Pismo is one of my favorite places along the Central California coast. There’s a ‘downtown’ area that’s about 2 blocks long and about 2 blocks wide usually inhabited by wondering tourists and some locals. There’s a pier to walk to, actually connected to the west end of ‘downtown’, about a mile or so north of ‘downtown’ but still in the residential area, is a little island, maybe an acre in size maybe 50 yards off shore where literally thousands of pelicans gather for tea and crumpets (or whatever pelicans gather for) and can provide interesting photo-ops, especially with a longer lens. A very small town about 10 miles north of Pismo is Avilla Beach (exit off the 101 at the sign and head west). If you really want to get more of a feeling of a sea coast town, complete with fishing fleet, go west on Highway 1 from San Louis Obispo to Morrow Bay and wander to find interesting things to photograph. About 30 miles north of Morrow Bay is Cambria, a few miles north of Cambria is the world famous Hearst Castle which you can get glimpses of from the road, and about 5 miles north of that is the elephant seal mating area, that’s a very ‘g’ rated attraction, in case you were wondering, but you can get to within about 10 yards away, safely, because the seals are on the beach and you’re above on a little cliff the seals can’t climb. Anywhere you go, you will have tons of interesting things to photograph, parking is rarely an issue, traffic is almost non-existent and the people are friendly. Have a great time.