Cambria, Gem on the Ocean
By Sarah J. Schaffer

Cambria is like a cameo on California's Central Coast: Small, quaint, and old-fashioned, it bears a finely etched portrait of a simpler time.

It's easy to speed past this town, equidistant between Los Angeles and San Francisco, as you're rushing along Highway 1, heading north to Hearst Castle, perhaps, or maybe on your way south to catch the Thursday night Farmers' Market in San Luis Obispo. But pushing straight on to other destinations would be a mistake. Take the time to turn off onto Cambria's Main Street, and you'll be pulled away from high-speed traffic to a quiet, whitewashed, pedestrian town whose roots reach back to the 19th century — a place where you can linger over berry pancakes at a cozy bakery or nose around well-stocked antiques shops. And just across the highway, pebble-covered Moonstone Beach awaits, unspoiled by modern life and often deserted in winter.

Cambria is the Latin name for Wales; most out-of-towners pronounce it came-bree-ah, while locals prefer the more understated camm-bree-ah. In the 1880s, this area was a center of shipping, mining, dairy farming, and lumbering. Today it's a haven for travelers and day-trippers. The town divides into East and West Villages, named for their respective locations along Main Street. Summer is the most popular time to visit, but it can be foggy; winter often brings the clearest ocean views. Transportation is easy: Either park your car on the street and stroll, or ride the free shuttle around. You'll recognize the red-and-green bus by its circular otter emblems.

Begin your exploration in East Village, a section of shops and restaurants, many of which are housed in Victorian structures from the 1870s. Art and antiques stores abound. Seekers Glass Gallery offers art glass in every color and variety: sculptures, vases, perfume vials, lamps, and jewelry. Head west along Main Street to the Cambria Antique Center Mall, which sprawls across more than 6,000 square feet and has great finds, including china, glass, and mahogany and walnut furniture.

Children (and adults who love them) will find a miniature heaven in the Rumpelstiltskin Book Gallery, which offers the usual classics, as well as a wide choice of science books, all presided over by a well-informed staff. From 2 to 5 p.m., Tea Cozy, in a brick cottage, serves "royal tea": finger sandwiches, pastries, and scones served with clotted cream imported from Devonshire. Don't miss the store's exhaustive selection of British delicacies, including lemon curd, apricot-and-honey chutney, and Gunpowder green tea.

Drop by Linn's Main Bin for breakfast, and top your pancakes with olallieberry syrup. The olallieberry is a hybrid of two-thirds blackberry and one-third raspberry, and the Linn family grows them on a farm on Santa Rosa Creek Road. Adjacent to the restaurant is a gift shop that stocks everything from fancy jams to fur-lined hats.

For dinner try the Sow's Ear Cafe, an elegant local favorite that boasts (what else?) a pig on its marquee and parchment-wrapped salmon on its menu. Or, for an exercise in nostalgia, eat at the Brambles Dinner House, where chives and sour cream on your baked potato are de rigueur, and the Continental-Greek menu, with items such as prime rib and lamb shanks, is enough to make a carnivore's mouth water. Seafood dishes include salmon grilled over oak and gorides (shrimp with tomato and feta cheese). Inside the 120-year-old building, choose your ambience: a creek view, a table by a fireplace, or a cozy wooden booth.

West Village is home to a bevy of real estate agents and the Chamber of Commerce, a good place to stop for brochures and information. Maison de Marie is a Francophile's paradise in which you can buy 18th- and 19th-century furniture, as well as more contemporary products, such as lavender pillows from Provence and le Cordon Bleu gift packages. For a good meal, sniff your way to the Main Street Grill, where meats, such as chicken and beef, are roasted outside, morning to night.

After exploring the town, succumb to the lure of Moonstone Beach, just west of Highway 1. A seemingly endless row of dollhouse-like hotels lines the eastern edge of Moonstone Beach Drive. As you walk along the southern part of the beach, you'll crunch through orange, green, blue, and white stones the size of your baby toenail. Underfoot lie California jade and, of course, moonstones (milky white agates), but the romantic in you might not care about that. You'll pick up a handful of pebbles, marvel at their deep hues, let them slip through your fingers, and squint toward the horizon for a glimpse of gray whales or elephant seals.

Head farther north up Moonstone Beach Drive by bicycle or on foot to reach Leffingwell Landing, a good location for tide pooling and picnicking. Continue north to William R. Hearst Memorial State Beach, where the '20s-era news-paper magnate once docked steamers filled with art treasures from around the world. The beach's gentle cove is protected by a high spit covered with trees; take a hike up the hill to understand, if only in a small way, how Hearst must have felt to want to dominate this coastline. In a blue-purple twilight fog, the beach's pier (where fishing is allowed) is magical. If you're lucky, you might spot a sea otter paddling gently below.

Across the road and up the mountain from the beach is Hearst Castle. This over-the-top dream of an over-the-top man retains its power to enchant, either by mesmerizing you with its opulence or prodding you to fantasize about becoming a billionaire. Take Tour No. 2 to see Hearst's second-floor library, lined with dozens of ancient Greek vases and pass through a mammoth kitchen with its wood-paneled refrigerators that would be the envy of many a modern restaurateur.

Consider your visit to Cambria complete if you've found a shop that makes time pass without your noticing, if you've felt the crackle of ocean-soaked pebbles beneath your bare feet, if you've eaten a simple meal at a local restaurant and felt like an honored guest. These small pleasures are the secret to Cambria's delight; now they'll be your pleasures too.

Coming to Cambria
For more information about this area, see the Explore! San Luis Obispo County map, free to members at Auto Club offices, or check out the website www.cambriasbest.com. Cambria's free shuttle service runs Friday through Monday, 9 a.m.– 1 p.m. For a schedule, call Cambria Village Transit, (805) 927-0468.

Hearst Castle is about six miles north of Cambria. It's open every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. Choose from three or four daytime tours, depending on the time of year, and one nighttime tour September through December. For reservations, call (800) 444-4445.

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