CowParade Launch in SLO

 

At the CowParade in San Luis Obispo

 

I was reading the L.A. Times travel section, a couple of weeks ago, when my eye caught a small ad for the launch of the CowParade in San Luis Obispo (SLO), where painted fiberglass cows are being displayed until May. The eight-month-long event will eventually end in an auction, benefiting local charities. Similar "parades," held around the country—and even the world—have raised over $30 million.

On Saturday, the renowned Madonna Inn resort hosted a free preview of all 101 cows before they move on to various locations around town. I immediately contacted our friends, who live a few miles north of SLO, to see if they wanted to go. I'm sure everyone thought I was crazy for wanting to see a bunch of painted plastic cows. But I remember how wonderful it was—and still is!—to unexpectedly run into one of the hundreds of painted fiberglass angels placed around Los Angeles, 15 years ago, as part of a massive public art display and auction. I knew the cows would be just as amazing. And I was right!

Approaching the Madonna Inn from the north, we could already see the cows—and the crowds looking at them—from the freeway. A few of the sculptures stood on hind legs, catching a frisbee or posing like Marilyn Monroe, but most looked like normal ol' cows. Except, of course, they were gloriously covered in beautiful, and sometimes extremely clever, art. Here are just a few of my favorites (click on image to enlarge):

 

Mommy and baby cows

  

"In-cow-dible Hulk"

  

Celebrating local wineries

  

One of several "Día de los Moo-ertos" designs

  

Famous graffiti artist Man One painting a cow 

  

Whimsical look at local breweries

 

Celebrating the central coast's mid-state fair

 

 There were cows covered in foliage

 

And there were patriotic cows

 

Cow-boy on one side

 

And cow-girl on the other

 
Skeletal cows

 
And athletic cows


Blue cows


Madonna Inn pink cows


And yellow cows


"Milk and Honey"


Agriculture


Monarch butterflies


Steampunk cow


"Picowsso"


Van Gogh's "Steery Night"

 
And finally, the "Cowch Potato"

SLO Farmer's Market

For the past several summers, Tim, Karen and I have rented a house on California's central coast. We don't go for long—usually three days—just long enough to get back in touch with our youthful selves, when we used to spend most of our adolescent summers at the beach. We usually have a specific objective—for example, visiting Hearst castle, antiquing in Cayucos, seeing the murals in Lompoc—but the one constant is always the fabulous farmer's market in San Luis Obispo (SLO).

Held every Thursday night, 6-9PM, the market is, hands down, our all-time favorite. Where else can you find fresh-cut flowers, recently picked produce, political campaigns, rock 'n roll cover bands, and lots and lots of barbecue? We're literally in hog's heaven in SLO!

As usual, we left Culver City at noon on Thursday and arrived at "our" house in Shell Beach by 3PM—just enough time to unpack, unwind, and head 11 miles up the road to SLO. We always park on the south end of the market and then meander north on foot, making mental note of the best-looking vegetable stands and barbecues. (Vendors are not allowed to sell anything until after 6:10PM.) In the past, we were perpetually on the hunt for the perfect sparerib, but last year we discovered Mo's pulled pork sandwich (YUM!) and are now hooked.

By the time we get to the northernmost end of the market, it's past 6PM and the feeding frenzy begins! Some of our favorite SLO farmer's market buys: the giant crusty bread from Guiseppe's restaurant, Marcie's pies, See's Canyon apples, and dahlias from a nameless florist. This year, we also met my long-time friend and former coworker Betty, who lives in nearby Morro Bay, at the market, making our evening doubly special. Fat and happy, we returned to Shell Beach after 2 hours.

Enjoy the sights (below) of the SLO market!