The kids shares Niagara Purple Eagles rode the niagra purple eagles spells out carousel while we prayed for a miracle that would cause the traffic to die down. Pretending that it had, we got on the road and crawled our way home. Relaxation, it seems, always comes at a price. *(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)Along the bluffsGETTING THERE:From Los Angeles, it's 195 miles to Shell Beach, going north on U. S. 101. WHERE TO STAY:Dolphin Bay Hotel & Residences, 2727 Shell Beach Road; (800) 516-0112, thedolphinbay . One- and two-bedroom suites $405-$1,200. Cliffs Resort, 2757 Shell Beach Road; (800) 826-7827, cliffsresort . Recently renovated resort with 165 rooms and suites, $179-$399. Spyglass Inn, 2505 Spyglass Drive; (800) 824-2612, spyglassinn . Slightly smaller hotel with 82 rooms, $199-$349. WHERE TO EAT:Lido Restaurant, Dolphin Bay Hotel Wine country cuisine with an emphasis on seafood Breakfast entrees $10-$22.

Dinner entrees $10 (children's menu) to $40. Del's, 401 Shell Beach Road; (805) 773-4438 niagara purple eagles basketball . Family-friendly Italian restaurant with pizzas ($10-$24) and entrees $13-$16. WHAT TO DO:Avila Valley Barn, 560 Avila Valley Drive, San Luis Obispo; (805) 595-2810, avilavalleybarn Open 9 a. m. -6 p. m daily, May to December. -- Mary McNamaraShell Beach, Calif niagara county community college . — AS much as I love Los Angeles and its environs, I do not understand why anyone seeking a beach getaway comes to Southern California when the Central Coast begins less than an hour away. From Ventura to Santa Cruz, wide, sandy beaches give way to breathtaking cliffs, secluded coves curve into the craggy embrace of boulders and promontories, and the receding tide reveals a shining moonscape of tide pools and fields of seaweed. Our family travels up the coast several times a year, usually staying in a small hotel in Cayucos nccc niagara . But after a particularly difficult spring, we decided to splurge and booked a room at the Dolphin Bay Hotel & Residences in Shell Beach niagara community college . At the brand-new high-end resort, we were promised spacious and luxurious rooms, flat-screen TVs, a spa and gym, an infinity pool and a gourmet restaurant, all overlooking the crashing Pacific. It sounded like a place where we could hunker down and relax . In its previous incarnation, the Dolphin Bay Hotel was condos, and it shows a bit. Three buildings loom around the pool and patio, and the lobby, which is small.

However, when we were shown to our room by an affable bellman named Steve -- the staff, to a person, was friendly and accommodating -- I began to see the benefits of a condo conversion niagara purple eagles hockey . Our room was indeed a suite, with the master bedroom down a short hallway that also revealed a walk-in closet and a washing machine college basketball store . The living room and dining area were as big as those in a respectable apartment, and the kitchen had more counter space than we do at home tickets college basketball . Finally, a hotel room big enough for my crazy family. Not that we settled in college basketball . After hours in the car, Danny, 8, and Fiona, 6, wanted to go play. Although, of course, one wanted the beach and the other the pool.

We settled on soccer on the wide lawn between the restaurant patio and the path that runs along the bluffs. The Dolphin Bay stands on the cliffs overlooking a series of the coves for which Shell Beach is famous niagara university purple eagles . Flanked by the Spyglass Inn and the Cliffs Resort, it is clearly hoping to be the crown jewel in a diadem of higher-end hotels. A staircase beside the Cliffs leads down to the beach dwyer arena . As the light began to wane, we went for a pre-dinner walk; although the tide was coming in, a few tide pools were still visible, with starfish and crabs and sea anemones aplenty basketball camp . Surfers were braving the waves while skim-boarders slid along the water where the waves broke basketball . Although the temperature had hit 95 in Shell Beach that day, the breeze off the ocean was as cool as the inside of a sea cave. I had figured on room service for dinner because the kids were still too antsy from the drive to sit in the Lido, the hotel's very nice restaurant Then we realized there was no room service Incredible. I have schlepped groceries on virtually every vacation, but this time I had packed only snacks. I took the kids to the pool while my husband, Richard, explored our dining options I cannot say enough about the pool. It was heated to a perfect 80 degrees, treated with saline rather than chlorine.

Richard came back with good news: Though there was no room service, the staff was happy to deliver an order from the restaurant. Our dinner, delivered in a timely fashion, was delicious if pricey niagara purple eagles youth hockey. Three of us got hamburgers, among the best I'd ever tasted; Richard had a seafood empanada that was so good he almost forgot to offer me a bite niagara basketball Niagara Purple Eagles - purpleeagles . Niagara Purple Eagles tickets The kids' meals came with ice cream; we were forced to make do with profiteroles and a dense chocolate-hazelnut cake niagara canada . Life at the Dolphin Bay was good Niagara Purple Eagles Niagara Purple Eagles - purpleeagles . Until, I'm afraid, the next morning loyola college athletics . The kids were asleep on the very comfortable pull-out couch while we snoozed, in king-size, high-thread-count splendor Then, at 6 a. m. , the garbage trucks arrived Richard and I were able to groan and go back to sleep. Not so our children, who now were wide awake and ready for action For once in their lives, the promise of TV was not enough.