Weekend Getaway to Cambria, CA
Cambria is a tucked away, cute, little seaside town along the Pacific Coast Highway. From Los Angeles it is about 3 hours north, 4 if you take the coast. I have visited before more as a stopover to other coastal destinations, but never really gave it a fair visit all to its own. My partner and I had the opportunity to join my Mom out in Cambria to celebrate a Mother's Day weekend retreat and being the busybodies we are, we really got to cover a lot of territory. So here's my 'Must List' for Cambria!
Sow's Ear
Our weekend started with this quaint restaurant on Main Street. It has the most adorable tiny pig decorations, hence the name, and it felt like walking into your grandma's cabin home that she has been cooking in all day. It is cozy and inviting, and your dinner starts off with the most amazing moist bread served to you in a terra-cotta pot. I am all about comfort foods so I ordered Chicken dumplings after we shared the appetizer plate of Mac 'n Cheese. They had to wheel me out of there by the end of our dinner. Note to city folk: we had the latest reservation of the night at 8pm. This town quiets down pretty early but that makes it all the more relaxing.
Moonstone Beach
Named after the stones that used to wash up on shore, I'm not sure if they still do to this day but nonetheless, this beach is gorgeous. It has a boardwalk thats more New England style than the ones we are used to down in southern california, and that only adds to the charm. It is literally wooden boards that you walk on and it is flanked in that beachy ground cover with those pretty little miniature pink flowers. I love how the wind hardly ever stops coming in from off the shore, creating beautiful choppy waves and windswept looking trees all along the way.
San Simeon Hearst Castle
Hearst Castle is a big draw in the Cambria area, and rightfully so. It is our smaller scale west coast version of Versailles and offers a not so distant peek into history and Hollywood's Golden era. William Randolph Hearst's opulence and love of art are clearly on display. There are a number of different selections of tours depending on what you are interested in seeing. We booked the evening tour which recreates a 1933 party that Hearst commonly threw and invited many of that days biggest stars. There are even people there in full character recreating a walls eye view for us as spectators. The tour was unique and introspective to a side of Hearst I hadn't heard as much about. That particular tour is only offered in Spring and Fall as it was already getting pretty warm in some of those villas due to the fact that air conditioning hadn't been invented at that time yet. There is also a new tour called the "Hollywood VIP tour" that for the price of $100 per person gets you your own personal guide, and the opportunity to visit practically every room in the house. Definitely something I would be interested in next time I go.
Shops on Main Street
Tourism is the business in Cambria and for that reason Main Street has everything from coffee shops, to old school diners and art galleries. You can spend a major portion of your day (and wallet) just cruising along. There's something for the entire family, kids stores, culinary centric, and gardening nurseries. The brick work, wooden cottages and two lane street make it easy to imagine what the town was like during its original inception.
The olallieberry is the grandchild of the raspberry, the dewberry and the blackberry and tastes similar to a boysenberry. It grows predominantly in California and especially near Cambria. They are served in many of the dishes from pies, to vinegars and chocolates. We came home with a medium sized container of jam and actually just finished the last of it today. It was perfect served on multigrain toast!
Fairy gardens have become more and more popular and Cambria is one of those towns that you would expect to find them throughout all the cottage homes and of course those garden shops I mentioned before. The pictures seen here are from one of those boutiques called Spellbound's backyard. A good quarter of their yard was decked out in a fairy village featuring walkways, bridges and even Hogwart's Castle. Super cute! Some of the other nurseries sell rare succulent varieties and unique Artist renditions of pottery that you can bring back with you to remember your trip.
I didn't get to stay here but definitely checked it out and will be doing so next time I am here. The cabins have their own fireplaces, and are right across the water. They have croquet in the front lawn area as well as a mini golf and larger golf course access. It's the perfect spot for simple access to the beach and boardwalk, and looks like a smaller version of the place featured in 'Dirty Dancing'. Nobody puts baby in the corner here!
White Water Inn
Located right next door to San Simeon Pines on Moonstone Beach Dr. is the White Water Inn. It has a view of the water as well in most of the rooms and the upgraded rooms feature their own jacuzzis right on the patio. Perfect for going out to watch the stars at night, that you don't get to see as much if you live in well lit areas. The sounds of the ocean and the cool breeze make it easy to stay in and really relax for while longer than you normally might.
Robin's restaurant
Located right off Main St. on Burton Dr. this indoor outdoor restaurant has a great varied diverse selection. Dishes are prepared and displayed beautifully and the flavors match the presentation. It's hard to pick just one or two things so I recommend sharing and doing tapas style so that you can try a few different plates. A definite must try if you're only there for lunch or dinner.
Day trip to Paso Robles
My partner and my mom are wine connoisseurs and I am the DD and photographer. Paso has some offerings for the non drinker. There are some wineries that do honey tastings, oil tastings and that serve food and live music. The drive over from Cambria is worth it all on its own, the rolling hills, groves of trees and the farm homes are pure bliss to take in. And for any budding photographers, it is a great place to go be distracted.
Thanks for reading and until next week, happy travels!
