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Weekend Escape: Avila Beach’s gentle charm makes for a relaxing Central Coast getaway

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Take the long, sandy shoreline of Huntington Beach. Mix in the gentle waves of Santa Monica. Add a dash of architecture from Key West, Fla. Then stir in Central Coast wines.

What you get is Avila Beach, a quaint but bustling beach town sandwiched between Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo.

The bed

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My wife and I stayed at the Avila La Fonda Hotel, where the design cues for its 28 rooms came from Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

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The meal

The hotel’s other theme seems to be food: Homemade croissants and organic orange juice are served each morning, a nacho bar is open from noon to 2 p.m., a wine reception is held in late afternoon, and freshly baked pies from the nearby bakery at the Avila Valley Barn are served every night.

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Still hungry? At the Ocean Grill, we shared an appetizer of crispy calamari with cilantro aioli and coconut chili dipping sauces, seared diver scallops and pork belly, and a complimentary dessert: a brown butter chocolate chip skillet cookie with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge.

The find

Just down the street, the Old Custom House has a great patio for people-watching and a cioppino that is especially good when the weather turns chilly.

Perhaps fish-watching is more your thing. Fortunately, the Central Coast Aquarium sits near the water at the west end of town.

It’s a small, family-friendly facility whose mission is to inspire the next generation of marine stewards by providing a hands-on experience. Although modest compared with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the enthusiastic high school- and college-age docents make this a wonderful place to get close to ocean-dwelling residents.

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Miles one way from downtown L.A.

About 200

Resources

Avila La Fonda Hotel, www.avilalafonda.com; Ocean Grill, www.oceangrillavila.com; Old Custom House, www.oldcustomhouse.com; Central Coast Aquarium, www.centralcoastaquarium.com.

travel@latimes.com

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