makes sense when she reveals that she was trained early in life as a seamstress. Stone’s artistic process has a tension to it as well. The pottery itself is crafted with great care but is frequently punctuated with a more aggressive technique called sgraffito that often is anything but delicate. Sgraffito is the process of building up layers and then scratching off parts to create an image.

She grew up on the Central Coast and worked as a library services specialist at Cal Poly. While Stone has a political science degree, she tends to steer away from talking about social and political issues in her work. A fan of both Frida and Diego, Stone references them often, as well as British sculptor, David Nash. His technique of using tools like blowtorches to burn marks onto his refined wooden sculptures fits in with Stone’s thread of intertwining durability and fragility. “I began my art later in my life,” says Stone. “When I turned fifty, I wanted to find something that made me happy without worrying about what people think.” SLO LIFE 38

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

JEFF AL-MASHAT is a writer and visual artist with an MFA in painting from Georgia State University. He lives in Grover Beach.

| OCT/NOV 2021

OCT/NOV 2021

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| AUTHOR

LOCAL READ

A Pulp Fiction Legend BY BRIAN SCHWARTZ

hances are that if you grew up in the ’80s, you remember the Conan the Barbarian series. From 1980-1996, local author Leonard (Len) Carpenter wrote eleven of the Conan bestsellers, making him the most prolific author in the series. Originally conceived by Robert E. Howard—one of the best-selling fantasy writers of all time back in the 1930s—more than fifty Conan novels have been published making Conan a fixture in pop culture, including comics, cartoons, toys, and two major motion pictures featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, plus spinoffs. Conan’s exploits in the fictional Hyborian age began as short stories in 1930’s pulp magazines. They were reprinted by fans in the ’40s and ’50s due to creator Bob Howard’s bold, vivid prose, long after he died in 1935. Carpenter read Howard’s unsold novel, “Hour of the Dragon” (later published as “Conan the Conqueror”) at age ten, and was hooked. In the ’60s came “Lord of the Rings,” fantasy gaming, and flashy paperbacks of “lost” Conan stories, some added by historian and fictioneer L. Sprague de Camp. “By 1980 I had my first modern fantasy yarns published and won a $1,000 literary prize. I landed the Conan contract, so Sprague and wife Catherine backed me for the next ten books. I was able to draw on legend and history from the stone age to gunpowder, channeling Conan with wild invention and social insights. Mine were the first and last novels of the Tor paperback series, from ‘Conan the Renegade’ to ‘Conan, Lord of the Black River.’” Although fans still reach out to Carpenter in hopes of resurrecting Conan, the rights are locked up in legal battles. Following his fifteen-plus-year career as a full-time author, Carpenter obtained a computer writing certificate from Cal Poly and became a successful technical writer, 40

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and he continued to write short fiction and was published in several anthologies. Most recently, he sold and published the historical thriller “Lusitania Lost” in 2017, which is also available as an audiobook. There is plenty up next for Carpenter. He’s become an advocate for longevity and plans to live well into his hundreds. He’s currently seeking a publisher for his latest contemporary fiction work entitled “Tropic of Cuba.” It’s a speculative semi-fictional account of discovering the fountain of youth. Carpenter has released it as a serialized story on Amazon’s new Kindle Vella platform. “‘Tropic of Cuba’ doesn’t fit easily into a single genre. But it contains thrills, humor, and insights that can inform, and literally lengthen, or save your life.” Born in 1948 and a graduate of UC at Berkeley, Carpenter is the widowed father of twin daughters and a son. His travels include a nine-month bicycle circuit of Europe with his late wife Cheryl, and ten trips to Cuba culminating in marriage to his Guantanamo bride, Yasnai. You can keep up with him and his latest exploits at LenCarpenter.com. SLO LIFE

BRIAN SCHWARTZ is a publishing consultant and advocate for local authors. He can be reached at brian@selfpublish.org.

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| EXPLORE

View from Above BY PADEN HUGHES I was four years old when I decided on my favorite super-power: The ability to fly. Obviously. In my thrirty-five trips around the sun, I’ve had some pretty incredible flying experiences, like the one time I got to join a friend of mine in his private plane on our way to a CEO mastermind. It was an amazing experience. I love hunting down new, exciting experiences. Now let me preface this by sharing that I’m a big believer in spending money on experiences and collecting memories over things. For example, I’ve honestly been wearing workout clothes 90% of the last decade. IYKYK (If you know you know). 42

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| OCT/NOV 2021

Truly. But while I grimace at paying for clothes full-price, I don’t blink an eye at spending money on experiences. Because of this, when it comes to anniversaries and birthdays, finding something new and novel to line up becomes my personal challenge. Well, this year, neither my husband, Michael, nor I had made plans for our ninth wedding anniversary. I was trying not to give away my disappointment and just chalk it up to one more casualty of the last eighteen months of living through a pandemic. The truth was, we both had been so busy, we didn’t plan ahead. So, there we stood on our wedding anniversary, in our workout clothes, making pasta again for the second time that week. Nope. That did it. We deserved better than this. We just had to try a little harder. I told Michael I was feeling low about the lack of specialness around our anniversary. His eyes lit up, “What about a helicopter ride?” “Yes! I mean that would be cool, but it’s already six pm. The sun sets in a couple hours.” “If you don’t ask you never get a yes.” Always quotable, Michael picked up his phone and called a local company, Helipro, but the pilot had gone home for the night.

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Well, at least he tried, I thought to myself—maybe we can re-watch “Ted Lasso” and drink Rosé ? No sooner had I flipped the TV on when the phone rang. The pilot had heard Michael’s message and was driving back to the airport to load up. That gave me forty-five minutes to find someone to watch our kids—thankfully, our date night nanny was available and just around the corner. The stars aligned and I felt the magic. Within an hour we were flying right above San Luis Obispo, pointing out our house downtown, flying past the “M” on Cerro San Luis, waving at hikers up on Bishop Peak, and making our way over the fog to see the jewel of the tour: Morro Rock.

Charmaine Petersen, CSA

It was truly an incredible experience. The large windows on the helicopter afforded us unimaginable vistas and our pilot was happy to fly closer to the peaks to provide us the best views. I truly felt like my childhood dream of flying was as close as it’s ever been. I could have been a bird soaring in the wind, gliding past the mountains. I soaked it up. To make it even better, the flight had perfectly overlapped with sunset. It was surreal. Without a doubt, it was the best thirty-minute flight I’ve ever had. SLO LIFE

PADEN HUGHES is co-owner of Gymnazo and enjoys exploring the Central Coast.

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| ON THE RISE

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Grace byde PHOTOGRAPHY BY LISA MAKSOUDIAN

Four-year honor roll student and treasurer of the National Honor Society, this San Luis Obispo High School senior is busy balancing her time spent as an ocean lifeguard with her academic efforts. What do you like to do for fun? I spend almost all my free time at the beach, from working out to just hanging with friends. When I am not there I love to hike with my family and friends, go camping, surf, play with my dog, and go thrift shopping. What is going on with you now? Currently, I am really busy with school and work. I am taking four advanced placement classes, which means homework takes a lot of my time. I lifeguard at Avila Beach every weekend, and any free time I can find I hang out with my friends. I am shadowing a physician assistant who specializes in cardiology, which I have really enjoyed because I have gotten the opportunity to take a deeper look into the medical field. Do you have a career path in mind? I have always been very interested in pursuing something in the medical field, but I am not exact on which direction I want to go with it. I have thought about being more on the first responder side, such as a paramedic or fulltime ocean lifeguard. I have also thought about being a nurse, surgeon, or physician assistant. I have many different interests, but I know the general direction I believe I want to pursue. Who has influenced you the most? There are many people and moments that have influenced me over my life, but I think my dad has been the most influential. He is a fireman for Santa Barbara County, and I have grown up listening to all of his stories about what life is like being

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a first responder. He inspired me to do the job I do and has pushed me to not allow any boundaries to hold me back. What is important to you outside of high school? My relationships with my friends, family, and God are definitely the most important aspects of my life outside of school. I am also really passionate about my job, and I am constantly working to improve myself within it. The Avila Beach Junior Lifeguard program has also been a very important aspect of my life, from participating in it for seven years and working as an aid the past two. It has given me the opportunity to develop a passion for lifeguarding, and helped improve my leadership skills immensely. If you could go back in history and meet anyone, who would it be? If I could go back to meet anyone in history, I would want to meet Eddie Aikau. He was a famous Hawaiian lifeguard and surfer. He passed away performing a rescue and was known to be one of the most courageous lifeguards. There are so many questions I would like to ask him about his career, and there is so much I think I could learn from him. What are you looking forward to? I am really looking forward to enjoying my senior year and spending as much time as I can with all the people around me. I want to enjoy every moment I can before we all enter the next chapters of our lives and go our separate ways. What schools are you considering for college? I am considering most of the colleges on the California Coast, including UCSB, UCLA, UCSD, Point Loma, and San Diego State. Know a student On the Rise? Email us at info@slolifemagazine.com

"Having our kids concurrently studying the same period of history fosters unity and connection in our family. Our kids, who at times struggle to relate to each other, bond over a shared interest in SLOCA literature books and history topics. When the older child arranges his home day so that he can listen in on his younger sibling’s literature and history reading, you know that the curriculum is quality and engaging. Semper discentes! (Always learning together.)"

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| ANIMAL KINGDOM

Portrait

Pasture Raised PHOTOGRAPHY BY ZACHARY SCOTT Name: Oreo Breed: Wyandotte Hobbies: Adorned with a “rose comb,” Oreo was the queen of the roost in her prime. Smarter than your average bird, most nights you can find her asleep on the fence under the stars. SLO LIFE

Know a local animal ready for a portrait? Email us at info@slolifemagazine.com 46

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| OCT/NOV 2021

ZACHARY SCOTT is a photographer known for his humorous and highly stylized work that has been featured in the New York Times Magazine as well as GQ, Time Magazine, Wired and New York Magazine.

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| DWELLING

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| OCT/NOV 2021

Kitchen Clean up

BY ZARA KHAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID LALUSH

OCT/NOV 2021

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

hen Billea and TJ Dyson moved into their home eleven years ago they had a vision for most of the home, but weren’t quite ready to take on the kitchen. After all, the kitchen is the heart of the home and, for them, the first thing to greet you when you walk in. They had to get it just right. Billea, a nurse from Canada, met her husband, TJ, from South Dakota, in Lake Tahoe. TJ’s wine shipping business regularly stopped on the Central Coast during their route from Napa to LA. It was not a hard sell for them to make the decision to move and raise their family in Atascadero. Billea grew up in a family of builders in Canada and knew how closely homeowners work with the tradesman, so she was picky when it came time to assembling her team. After a few years in the home, they finally felt like they had spent enough time getting to know the space and were ready to bring their dream kitchen to life. A close friend recommended that she meet with Stephanie Rothbauer of Rothbauer Interiors and they connected immediately. The Dysons also appreciated Tom Doherty’s attention to detail, talent as a carpenter, connections to reliable subs, and his easy-to-be-around personality, so they enlisted his help as well. Their two main goals were to lighten and open the kitchen. They never grew to love the dark oak in the kitchen and couldn’t understand why there was so much wasted space in the previous layout. Since they have young kids, they wanted the kitchen to be usable by all family members. The Dysons wanted to maximize the number of drawers and instead of upper cabinets, they wanted the pieces they used every day to be on floating shelves for convenience. They knew that their kitchen was going to be where the family spent a lot of their time together and wanted a large island to accommodate everyone. 50

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| OCT/NOV 2021

The Dysons needed to move some walls and raise the ceiling height first, which made all the difference. Of course, it did trigger some larger tasks, like redoing all the ducts since they were in the dropped ceiling, but it was definitely worth it. During previous renovations, they installed beautiful wood floors throughout the home and wanted to extend them into the kitchen, but of course, the flooring was discontinued. Since they were unable to find the exact material they had previously used, they found a close match and Doherty laced in the new and old floor seamlessly. Rothbauer wanted to continue the “California Casual” look that was already present in their home into the kitchen. To keep consistent with the design style, she selected a natural walnut for the island that had a horizontal grain match. The same wood was selected for the floating shelves next to the window to keep the space open and give the Dysons the easy access they desired. >>

In addition to being an interior designer, ZARA KHAN is also a shoe aficionado and horror movie enthusiast.

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SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

The tones, textures, and the contrast of the walnut and white balanced each other out perfectly. Rothbauer’s favorite detail is the shelf inset on the end of the island. There is a lot of hustle and bustle with young kids around the kitchen. This is a quick grab for them without having to climb into cabinets or drawers. In the future, this can hold spices or decorative items. It’s a great use of typically wasted space. Instead of using a standard stain on their cabinetry, they went with a Rubio mono-coat, which is one of my favorite products—I wish more people used it. Rubio mono-coat is different from a standard stain because it penetrates the wood rather than creating a protective barrier on top of it. The finished look is matte and doesn’t have a shiny finish to it like a stained piece of wood does. It is more labor intensive to apply since it has to be rubbed on, but the depth it brings to the wood is always worth it. Billea loved that it wouldn’t interrupt the natural aging of the wood. Having natural, beautiful wood in the home was very important to her as a Canadian. Vicki Taylor of Tailored Spaces worked with the clients to style the living room and dining room to give the home a more current and modern design that worked to open the space. Their electrician, Paul Finley, crafted an inviting lighting experience with the 52

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| OCT/NOV 2021

floating shelf feature. Throughout the kitchen, they have hidden outlets and lighting that allows the tile to make an impact and not be interrupted. The Dysons cannot stress the importance of doing your research and having a plan before getting started. They also recommend choosing a team that isn’t only talented, but that you enjoy being around. Remodeling is such an intimate process that you have to enjoy their company and have trust—you do spend A LOT of time together when all is said and done. And if you’re anything like the Dysons, you end up staying friends with them after, too. SLO LIFE

DAVID LALUSH is an architectural photographer here in San Luis Obispo.

OCT/NOV 2021

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

REA L E S TAT E

BY THE NUMBERS

| SLO CITY

laguna lake

2020 Total Homes Sold 44 Average Asking Price $763,261 Average Selling Price $758,431 Sales Price as a % of Asking Price 99.37% Average # of Days on the Market 12

2021 66 $772,676 $779,444 100.88% 7

+/50.00% 1.23% 2.77% 1.51% -41.67%

tank farm

2020 32 Total Homes Sold $817,596 Average Asking Price $811,766 Average Selling Price Sales Price as a % of Asking Price 99.10% 12 Average # of Days on the Market

2021 51 $935,967 $937,513 100.17% 7

+/59.38% 14.48% 15.49% 99.10% -41.67%

cal poly area

2020 Total Homes Sold 19 Average Asking Price $985,995 Average Selling Price $977,105 Sales Price as a % of Asking Price 99.10% Average # of Days on the Market 7

2021 36 $1,169,433 $1,160,365 99.22% 7

+/89.47% 18.60% 18.76% 0.12% 0.00%

country club

2020 Total Homes Sold 13 Average Asking Price $1,186,461 Average Selling Price $1,135,169 Sales Price as a % of Asking Price 95.68% Average # of Days on the Market 15

2021 16 $1,366,500 $1,370,897 100.32% 7

+/23.08% 15.17% 20.77% 4.64% -53.33%

down town

2020 Total Homes Sold 44 Average Asking Price $987,080 Average Selling Price $960,653 Sales Price as a % of Asking Price 97.32% Average # of Days on the Market 12

2021 76 $959,474 $974,102 101.52% 10

+/72.73% -2.80% 1.40% 4.20% -16.67%

foothill boulevard

2020 Total Homes Sold 29 Average Asking Price $889,838 Average Selling Price $889,224 Sales Price as a % of Asking Price 99.93% Average # of Days on the Market 11

2021 31 $945,906 $957,510 101.23% 14

+/6.90% 6.30% 7.68% 1.30% 27.27%

2020 Total Homes Sold 44 Average Asking Price $1,047,293 Average Selling Price $1,013,472 Sales Price as a % of Asking Price 96.77% Average # of Days on the Market 19

2021 48 $1,075,688 $1,103,831 102.62% 8

+/9.09% 2.71% 8.92% 5.85% -57.89%

johnson avenue

*Comparing 01/01/20 - 09/22/20 to 01/01/21 - 09/22/21

SOURCE: San Luis Obispo Association of REALTORS

SLO LIFE

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| OCT/NOV 2021

The leaves aren’t the only thing falling this time of year. Work with a mortgage company that can offer low rates, great service and a fast, transparent process: • In-house underwriting and closing • Jumbo financing experts

Make sure you lock in a low rate before it’s too late!

Reach out to one of our local experts today! Donna Lewis

Ken Neate

Maggie Koepsell

O: (805) 335-8743 C: (805) 235-0463

O: (805) 706-8074 C: (925) 963-1015

O: (805) 335-8742 C: (805) 674-6653

donna.lewis@rate.com

ken.neate@rate.com

maggie.koepsell@rate.com

Ermina Karim

Dylan Morrow

Elieen Mackenzie

O: (805) 329-4095 C: (805) 602-0248

O: (805) 335-8738 C: (805) 550-9742

O: (805) 212-5204 C: (831) 566-9908

ermina.karim@rate.com

dylan.morrow@rate.com

eileen.mackenzie@rate.com

Joe Hutson

Matthew Janetski

O: (831) 205-1582 C: (831) 212-4138

O: (805) 329-4092 C: (619) 300-2651

joe.hutson@rate.com

matt.janetski@rate.com

Branch Manager & SVP of Mortgage Lending

VP of Mortgage Lending

Zoe Thompson Licensed Sales Assistant

O: (805) 335-8737 zoe.thompson@rate.com

SVP of Mortgage Lending

VP of Mortgage Lending

Luana Geradis

Lisa Renelle

O: (805) 329-4087 C: (707) 227-9582

O: (805) 456-5344 C: (805) 674-2931

luana.gerardis@rate.com

lisa.renelle@rate.com

VP of Mortgage Lending

Rate.com/SanLuisObispo 1065 Higuera St., Suite 100, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Applicant subject to credit and underwriting approval. Not all applicants will be approved for financing. Receipt of application does not represent an approval for financing or interest rate guarantee. Restrictions may apply, contact Guaranteed Rate for current rates and for more information. (20210903-616080) Donna Lewis NMLS #245945; CA - CA-DOC245945 | | Ken Neate NMLS #373607; CA - CA-DBO373607 | | Maggie Koepsell NMLS #704130; CA - CA-DBO704130 | Ermina Karmin NMLS #2005928; CA - CA-DFPI2005928 | Dylan Morrow NMLS #1461481; CA - CA-DBO1461481 | Luana Gerardis NMLS #1324563; CA - CA-DBO1324563 | Eileen Mackenzie NMLS #282909 | Matthew Janetski NMLS #1002317; CA - CA-DBO1002317 | Joe Hutson NMLS #447536; CA - CA-DOC447536 | Lisa Renelle NMLS #269785; CA-DOC269785 Guaranteed Rate, Inc.; NMLS #2611; For licensing information visit nmlsconsumeraccess.org. • CA: Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the 2021 California|Residential Mortgage Lending Act | 55 OCT/NOV SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

We’re the

| SLO COUNTY

grilled cheese of mortgage lenders. The entire team at CrossCountry took a potentially stressful process and filled it with a sense of ease and humanity. Like going in to see your dentist, but then instead of making your gums bleed, he makes you a grilled cheese sandwich.

— Jacob C.

Sometimes our clients say it best. Call or email today to buy or refi!

Ben Lerner 805.441.9486 www.blerner.com ben.lerner@myccmortgage.com

994 Mill St, Ste 200 - San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Equal Housing Opportunity. All loans subject to underwriting approval. Certain restrictions apply. Call for details. NMLS3029 NMLS2131793 NMLS395723 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org) CrossCountry Mortgage, LLC. Licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act. Refinancing may result in higher total finance charges over the life of the loan.

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| OCT/NOV 2021

REAL ESTATE BY THE NUMBERS REGION

NUMBER OF HOME S SOLD

AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET

MEDIAN SELLING PRICE

2020

2021

2020

2021

2020

2021

Arroyo Grande

206

284

$850,241

$995,848

Atascadero

267

292

$595,275

$713,536

Avila Beach

$1,136,654 $1,881,748

Cambria/San Simeon

191

$845,163

Cayucos

$1,238,021 $1,538,460

Creston

$872,500

$1,017,143

Grover Beach

125

$582,915

$701,309

Los Osos

101

$760,542 $840,564

Morro Bay

100

126

$722,071

$1,017,422

Nipomo

178

210

$724,827

$831,323

Oceano

$568,648

$649,963

Pismo Beach

108

$1,032,763 $1,293,663

Paso (Inside City Limits)

253

326

$543,194

$605,154

Paso (North 46 - East 101)

$608,051

$780,226

Paso (North 46 - West 101)

$609,240 $936,209

Paso (South 46 - East 101)

$668,760

San Luis Obispo

266

385

$935,873 $1,026,977

Santa Margarita

102

$538,814

Templeton

110

134

$827,918 $1,042,823

$736,649

Countywide

1,967 2,350

*Comparing 01/01/20 - 09/22/20 to 01/01/21 - 09/22/21

$1,114,102

$832,723

$766,434

$883,621

SOURCE: San Luis Obispo Association of REALTORS

SLO LIFE

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SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| HEALTH

Life is Better in Blue What the Blue Zones reveal about the keys to a long, healthy life. BY LAUREN HARVEY

here are plenty of fad diets out there that claim to help you lose weight or finally get that beach bod. But what about a diet, or moreover, a set of habits that naturally increase your life expectancy? And who holds this secret? Examining the daily routine of Blue Zone residents is the place to start.

Blue Zones are specific locations throughout the world scientifically proven to have a higher concentration of centenarians, that is, people that live over onehundred years. First identified by Dan Buettner and his research team in 2004, a “Blue Zone is a nonscientific term given to geographic regions that are home to some of the world’s oldest people. The term refers to geographic areas in which people have low rates of chronic disease and live longer than anywhere else.” The first Blue Zone discovered was in Sardinia, where men over ninety walked miles a day tending sheep, drank red wine in the evenings, and ate plenty of cheese. Here, it seemed, with their tight knit, active community, the men of Sardinia thrived past

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| OCT/NOV 2021

one-hundred, living relatively happy and healthy lives by simply carrying on like their ancestors had for hundreds of years. While we aren’t recommending you go out and become a sheepherder just to live longer (though here on the Central Coast you very well could), there are some notable centenarian habits to incorporate into your daily routine. They may increase your lifespan, but more importantly, they can increase the quality of your life. Let’s dive in! >>

LAUREN HARVEY is a creative writer fueled by a love of cooking, adventure, and naps in the sun.

Why can't I pull it together? "This is supposed to be the happiest time of my life, but I don't feel happy. I don't feel anything, really. And it makes me feel so guilty. There is no reason to be sad. No reason not to be happy. And I just can't shake it." No one chooses to suffer from perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMAD) like postpartum depression and anxiety. Even with an easy pregnancy or birth, feelings of sadness, hopelessness, anxiety, and depression can develop. But local help is available.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE. YOU ARE NOT TO BLAME. WITH HELP YOU WILL GET BETTER. Visit PMADSLO.org for resources, information, help, and more in English and Spanish. Visite PMADSLO.org para obtener recursos, información, ayuda y más en español. SLOCPHD Maternal Child & Adolescent Health - PMAD Project. Funding support from MHSA 4/2021 OCT/NOV 2021

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to some of the world’s oldest women, soy-based foods are a dietary staple and residents practice tai chi daily. In Costa Rica, people regularly perform physical jobs well into old age, while feasting on beans and tortillas. A strict vegetarian diet and involved spiritual life is common among the Loma Linda Blue Zone residents. Though we only know of five Blue Zones at the moment, there may be more communities of centenarians across the world, waiting to be discovered.

THE BIGGER PICTURE Despite their geographic and cultural differences, Blue Zones contain similarities that may help point us in the direction of becoming centenarians ourselves. Fundamentally, Blue Zones, “produce a high rate of centenarians,” says Buettner, “They suffer a fraction of the diseases that commonly kill people in other parts of the developed world, and enjoy more years of good health.” Some of these similarities seem obvious, like exercise and sleeping well. But what’s most interesting, and perhaps most vital, is how effortlessly these healthy habits are built into the lives of Blue Zone residents.

THE BLUE ZONES The Blue Zone experiment did not begin as an anthropomorphic project. Instead, Buettner and his team aimed to study men carrying the M26 gene marker. As Buettner explains, “The M26 marker is linked to exceptional longevity, and due to geographic isolation, the genes of the residents in this area of Sardinia have remained mostly undiluted. This results in nearly ten times more centenarians per capita than the US.” Although, “genetics probably only account for 20-30% of longevity,” making “environmental influences, including diet and lifestyle, play a huge role in determining your lifespan,” notes Ruairi Robertson, PhD. This made the centenarians of Sardinia even more fascinating—though many of them carried the gene, it seemed the gene was not the sole motivating factor in their longevity. Studying lifestyle similarities between Sardinians proved useful in determining further Blue Zones and providing a blueprint for how to live a long, healthy life. Today, the research has expanded to include five Blue Zones: Sardinia, Italy; the islands of Okinawa, Japan; a group of Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California; the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica; and the small island of Ikaria, Greece. Each of the Blue Zones possesses its unique characteristics. In Okinawa, home 60

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| OCT/NOV 2021

For example, the sheepherding men of Sardinia don’t wake up at five am to hit the gym––their exercise is built into their daily lives, “through gardening, walking, cooking, and other daily chores … including walking longer distances to work,” explains Dr. Robertson. In Okinawa, gardening is an essential aspect of daily life, and Nicoyan Peninsula centenarians perform physical jobs well into old age. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans suggest 150 moderate-intensity minutes or 75 vigorous-intensity minutes of aerobic activity per week. Building activity into daily life like the centenarians do, encourages you to exercise more regularly. Another commonality between Blue Zones is sufficient sleep and daytime naps. Specifically, in Mediterranean regions like Sardinia and Ikaria, daytime naps are common. Dr. Robertson confirms, “Napping has no negative effect on the risk of heart disease and death and may even reduce these risks.” According to recent study analysis, “Seven hours is the optimal sleep duration [at night]… and naps of no more than thirty minutes during the day,” proved most effective. While exercising and sleeping well may seem evident, other traits associated with longevity may be less obvious. Residents of Blue Zones proved to be active socially and spiritually, involved with their communities, families, and faith groups. These regular, meaningful interactions promoted high quality of life and longevity. Surely, the spiritual component of the Blue Zones contributes to another similarity between them–– residents have a life purpose. In Okinawa, this life purpose is known as “ikigai” and in Costa Rica, “plan de vida.” Perhaps this proves moreover that psychological, social, and emotional well-being can impact the length and quality of our lives just as much as eating right and staying in shape. >>

“TO CARE FOR OTHERS, TO TRULY CARE, GIVES MEANING TO OURSELVES, WHICH IN TURN GIVES MEANING TO MANKIND.” Being that we are the only company to provide licensed providers (Emt’s, Cna’s, and Ma’s) for caregiving really sets apart from all our competitors. Our staff of Registered Nurses and Licensed Vocational Nurses are available for Clinical In-Home Senior Care Services. We also work with all the local Hospice to provide Palliative/ End of Life Care. And for those wanting to stay at home, it can mean varied adjustments are needed to maintain independence—we have you covered with our Senior Handyman Services. Additionally, for new mother’s we offer Placenta Encapsulation and New Mother Care plans.

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We all want the best for our loved ones. Visit our website to take our confidential In-Home Care Online Assessment to see if you or your loved one requires care.

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THE USUAL SUSPECTS While the social and psychological aspects of centenarian life are both important and interesting, the burning question remains—what do centenarians eat? Perhaps one of the most hotly contested subjects of our time, the diet of the centenarian challenges the boundaries of popular diet culture. Yes, it’s true—centenarians love carbs. In Sardinia, carbs make up around 47% of their daily diet, which consists mainly of whole grains, specifically barley. According to Buettner, “The classic Sardinian diet consists of whole grain bread, beans, garden vegetables, fruits, and in some parts of the island, mastic oil.” In a culture that has consistently vilified carbohydrates, particularly in bread form, it’s comforting to hear the happy centenarians of pastoral Sardinia enjoy their carbs freely. The diet of Sardinians is comparable to the diets throughout the other Blue Zones. Residents mainly eat vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. According to Dr. Robertson, “Those who live [in Blue Zones] primarily eat a 95% plant-based diet.” In most cases, meat was eaten only on weekends, or for special occasions. Dr. Robertson goes on to clarify, “Although most groups are not strict vegetarians, they only tend to eat meat around five times per month.” Of all the meat, it seems fish and seafood remain the most popular choice among Blue Zones, which ensures a consistent source of omega-3s, important for brain and heart health. Overall, the centenarian diet includes whole, plant-based foods with the occasional serving of meat. So, too, alcohol is enjoyed in moderation. It seems the centenarians know not only how to prolong their life, but how to live it well and enjoy every moment, even with the hard work it often entails.

FINAL WORD

755 Alphonso Street . SLO [off Broad Street]

8420 El Camino Real . Atascadero

805.439.1881

revslo.com

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| OCT/NOV 2021

Blue Zones consist of geographic locations where people consistently live to be over one-hundred years of age. Blue Zone residents engage in an active social life, exercise daily, maintain a spiritual connection and life purpose, and eat mostly plant-based diets. SLO LIFE

smart, eclectic, art to live on

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OCT/NOV 2021

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SPONSORED

ENCOURAGING a loved one TO TEST THEIR

hearing

Peter A. Lucier Hearing Instrument Specialist

Did you know that one in three people over the age of 65 experience some degree of hearing loss? Chances are, there is someone in your life who experiences a hearing loss and might not even know it yet. As an invisible condition, hearing loss affects many different areas of one’s life but is not immediately understood as the root of the problem. If you believe that your loved one may have a hearing loss, it is important to encourage them to take a hearing test. Hearing tests are simple and painless, and they provide useful information on a person’s hearing abilities. Because hearing loss is a sensitive topic, here are a few tips for the conversation. Do Your Research: Studies are published about how hearing loss affects your cognitive abilities (Johns Hopkins University), how untreated hearing loss may lead to lower earning power, and how hearing loss has been linked to an increased risk of accidents and falls. Before talking to your loved one, make sure you have the facts straight. Check to see the signs and symptoms of hearing loss match what you experience with your loved one. Arm yourself with useful facts about hearing loss that could help encourage your loved one to take a hearing test. Find a Quiet Time and Place: Hearing loss makes speech recognition

difficult. With hearing loss, people may ask others to repeat themselves or they may check out completely if they cannot compete with background noise to hear. For this reason, it is important to have your conversation in quiet place. Moreover, hearing loss may be a taboo subject for some. Rather than gathering a huge group of people – which may put your loved one on the defensive – have a one on one conversation so that you can clearly communicate your concerns.

Speak from Your Own Experiences: Data show that the mere process of aging can often result in social isolation. Add hearing issues to the mix, and those with untreated loss pose higher risks for finding themselves in a dark corner. They may feel abandoned by the family, ignored by friends, and excluded from activities, all because they cannot hear well enough in these social situations.

Talk about the Benefits of Treating Hearing Loss: Treating hearing loss helps people stay in

touch with their loved ones and to their communities. Studies indicate that people who do not treat their hearing loss have a smaller “life space”—they are not as mobile as people who treat their hearing or have normal hearing. Hearing loss interferes with the ability to drive and communicate, and also leads to a higher rate of accidents and falls. By treating hearing loss, your loved one would be investing in their own independence and security.

Support Your Loved One: Taking a hearing test is a simple and painless procedure, but of course there’s more to it than that. Ensure your loved one that you will be there to support them on their journey to better hearing—from making the appointment, to accompanying them to the hearing test, and—if a hearing loss is detected—helping them adjust to their new hearing aids. To begin the process, schedule a consultation, or talk to a hearing expert, contact us at Hearing Aid specialists of the Central Coast today.

Peter A. Lucier, has been a practicing Hearing Instrument Specialists for 22 years. If you would like more information, please contact us today for an appointment.

HEARING AID SPECIALISTS OF THE CENTRAL COAST, INC. WWW.SLOCOUNTYHEARINGAIDS.COM 64

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| OCT/NOV 2021

Do you or a loved one have hearing aids that are not working to their full potential, or even worse, you have stopped using them altogether?

At Hearing Aid Specialists of The Central Coast, we have developed a solution that brings your old hearing aids back to life. The practice owner, Peter Lucier, has over 22 years of experience. He has repaired and restored just about every brand of hearing aid. Peter has an All Make Repair Lab at both offices in San Luis Obispo and Atascadero.

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1 2 3 2 6 L o s O s o s Va l l e y R o a d . S a n L u i s O b i s p o . ( 8 0 5 ) 4 3 9 - 3 5 8 6 7070 Morro Road, Suite D . Atascadero . (805) 460-7385 OCT/NOV 2021

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| GETAWAY

Downtown charm First, an admission: I really did not think I would fit in at Hotel Cerro. As a local, I bristled a little bit the first time I heard the words, “rooftop pool.” And a bar. It just sounded so . . . so, I don’t know, Hollywood. The San Luis Obispo we have gotten to know up-close-and-personal through many years publishing this magazine is everything Tinseltown is not: unpretentious and down-to-earth. So, when were invited to a staycation right here in town, there was a bit of trepidation. But, by the time we ate dinner at their restaurant, Brasserie SLO, had a treatment at their spa, Spa Cerro, and spent a couple of days wandering around the property in our monogrammed bathrobes kicking the tires and asking a whole bunch of questions, I would say this: Yes, it’s luxurious, absolutely—but it’s a luxury done in a way that is uniquely San Luis Obispo, without pretense, and without attitude. To that, I raise my martini glass from the poolside lounger.

Oh, man, if they didn’t capture the Central Coast vibe with their edible rooftop garden, then you can put a farm-to-fork in me, because I’m done! Get this: Exiting the glass door of our room and through our private patio, we were able to stroll among the planter boxes as a sous chef plucked herbs in preparation for dinner that night. A lone honeybee flitted among the blossoms, basking in the sun as it traded in the buzz of its hive for the buzz of this place.

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| OCT/NOV 2021

Let me just say this: Spa Cerro is no joke! I mean, come on, it’s 4,000 square feet, and full of brand new, state-of-the-arteverything. Even the waiting room is a showstopper. I’m not sure how to describe exactly what we saw there, the closest I can come is “water walls.” I’ve never seen anything quite like it, and, if I did, I would have guessed it were in LA or New York, not San Luis Obispo. But, as it turns out, that was just the beginning. The next one-hundred minutes were otherworldly, and included something they call an Organic French Green Clay & Seaweed Wrap. Who knew all this was going on mere steps away from Bubble Gum Alley?

STAYING HERE Located in the heart of Downtown San Luis Obispo—1125 Garden Street—there are an assortment of rooms to choose from, including the Garden Suite, which is where we stayed. The restaurant, Brasserie SLO, is connected to the hotel, but also accessible next door. Same with Spa Cerro, which overnight guests can find within the property and those visiting can enter on the other side of the block at 1120 Broad Street. SLO LIFE

OCT/NOV 2021

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

Hawaii Time

| TASTE

“Ono grindz” from the Land of Aloha await you at three SLO County eateries BY JAIME LEWIS

n February of 2005, I’d had it with the Central Coast’s late-winter fog. The gray was getting to me; my skin craved sun. One morning, my inbox held an email from a discount travel company: Fly to Maui for $200 roundtrip! Before I could finish reading the terms and conditions, my phone rang. My husband asked: Had I seen the deal, and would I like to go to Maui?

Within twenty-four hours, we sat on a beach in Pā’ia, our faces turned toward the sun. Whales breached offshore, and we could see the silhouette of sea turtles surfing inside the waves. Driving the Hana Highway, we snacked on coconut candy bought from a roadside stand and marveled at how the breeze moved through the bamboo. When a thunderstorm erupted, we dove beneath the awning of 68

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| OCT/NOV 2021

a cafe and sipped kona coffee until it passed. Our trip lasted only a few days, but it was just enough aloha to tide us over. I finally understood why the fiftieth state gets so much hype—it’s paradise, plain and simple. Hawaii welcomes millions of visitors each year, but what if you can’t buy a cheap ticket and hop to the islands on a whim? I suggest you visit these SLO County restaurants to get on Hawaii time—without ever boarding a plane. >>

JAIME LEWIS writes about food, drink, and the good life from her home in San Luis Obispo. Find her on Instagram/Twitter @jaimeclewis.

Close Shave I had no idea that snow cones and shaved ice were different animals until I visited Big Al’s At The Beach in Avila Beach. Snow cones use crushed ice; shaved ice (or “shave ice,” as it’s called in Hawaii) is soft-as-snow tiny shavings that melt in your mouth. “Shave ice is a lot like coffee,” says Big Al’s owner Tim Taylor. “People have strong opinions about how it should be.” Taylor has worked hard to please the purists. He uses traditional Swan machines for the finest shave, and he sources all his syrups from Hawaii. Ask for your shave ice “Hawaii style” and you’ll get a scoop of vanilla ice cream buried inside, a “snowcap” drizzle of sweetened condensed milk, and a foamy dollop of haupia (whipped coconut cream) on top. The Beach Boys play on the speakers as I tuck into a Big Al’s signature: the North Shore, made with mango, guava, and Blue Hawaii syrups, Hawaii-style. The flavors and textures mix for a fun and flamboyant experience. I ask Taylor if he’s ever finished one of these shave ices. He smiles. “Never.”>>

OCT/NOV 2021

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

All In The Ohana The moment I pull up to Red Dirt Coffeehouse in Arroyo Grande, a group of twelve ukulele players start strumming together on the patio. It’s a ukulele club, and they meet here Friday mornings to jam. That sense of camaraderie and ohana goes deep at Red Dirt, which is owned by Jackye Belgal and her husband Paul, a butcher from Kula, Maui. Regulars wander in and out of the shop, chatting with each other and with Jackye behind the counter. She tells me that many Hawaiians wind up here, on her patio. Can you blame them? Fridays and Saturdays, Red Dirt serves a Hawaiian plate lunch complete with sticky rice, creamy mac salad, and your choice of meat, cooked by Paul. I pick the traditional kalua pork, which is smoked twenty-four hours, then shredded. It is a ton of food and it is absolutely delicious. I pair everything with a shot of “Papa Joe’s Chili Pepper Water,” brought in from Hawaii, and enjoy the dulcet sounds of a ukulele chorus. >>

SLO LIFE MAGAZINE

| OCT/NOV 2021

License #940512

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111 South Street, San Luis Obispo Monday - Friday 10am to 4pm

slogreengoods.com (805) 543-9900

OCT/NOV 2021

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Shaka, Brah Whereas Red Dirt represents Hawaii’s warmth, Kilokilo Brewing in Paso Robles represents Hawaii’s cool. The brewpub feels like a modern surf shack inside, with dubstep on the airwaves and a calm blue-gray interior. Owner Pam Battles’ family hails from Koloa. She talks me through the menu and the Spam musubi piques my interest. “That’s a big seller,” she tells me, and describes it as a little snack of packed rice and Spam wrapped in seaweed. “Spam is a Hawaiian staple.” She brings out a little palm leaf plate of Spam musubi, a tidily packaged mashup of East and West that is tasty as heck. Pam’s partner Steve Stewart oversees the beers at Kilokilo, and he brings out what I think of as a “beermosa”: a mango sour beer topped with Champagne. A little cup of heavenly Dole Whip makes its way to my table, too. Steve tells me about Kilokilo’s best-selling beer, the Milk Shaka, a play on the word “milkshake.” It’s a hazy IPA with lactose, vanilla, and fruit. I grab a crowler to go. If my excursions into local Hawaiian flavor are any indication of its quality, I’ll be in excellent hands. SLO LIFE

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| WINE NOTES

European influence BY ANDRIA MCGHEE

ntroducing wine to our country has been a long journey. As early as the 1500s, people began producing wine in the United States when exploring Europeans found native grapes on the fertile land. These grapes produced a different, unpopular flavor of wine and by 1629 the common grape varieties native to Europe and beyond, known as Vitis vinifera, were planted in today’s New Mexico. California established its first vineyard and winery when Spanish Catholic missionaries led the charge in 1769. But, again, the native grapes of California produced poor quality wine. This led the missionaries to adopt one of the Vitis vinifera into their winemaking—the Mission grape. In the 1800s Jean-Louis Vignes, an immigrant from Bordeaux, established the first secular vineyard in Los Angeles and imported vines from France. By 1857, major wine production made its way to the Sonoma Valley largely in part due to its near perfect grape growing climate. 74

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| OCT/NOV 2021

In 1919, Prohibition became the law of the land with the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution, making the sale of alcoholic beverages illegal—although a loophole allowed each home to produce up to “200 gallons of non-intoxicating cider and fruit juice per year” leading thousands of Americans to begin brewing at home. Even with this home-grown industriousness, the once booming wine business was nearly destroyed by the time of the repeal in 1933. It took more than fifty years for wine production to reach its pre-Prohibition quantity. It was thanks to a blind tasting of California and French wines in 1976 that California wines made a name for themselves, taking top wins in both Chardonnay and red categories. Today, California produces roughly eighty-four percent of wine made in the US. So how did we go from zero to one-hundred in such a short amount of time? We have these pioneers to thank for thinking outside the bottle. >>

ANDRIA MCGHEE received her advanced degree in wines and spirits from WSET in London and enjoys travel, food, wine, and exercise as a means to enjoy those around her.

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Alban Vineyards // Viognier 2018 // $30 John Alban of Alban Vineyards was exposed to European wines early in his childhood. When Alban’s well-loved father, Seymour, received wine as gifts, he was just beginning his wine education. He called on the help of his son John to catalog wines from all over the world in a very scientific and ordered way. “Is this the one that is supposed to taste like blueberries, John?” his father would say as Alban would record what they discovered over dinner. Alban was an early student in the wine world, but when he tasted a wine from the Rhône region of France, that was not Chardonnay, he was inspired to register at UC Davis to study. Soon after, he moved to France and was learning in the same region that persuaded him to dive into winemaking. Every winemaker finds their thesis in winemaking. They have a focus that drives their craft. Alban wanted to grow something different than the traditional California varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. He couldn’t wait to make wine from Viognier, Roussanne, Syrah, and Grenache—all grapes from the Rhône region. You may be thinking that these are wines that you see all the time, but Alban paved the way by daring to be different and producing these traditionally European varieties locally. His wines are poured in fine restaurants and sold at the best wine shops. I’m grateful for Alban’s gift of seeing past the two common grapes and bringing something new to the party. “When you’re done with your business (in Bordeaux) and you’re finished with your weekend in church (in Bungundy), you can come to the Rhone and party with us.” Yes, please! I would recommend starting the party with the Viognier—classic floral and warm nectarine flavors with a perfect balance of acidity. Pick up a range of vintages at Avila Wine and Roasting Co.

John Alban

Clos Solène // Fleur de Solène 2019 // $75 Guillaume Fabre of Clos Solène must have had a familiar feeling when he first set foot in Paso Robles. He arrived from the south of France to do his international internship at L’Aventure Winery, observing the dirt on his boots that looked so much like that from his home. Fabre followed his father, step by step, through vineyards growing up. When he got older, Fabre went to school close by and had his heart set on taking over his father’s winery. His father changed those plans when he decided it was time to cut bait and buy a winery in Bordeaux. Fabre’s heart was broken, but he soon fell in love with its people—one in particular. His eyes fell on Solène while she was singing one night. They dated even while he worked his internship in Paso Robles and she studied in Spain. Paso turned into the south of France for Fabre. He could see his dreams met here. He flew Solène out and she couldn’t resist it either. Together, they grew a winery and a family slowly year after year, step by step, bit by bit. Fabre kept in mind the struggles of his dad’s winery and knew it had to be a slow process. Now, after fifteen years of making wine, they have three children, an estate, vines, a house, and an impressive library of wines. Their tasting room is simple and lovely, decorated by the vines surrounding the estate, but the wines are the most striking element. Fabre has had this vision for a long time and is in it for love. His goal was to make quality wines with all that he has learned, with care and passion. Somehow, you can taste it all. These gifts of Fabre as well as Solène’s unending teamwork have elevated the wine region of Paso Robles. Contact the winery for a tasting. The 2019 Fleur de Solène made me melt with its cherry smoothness made from Syrah, Cab, and Grenache. Swoon! It would be great to age, but who can wait for that? SLO LIFE

The Fabre Family 76

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| OCT/NOV 2021

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| BREW

Craft beer gets canned BY BRANT MYERS PHOTOGRAPHY BY TODD MEANEY

W 78

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e’ve all held one, opened one, and even put our lips on one, but have you ever really thought about how your beer goes from stainless steel tanks to aluminum cans? We joined up with Jason Fullmer, owner of Mercenary Canning Solutions, and the team at Liquid Gravity Brewing, for a canning run of their latest collaborative release.

| OCT/NOV 2021

If pressed to envision the canning process, you’ll probably conjure images of a large factory with shiny aluminum rolling through conveyor belts, something you would see on an episode of “How It’s Made,” or a commercial for Budweiser. It’s not too far off, but unless you’re one of those multi-national breweries, you likely don’t have the millions of dollars needed for your canning line and the engineers required to operate it. That’s where Mercenary comes into play. Currently boasting four mobile canning lines, and with the largest one yet soon to be delivered, Fullmer has built a business that has helped transform the way we drink beverages on the Central Coast. With headquarters right next to another, local brewery, There Does Not Exist, he has helped local, small to medium-sized breweries offer their clients a higher quality of to-go refreshments. A Cal Poly grad and alumni of the winemaking world, Fullmer has been around alcohol production his entire professional career. He still has his roots in the wine world, helping wineries as far as Napa get their product into what is now considered the ultimate packaging solution. Whether it’s wine, seltzers, cider, or beer, the aluminum can is the best way to preserve the maker’s quality while going from the tanks to the consumer’s fridge. Bottle caps and corks can allow air to enter, carbonation to escape, and the light penetrating glass of all colors can degrade the beverage sometimes to the point of it being undrinkable. Lightweight, infinitely recyclable, and completely sealed, aluminum cans are the best way to contain a drink. I’m at Liquid Gravity wandering around a bustling scene checking out the canning line and talking to the players. There are the owners getting down and dirty alongside volunteers, tasting room staff, and Mercenary employees. The line itself looks simple in its design—a rotating loader to line up the cans, a filler, a couple computers >>

BRANT MYERS is a beer industry veteran and founder of SLO BIIIG, a hospitality consulting firm.

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controlling pressurization, a scale ensuring even fills, and a labeler putting that pretty artwork on the blank aluminum canvas. Of course, being a mobile assembly line, there are all sorts of intricate parts making sure this process is perfect, effective, and as fast as possible. With multiple beers being canned and pallets filling up, it’s important this day goes smoothly and quickly. Quality control is an important step along the whole process. Owners Brendan and Celeste Gough are pulling cans off the line to taste test the product and ensure what goes into the cans are the exact product they want out in the world. I help, too, because I care. I approve. Meanwhile, brewer Beau Sorenson gets to use their latest laboratory toy. With the footprint of a blender, and the price tag of a new car, their Dissolved Oxygen (D.O.) meter punctures a hole in the bottom of the can while inside a pressurized chamber. An especially crucial step in the process, this is a way to peek inside the can to make sure that there is the least amount of oxygen inside the sealed container that could potentially oxidize the beer and give a woody or wet cardboard off-flavor. Sorenson calls back that the levels are even lower than their already tight tolerances allow, and the canning run proceeds at full speed. First off the line is an incredibly bright yellow label touting a Piña Colada Lager brewed in collaboration with Hana Koa Brewing Co. out of Honolulu. It has incredibly bright pineapple aromas poured off the top of the snifter, while a quaff greeted me with a creamy mouthfeel and refreshing lager coolness. This is going to be a great beer for those early autumn barbecues or to throw in the backpack for a sunset hike to the top of a peak. Not wanting to waste a minute,

that pallet is filled and forklifted off just in time to tap the tanks of another collaboration and begin filling cans again. This one is a West Coast IPA called Liquid Portal and the collab went a different direction working with Forever Stoked to create a bespoke piece of art for the label. If you’ve seen anything from Forever Stoked, you’ll immediately recognize the style when seeing the can for the first time, but turn it around and appreciate the full wrap and foresight that went into making it a panoramic piece. I had to ensure the taste was up to snuff, so Celeste pours another round for me and my never-reluctant photographer, Todd Meaney, and we make sure that it tastes like fresh IPA that just left the tanks. Good news, it does. So, if you want to drink beer so fresh it tastes like it just came from the tanks, then grab some cans and get that brewery experience wherever you are. If you see a brewer, thank them for their tireless effort to make the best possible product for us. And, if you see Fullmer, buy him a beer because that guy never quits. Wherever you are, let’s crack the tops and hoist our cans in the air for a toast to the canning revolution. Cheers! SLO LIFE 80

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| OCT/NOV 2021

TODD MEANEY is a landscape, product, and lifestyle photographer living the SLO Life with his brewery-loving Great Dane.

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Culture & Events We Are Not Strangers Here

From the 1849 Gold Rush to today, generations of Black Americans settled in the state’s agricultural areas, and you can explore their stories of early California and narratives about freedom, self-governance, and civic culture. Through October 10 // parks.ca.gov

Mark di Suvero: History and Its Shadow

SLOMA presents an exhibition by an internationally renowned artist and pioneer in the use of steel, who has created vibrant and dynamic works of sculpture and painting throughout a sixty-year career. Through November 7 // sloma.org

Wonders of the Oak Woodlands

SLO Symphony’s American Showcase

Live at the Lighthouse

The Point San Luis Lighthouse wraps up its Summer Concerts series with The Tipsy Gypsies gracing the cliff-side stage overlooking the Pacific. Food, drinks, and gifts for sale. Tour the historic site where docents in period attire tell stories, as well. October 16 // pointsanluislighthouse.org

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Haroun and the Sea of Stories

This horror story spoof brought to you by The Great American Melodrama hilariously reconstructs the classic tale by injecting it with musical parodies, pop culture references, and witty one-liners. Through November 14 // americanmelodrama.com

WOW Youth Art Show encourages and inspires youth to creatively showcase the animal and plant diversity of SLO County’s oak woodland habitats. Artwork will be on display at Art Central with awards announced by the Land Conservancy on October 15. Through November 30 // lcslo.org

FOR THE FENCES

Bring the whole family to Woods Humane Society for a fall-themed pet fair and a whole lot of Howl-o-ween fun. Enjoy kid and canine costume contests, a photo op in the Pup-kin Patch, and for the furry members of the family a stuffed-animal pull, pup-cake walk, and bobbing for tennis balls in the Doggy Splash Zone. Trick-ortreating and shopping in the open air “flea” market encouraged! October 30 // woodshumanesociety.org

Cal Poly’s Theatre and Dance Department presents a tale written by Salman Rushdie about a journey filled with fantastical creatures and awesome adventures to find the Sea of Stories, the magical source of all the tales in the world. Director Hala Baki leads a crew of faculty, staff, and student designers and actors in a Mainstage production exploring stories that bring out the beauty of the human experience. November 4-13 // theatredance.calpoly.edu

Frankenstein’s Bride

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Wiggle Waggle Fall Festival

2021 Walk to End Alzheimer’s

The Alzheimer’s Association annual walk starting from Mission Plaza in downtown SLO is full of flowers, each carried by someone committed to ending this disease. Teams and individuals are welcome to register and walk to raise funds and awareness for a breakthrough in the fight against Alzheimer’s and dementia. October 30 // act.alz.org

Just in time for Veteran’s Day, this upbeat program conducted by Maestro Andrew Sewell features Principal Bass Ken Hustad and local composer Stefan Podell’s Concerto for Double Bass. Also included in the evening’s extensive repertoire: Siwe’s Duet for Snare Drum and Timpani, Powell’s Carpe Diem, Montgomery’s Strum String Quartet, Coleman’s Tzigane for Wind Quintet, Banfield’s Symphony No. 6, and Ellington/Strayhorn’s Nutcracker Suite. November 13 // slosymphony.org

Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular

A must-see for Floyd fans of all ages, this smash hit multi-media laser and light show carries listeners away on a mind-expanding journey, driven by cutting-edge effects, high-powered lasers, and large screen video projection at the historic Fremont Theatre. November 20 // fremontslo.com

Light Up a Life 2021

Hospice of SLO County’s hosts a ceremony to remember and honor your loved ones. November 30 // hospiceslo.org SLO LIFE

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