USA TODAY: The Happiest Town in the Whole USA is surrounded by lush hills that at this time of year are so intensely green, they practically sparkle. A refreshing breeze wafts in from the Pacific, just 10 miles away. There’s no need for a car, since the downtown is infinitely walkable. And if you do drive, traffic jams are rare.
The only apparent graffiti is a colorful 3-D mosaic of chewed gum plastered in an alleyway, a community-sanctioned oddity dubbed Bubblegum Alley. A construction worker says hello without a hint of lecherousness. An inscription on the courthouse clock counsels: Spend Time With Those You Love.
Nobody smokes… (more)
EDITOR: San Luis Obispo is the southern terminus of Big Sur country, the “California Rivera.” State Rt. 1 snakes along the Pacific from Monterey in the north. Prominent artists such as Henry Miller chose to live in Big Sur country, as the Watchdog recalls from motorcycling the route during a college summer in the late 1960s. His companion (a future professor of literature) picked flowers, stuck them in a can found by the roadside, and placed them in Miller’s roadside mail box.
