This past June I found that I had a travel opportunity or conundrum. My husband lives and works in Sacramento and wanted my daughter and me to come and see him. While I wanted to visit him, I was less than enthusiastic about spending a long weekend in his bachelor pad with our daughter. My husband is enjoying a bit of a mid-life crisis involving quitting his job in Ohio to take a lower paying, but more interesting, “dream job” in California. His job might be permanent, but his placement in California is not, so he is just renting an apartment for now. While I tried to steer him towards a furnished option, he preferred and un-furnished apartment, and un-furnished is the way it has remained. He even tried sleeping on the floor for a couple of weeks before he caved and bought a mattress. So, now he has a mattress and a folding lawn chair, and that is about it. He is also not big on grocery shopping, and while he has lived in this apartment since March, he claims that he hasn’t “needed” to clean it yet, ewwww.
Fortunately, about this time, I found that I needed to travel to Los Angeles for work, so I suggested that we meet in the middle. With some of the prettiest stretches of the California Coast conveniently located South of Sacramento and North of LA, we had some great places to chose from. I searched the web, studied a map, and asked friends. I came up with Cambria, a quiet little seaside town with what appeared to be a very pretty stretch of coastline called Moonstone Beach. My husband asked co-workers for recommendations and came up with the same place. Along the picturesque routes 1 and 101, my husband would pass Monterey and Carmel on the way down, and I would pass Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo on the way up. So, that was the plan.
My daughter and I flew to LA, got our rental car, and Kate spent the day stuck with me doing work things. We stayed just north of LA that night in a really nice town called Somis. Almost an hour out of the congestion of LA, Somis felt like a somnolent suburban oasis. It was great to have a restful night after a long day of travel and we were ready to hit the road early the next morning.
Our drive time was going to be over four hours, so I tried to get my daughter excited about seeing the Pacific Ocean, and her dad, when we got to our destination. Of course, I knew that I was in for a long morning of “are we there yet?” echoing from the back seat. But the drive from Somis to Cambria really was breathtaking. After a little bit of bland highway scenery with nothing more than colorful than billboards to distract the eye, suddenly there was the Pacific Ocean filling the windshield. No matter how many times I have seen this dramatic coastline with the rocky shore jutting out into crashing waves, it never ceases to inspire. By the time we were just about to Santa Barbara I had said “Look Kate isn’t it beautiful?” one too many times. Kate finally started answering in her best five going on fifteen voice, “Yes mom, I know it is pretty.” You can imagine the eye roll and the sigh.
I felt a slight temptation to stop in Santa Barbara and even to take Kate to see the historic Old Mission church and the attached manicured gardens, but I kept my eye on the prize and did not push my luck with my pint-sized travel buddy. However, if I had a more leisurely schedule and maybe had planned a two day drive to Cambria, I definitely would have stopped. Santa Barbara is one of my favorite California towns. Not too big, not too small, and just the right amount touristy. And though I am not religious, the Santa Barbara Mission is a special and spiritual place with a fascinating history. Founded in 1786, it is still home to a community of Franciscan Friars and the gardens are well worth the trip.
After Santa Barbara, we wound our way through a steep and hilly terrain slightly away from the coast. This section was generally rocky and parched, but dotted with a few scenic outlooks where you could see lakes and rivers. We stopped at one with a large reservoir where the glassy pool perfectly reflected the sky.
Then our route took us back out along the coast as we sailed north passing Pismo Beach (fans of the 90‘s classic Clueless with recall the reference to a fictitious Pismo Beach Disaster) and St. Lois Obispo. We had drifted slightly inland again when we exited the highway to head towards Cambria. We drove through a little college town and past a rather imposing prison, before finding ourselves cutting through a town with a single main street nestled at the bottom of a steep hill. This was the beginning of Cambria. While this little shopping and eating district did not look very impressive I wasn’t too worried because we immediately passed it and headed right back towards the ocean, driving along the oceanfront hotel properties.
Of course, there is just nothing bad that can be said about the view of the Pacific. It is so dazzling that it almost looks fake with rocky outcroppings and crashing waves as far as the eye can see. And, I could finally answer the “are we there yet?” question in the affirmative. All of the hotels seemed to have a different take on the same theme; quaint boutique sized inns distinguished by architectural style. Most were modern, some exceedingly so with a steel and glass vibe, while others were a little more charming and cottage like with tiny balconies jutting off their facades. These hotels all fronted a little two lane road separating them from the boardwalk and cliff overlooking Moonstone Beach.
We checked in to the Pelican Inn and Suites, and were thrilled with our room which afforded an ocean view and a small balcony. We immediately opened the sliding glass door to let both the sound and the smell of the Pacific waft into the room. Our suite also offered a modern bathroom, a wet bar, an extremely comfortable bed, and a small sunken living room complete with a fireplace. While the weekend rates for this hotel were pretty high, the mid-week rates were reasonable, even for a room with an ocean view. Other hotel amenities included a pool and hot tub. The pool was small but heated and tucked away from the ocean breeze, where swimming and sunbathing felt more comfortable.
While just a few miles inland the temperatures were almost 100 degrees, right by the ocean the mercury dropped precipitously to a very breezy 70. I am always cold and frankly, even with a sweater, I was shivering. My husband had not yet arrived, so after adding another layer, Kate and I continued to explore. Walking across the street we strolled along the wood planked boardwalk which wound like the path of a meandering snake all along the cliff top. Along the way we found a set of somewhat rickety wooden stairs taking us down to the beach.
As with many beaches along central and northern areas of the California coast, this beach was not soft and sandy. It was comprised of a blanket of tiny pebbles punctuated here and there with some larger rocks and driftwood. We found that with or without shoes it was pretty rough to walk on. There were many large rock formations at the edge of the water which were perfect to climb on and provided great vantage points for observing the ocean, coastline, and cliff above. Kate and I perched on one of the large rocks, occasionally being sprayed by very cold water, and watched a few wet-suited surfers doing their thing.
We spent a bit of time by the hotel pool and then, when my husband arrived, we were able to just walk up the street to a restaurant with ocean views and a heated outdoor patio. We had an after dinner stroll along the ocean and planned the activities for the next day before turning in to listen to the Pacific crash into the rocks as we slept.
The next morning I left my family slumbering away while I took a solo walk along the boardwalk. I left our hotel, crossed the street, and followed the walkway to the North. The air was brisk and I needed a sweat shirt and long pants, but dressed that way I was pretty comfortable. There were lovely wildflowers and scrubby chaparral lining the path, and of course a fabulous and unobstructed view of the Pacific to my left. Following the path for about half a mile, I ended up at an overlook sight where I took some lovely pictures (I was not the only one there with my camera early in the morning).
While the views out into the ocean and along the coast were great, upon closer inspection I also realized that if I looked down onto the rocks there was something pretty special. Seals were warming themselves all along the coastal rock formations. They were so well camouflaged that I missed them at first, but they were there in great numbers! As I headed back to the hotel, I realized that I could walk down a set of stairs and walk out pretty close to where the seals were sunbathing. A number of tourists were out on the rocks trying to be quiet and careful as not to scare the seals away. However, the seals did not seem concerned about the humans at all. They were obviously accustomed to being observed. I knew that this would be a fun thing for my daughter to see, so I headed back to the hotel to rally the troops.
After a complimentary breakfast at the hotel we headed back to where I had seen the seals earlier, and Kate had a chance to see them too. We were all amazed at how close we could get to so many wild animals, seemingly without disturbing them in the slightest. Another pleasant surprise came as we were sitting on the rocks. There were endless tiny tide pools brimming with aquatic life. Tiny starfish, crabs, and muscles were just a few of the little organisms in the tide pools. Each of the little pools seemed to have its very own ecosystem. Kate liked it, but I was actually more impressed than she.
Then I sprung the news on Kate and my husband that I had another little outing planned. I am often accused of taking my family on “forced marches” while on vacation. This might be true, but I liked to think of these excursions as adventures. While researching Cambria, I read that the town of San Simeon, just a few miles North, provided the hillside home for sitting on top of Hearst Castle. A national historic landmark, Hearst castle has a strange and fascinating story, built over the span of many years for the newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst, it was designed by California Architect Julia Morgan.
Hearst had originally camped on this sight communing with nature and enjoying the jam-dropping views of the Pacific. Gradually, he had decided to live in more comfort, and eventually opulence, building a new world castle decorated with the spoils of old world castles, manor houses, and even adorned with artifacts from ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian ruins. In its heyday in the early 1900s, this house hosted politicians, dignitaries, and virtually all of hollywood. Winston Churchill, Cary Grant, Greta Garbo, and FDR were all reported to have been guests. How they actually got there is a mystery to me. San Simeon itself is pretty far off the beaten path and the castle, it turns out, is a rather harrowing bus ride up a steep and guardrail-free hill riddled with hairpin switch-backs. The very charming audio guide- Alex Trebek’s voice I think – tells the story of the house, its building, and even the zoo animals that at one point roamed the grounds (there was a bear pit – no bears there anymore – but there are zebras, descendants of the original members of the menagerie, roaming the grounds and adjoining ranch property).
At the end of the bus ride, after I spent a moment feeling thankful that our driver did not have a cardiac event on the way up plunging the bus into the ocean, our group was gathered up by a ranger who imparted a ton of information about the castle and its storied past. The gardens, still meticulously maintained, are really gorgeous and the views of the ocean are vivid. I had chosen the Great Rooms Tour which led us through a grand hall, dinning hall with a table that sat at least 30, a billiards room, and a movie theater. The decor was heavy, dark woods and tapestries. I found it pretty interesting and our docent was knowledgable and amusing, but Kate declared near the end of the tour that she didn’t want to see anymore old house stuff – fair enough. We strolled the grounds, sweating a bit as it was much hotter up here than it had been at sea level in Cambria. There were little terraces jutting out everywhere emblazoned with blooming flowers and arranged with stone benches providing fantastic views of the castle, gardens, and ocean.
On the way in the guide introduced us to the Neptune pool, currently drained because of leaks and the need to conserve water, which is surrounded by statues of ancient gods. It must have been very impressive in the prime of this great house. Also, it was probably the only place to cool down on a hot summer day. As we wound our way back to the bus, we detoured through a massive building housing the indoor pool. The pool and the walls of this cavernous room are awash in mosaic tiles, providing a bit of a byzantine ambience.
After we survived an equally harrowing ride down the mountain, it was time for lunch. Apparently touring “old houses” makes everyone hungry. We had lunch at one of the many little restaurants on the main street in Cambria and took a walk through the town. Cambria does feel touristy, but that means that there are plenty of places to eat and to buy souvenirs. We scoped out a place to eat the next day and also a place to get ice cream.
That evening we bundled up and sat on a piece of driftwood to watch the sunset. Kate loved playing in the surf, getting only her feet wet in the frigid water, and building a “rock castle” from the pebbles strewn on the beach. There were a number of small groups establishing little outdoor living rooms to watch the sun disappear into the Ocean. After darkness fell, we hiked up the steps and across the street to our hotel to spend one last night listening to the crashing waves while we slept.
On our final day in Cambria, we spent much of the morning collecting rocks at the beach and climbing on the huge boulders. In the early afternoon we checked out of our hotel and had one last, really excellent, meal at a restaurant which specialized in locally sourced produce. Kate and I stopped at the ice cream shop to get milkshakes for the road. We said goodbye to my husband and headed back to LA to take the red eye (what was I thinking) home.
The drive back to Los Angeles was through the more arid inland region of the state and was not as lovely as the way up along the coast. However there were a couple of beautiful vistas overlooking reservoirs, and the mountains, windmills, and agricultural fields presented their own kind of beauty.
If I planned this trip again, I would try to stop along the way up the coast, maybe adding an extra day in Santa Barbara. I hope that the next time we travel to California we can continue up the coastline and spend time in Carmel and Monterey. But if you just have a few days and are looking for a quiet beach community to relax and unwind, Cambria with picturesque Moonstone beach really is a good choice.