Hi Peter,
I used to live in SLO (I worked at Cornerstone).
I took my exam in Fresno - it's not a 3 hour drive. Santa Maria, as far as I heard, is not offering exams currently. Fresno offers exams almost every day, so you can get a test date quickly there.
While you're in Fresno you can at least catch up on your shopping

I took advantage of the mall, Someday when the Marketplace project goes in I guess a mall wont be so exciting.