Our Story
It all started in 1962 when Dave and Doris Zardeneta moved their family of 5, which included daughter Donna, and sons, Doug and Dean, from Oregon to the Central Coast of California. Dave became the fire chief of Pismo Beach that same year. He held his fire chief position until 1978. At that time, Doris worked for the San Luis Obispo Health Department.
Dave & Doris Zardeneta in Unit 5
In 1970, together they built the beachfront building, which is now Pismo On the Beach Vacation Rentals. When originally built, Dave and Doris lived in unit 5 and the remaining apartments were rented as full time dwellings. At that time, the business was named The Clam Digger Apartments.
117 Ocean View
Wheelchair access to the beach was very important to both Dave and Doris. So much so, that they donated a piece of their property to the city. The city went on to build what is now the cul-de-sac with wheel chair access directly in front of our building.
Dedication of Cul-de-Sac & Beach Access
Donna went on to have two daughters, Jenny (1971) and Kim (1974). The three of us girls spent countless hours in this building. Many great memories were made. We spent every 4th of July watching the fireworks (that Dave helped with every year) and guessing which ones Papa (Dave) had set off of the pier. The next day we would go down to the beach, where at the time, everyone dug huge holes to sit in during the fireworks show, and play in all of the huge holes that had been made the day before. For Jenny and Kim, the patio area and front sidewalk was our very own make believe restaurant and lemonade stand. We spent hours upon hours helping our imaginary “customers”. We loved to swim in the ocean and would wait for Papa to come home because he would take us swimming out in the deep water (up to our shoulders!). Before Papa would come home, Grandma would take us on walks down the beach towards the dunes. She would always tell us that the Disney Princesses lived in the nooks and crannies of the walk toward the dunes. We never saw them, but they must have been somewhere!
Dave/ Papa, Jenny & Kim
Donna, Doris, Dave
Doris passed away in 1989. Doris was preceded in death by her two sons, Doug and Dean. Shortly after Doris passed away, Dave moved out of the building. With the help of Donna, they became vacation rentals that were managed by a Vacation Rental Property Management company.
For many more years Dave enjoyed his daughter and grand daughters, and then eventually his beloved great grandchildren. He kept busy farming his avocado trees and having cocktail hour with his buddies on his farm until he passed away in 2011.
Pro Beach Volleyball Tournament
The torch was then passed down to Donna, Jenny, and Kim. Although the building had potential, it was quite old by this time and very much needed some love. We began our business and named it Pismo On the Beach Vacation Rentals with an LLC named 3 Happy Clams. We went in blind but determined to create a successful business. We slowly started remodeling a different unit each year. We are still constantly updating and constantly learning. We made the decision quite a few years ago to manage the business ourselves. We feel very blessed, as well as proud for the business and team that has been created. Pismo On the Beach is now a thriving, family owned/women owned business. (We may have some help from our husbands now and then) When you reach out to us, you will always speak with one of us.
Then
Now
Pismo On the Beach has an amazing housekeeping team. We pride ourselves on our cleanliness and personal customer service.
We hope you will come and visit us sometime. We would love to meet you!
Kindly,
Donna, Jenny, and Kim (The 3 Happy Clams)