Cambria is a sleepy little village on the central coast of California nestled among Monterey Pines.  As you travel along Highway 1 to reach Cambria you will see beautiful rolling hills on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other. This lovely location has been a favorite vacation spot of my sisters and their families for years.

Like every mom, our Mom loves to spend time with her three girls so this year we made it a special getaway spot to celebrate Mom’s 84th birthday; just the 4 of us.  Plane tickets were purchased, motel rooms reserved and all was set!

“Leaving on a jet plane”….

Have you ever flown out of Dulles Airport?

It seems they have an extra amount of steps you have to take to get to your terminal.  Mine went something like this:  I made it through the check-in process, then down an escalator, through the security check, onto the platform for the tram, rode the tram to the “other” terminal, up two flights of escalators, a quick bathroom stop (really hoping to avoid having to use that awful bathroom on the plane), and finally arriving at my gate.  Whew, 15 minutes to spare before boarding started!

Kathy and Steve picked Carol and I up at the airport and after a quick trip back to their house to pick up Mom, we were off for Cambria.

Little Sur Inn….

Our reservations were at Little Sur Inn and we couldn’t have been any happier with our room.  Our balcony looked out over the Pacific Ocean!  I love the ocean, the sound of the pounding surf, the calls of the sea gulls, the salty air.

We spent wonderful moments sitting, talking and drinking wine on that very special balcony!

The staff were friendly, the beds comfortable, the room clean and a continental breakfast offered every morning.

We loved our room. It included a cozy electric fireplace and spacious bathroom.

View of the Pacific Ocean from our balcony. Exploring tide pools among the rocks at low tide is a favorite thing to do.

My beautiful Mom and sisters on our balcony.

A gorgeous sunset over the Pacific Ocean.

Dining in Cambria….

Aw, the food!  Isn’t that one of the things we always look forward to on our vacations?  Delicious food cooked by someone else and no clean up!

We managed to get up, dressed and out of the room in time for brunch our first morning and we stumbled upon a lovely little restaurant called “Robins”.  We had the Eggs Benedict which was luscious!  The eggs were from local farms and it included smoked pork loin and spinach on a puff pastry lathered with hollandaise sauce.  I would love to have another one right now as I sit here writing and drooling over it!

Robin’s Restaurant

Robins was so good and the staff so friendly and inviting that my sisters and I went back one evening for “Summer Nights in the Garden”.  Our table was outside surrounded by beautiful greenery and we were entertained by “The Belmores” while we dined, once again, on luscious food.  The music was a perfect blend of soft rock from the 70’s.

Our last day in Cambria, we planned to have fish and chips at Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill.  This is a tradition for Carol and her husband each time they visit Cambria and now I can certainly understand why.  This fish was not the typical “overloaded with breading” fish that often comes with fish and chips.  It was a generous portion of lightly breaded fish accompanied by fries and a side order of coleslaw, which were both equally delicious!Making a trip to CA? Take time to visit beautiful Cambria! #cambria #vacation #hearstcastle #travel Click To Tweet

Things to do….

Our inn sat on Moonstone Beach Drive which is bordered by perhaps the most pleasant walking trail in Cambria, the boardwalk. It was frequented throughout the day by couples strolling hand in hand, avid walkers, and many people exercising their dogs.

Visitors and locals alike enjoy searching Moonstone Beach for those special little gems called….you guessed it, moonstones! These are beautiful little white translucent stones, sometimes with a slight yellowish tint.

Small, quaint and unique shops abound in Cambria; no generic shopping malls here!  Some of our favorite shops were in the “Shops in the Courtyard”.

Combinations of old and new and beautiful succulents.

These ladies were so creative. We loved their “junk”!

Many unique succulents, all the craze now.

Leaving Cambria and heading north on highway 1 and just past San Simeon, a nature lovers sight abounds.  This was truly my biggest thrill.  Elephant seals!  I was fortunate enough to see these massive beasts almost 20 years ago and now once again I had the good fortune to spend time gazing at them.

Elephant seals lazing about in the sun and all there to complete their molt.

The first time I saw them was in the month of January when they are giving birth and the bulls are battling to establish their harems.  These bulls can grow to be 16 feet long and weigh 5000 pounds.  And when they battle it is amazing and scary to watch.  The saddest thing about their battles is they are so engrossed in the heat of the moment they will lumber over any small pup that lies in their path.

The biggest bull on the beach today, boasting a face only a mother could love!

During this visit the largest of the bulls hadn’t arrived on the beach.  The inhabitants today were young males and they were all there to molt.  These youngsters were play fighting and honing their skills for the day they would be fighting in earnest to establish their own harems.  A few of the bigger ones already wore the tell-tell signs of battles fought on their neck and chest.

Jousting in the surf.

Visible from the elephant seal rookery is another place of interest, the Piedras Blancas Light Station.  The lighthouse was first illuminated in 1875.  When built it was 3 stores taller than it is now.  Those top stories had to be removed in 1949 because of damage from an earthquake.

Piedras Blancas Lighthouse

There are many other things to do at Cambria including the well-known Hearst Castle.  If you haven’t seen it yet, it is a must on your first visit to the area.

Hearst Castle

And if wine tasting is your thing, you are in the right place!  You’re in wine country with many vineyards and lots of places to do some tasting.

Alas, all good things come to an end….

In the blink of an eye it was time to pack up and make the drive back to Ventura.  Plans were to leave Kathy’s at 7:00 the next morning to make the drive to LAX and all once again go our separate ways.

Flying is not my favorite thing, I could definitely do without it, but I won’t ever stop because my daughter, grandchildren, mom, sisters and their families are too precious to me.  I’ll just keep saying my prayers and boarding those planes!

This post will be shared on some of the lovely link parties found on my “Where I Party” page!