CLAMS, MONARCHS, CHICKENS: Take a peek around the Central Coast-y area that's home to Pismo Beach and Arroyo Grande and you might find evidence that certain sea denizens, and tree residents, and roamers about town kind of rule local lore. And your findings, spoiler alert, would be 100% correct. After all, clamming around Pismo Beach is a time-honored tradition, as is heading to the Monarch Butterfly Grove when a certain winged celebrity flits into town (and brings several thousand winged friends along).
AND AS FOR ARROYO GRANDE? Wild chickens are the fabulously feathered ambassadors of the charming village, though whether you'll encounter one, or a few, is up to the roosters and where they want to be on a particular day. All of these beasties -- bivalves and butterflies and birds alike -- have their fans, but so do the eats of the area. One of the juiciest receives its joyful due over the Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend, and "juiciest" should be a nudge-nudge hint that you might wear something you can dribble pie upon, and not worry. The 33rd...
STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL... brings the bright, dessert-tasty doings on May 28 and 29. There's a carnival, and some various runs, and a strawberry pancake breakfast, and performances aplenty, and everything strawberry, from milkshakes to ice cream to shortcake. That picturesque Arroyo Grande is the setting is a major plus, as it is definitely the sort of town you'll want to stroll while sipping that strawberry milkshake. But will you encounter a chicken along the way? The chances are good. Best raise your cup in hello, then keep on sipping as you make your way back to one of the sweetest strawberry to-dos along this particularly clam-nice, Monarch-cool, chicken-funny stretch of California. Add strawberries to the mix and you have a quintessential slice of Golden State character.
