San Luis Obispo

On California’s fabled Highway 1, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, lies a town which was once relatively unknown. Steep, velvety-green hills shelter this coastal city, which year-round basks in a perfect Mediterranean marine climate of balmy days and cool nights. The streets of downtown are lined with shops and restaurants tucked into turn-of-the-20th-century mercantile buildings, and its neighborhoods are chock-a-block with classic California bungalows. A gleaming white Spanish mission rises in the center of it all, above a sparkling creek. South of town, gently rolling vineyards give way to the beach and the sea.  Imagine spending time here and you’ll probably imagine being happy.  This is San Luis Obispo, and it’s no wonder that it is starting to become known as Happy Town, USA.