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Visiting Central California Coast

California’s central coast makes an ideal summer destination. The Monterey Bay Region offers fun in sun, suf and sands of Santa Cruz, and to the south, the scenic beauty of Monterey and Carmel. The San Luis Obispo area coastline features Morro Bay, with its bounty of fresh oysters, and the long white beaches of Pismo Beach to the south. Santa Barbara and the surrounding area is beautiful all year, however summer is magical in America’s Riviera, where they say life itself is a fine art. Head south on Highway 101 to the spectacular views of Ventura and the culture of Oxnard. California’s central coast is ready for your summer getaway.

June 2012 is an ideal time for travelers to discover Morro Bay. The month kicks off with the Morro Bay Music Festival on the 2nd, livening up the waterfront with free concerts, food and artist booths. The inaugural Central Coast Oyster Festival makes its debut mid-June featuring a chef’s award for the best oyster of the Central Coast and an oyster-shucking contest. June closes out in Morro Bay with the June 30th Art in the Park Weekend, with more than 100 local and regional artists filling Morro Bay City Park.

It is worth leaving the waterfront for a July visit to Salinas for the 2012 California Rodeo Salinas. California Rodeo Big Week begins Saturday, July 14th, with the Kiddie Kapers Parade followed by California Rodeo’s Colmo del Rodeo Parade through Old Town Salinas. Wednesday evening July 18th features Professional Bull Riding, with the 102nd California Rodeo Salinas starting on Thursday, July 19th for four nights of rodeo excitement.

Events and festivals fill the central California coast summer calendar. Don’t miss the tradition of a summer county fair. The Ventura County Fairgrounds hosts the 2012 Ventura County Fair, August 1st through the 12th. And the Very Berry Extraordinary Monterey County Fair makes for a fantastic Labor Day Weekend getaway, with concerts, carnival and contests August 29th through September 3rd.

The fun flat course along Monterey Bay’s Ocean front recreation trail makes the Triathlon at Pacific Grove a popular central California coast challenge. The 2012 Pacific Grove Triathlon is September 7th through 9th, featuring 5K and 10K fun runs along with the triathlon. The Olympic distance triathlon is run Saturday September 8th, along with the elite draft legal race. The fun runs and the sprint distance triathlon are run on Sunday. Join the fun at the start and finish at Lover’s Point Park on Monterey Bay in Pacific Grove.

An ideal end to summer, the 55th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival is September 21st through the 23rd. MJF 2012 is hosted at the Monterey Fairgrounds, just west of Monterey Peninsula Airport. With 8 stages showcasing performances by 500 artists, there are three nights and two days of amazing entertainment. The 2012 headliners on the Arena stage include Tony Bennett, Esperanza Spalding and Pat Metheny, among the world’s best jazz performers on tap at the 2012 Monterey Jazz Festival.