I'm in San Luis Obispo, CA. I've spent the last three days up here performing, and I gotta say that every time I'm here I discover something new. I perform here about once a year, and every time I come back I realize just how much I love it here. The weather's nice and the people are very friendly, laid back, and interesting. They have a great morning jazz program on the local NPR station that I listen to while driving downtown sipping my coffee. Hell, even their mortuary looks inviting. Not that most mortuaries are gloomy places -- unless you have business there, of course -- and I know that the idea of a mortuary is to make the experience as comfortable as possible by being decorated in a homey manner, but SLO's mortuary actually looks happy...if that's possible. Brightly colored flowers and a cheery architectural style makes it almost look like a place you would want to go to and hang out in!
And you know something else I like about SLO? Their one-way streets are easy to navigate. Believe me, that's important for someone who spends as much time in a car as I do. Take Denver, CO for example. I love that town, but their one-way streets can suck. I don't know how many times I've driven past the same guy sleeping on a park bench during one of my visits to Denver. You know you're in a hopeless situation when a schizophrenic, homeless man who sleeps on a bench and wears his entire wardrobe all at once while pushing his worldly possessions around in a rickety Kings Grocery shopping cart begins to look at you with a critical eye and begins questioning your mentality.
But I digress. I love it here in SLO because of the atmosphere. It's the home to Cal Poly, so it's a town bustling with students and artistic people of all ages. Which, I guess, accounts for most of the laid back attitude. And the party atmosphere. The place really does come alive here at night. And again, not just with the students, but everybody. Walking down Higuera Street at 10:00 at night I pass young people out to dance, drink, and have a good time, a middle-aged couple laving an expensive restaurant and stepping into a quiet pub open to the sidewalk for a nightcap, and a lone gentleman picking on a banjo outside of a Coldstone ice cream store collecting coins from passersby.
Places like this just seem to inspire me all the more. A very art-conscious and spiritual community filled with accepting, friendly people.
Shawn McMaster
Conjured-Up Creations
P.O. Box 973
Newbury Park, CA 91319
(805) 480-0703
www.conjuredupcreations.com
