cyan_blue | The Cambria Trip

So this weekend Riley and I took a road trip together, down the California coast to the little town of Cambria.

We headed out from SF on Saturday afternoon, and our first stop was a detour to Casa de Fruta, the mother of all fruit-n-nut stands. I indulged my macadamia and pistachio and chocolate-gooseberry whimsy, and Riley chose some chocolate covered cranberries (he knows I'm fond of cranberries). Thus equipped, we headed coastward, and we got to enjoy a pretty coastal dusk as we drove:

We stopped midway in the town of Lucia for a rest and some cool liquids, and I got a virgin-pina-colada in a can. I also got this picture of a hummingbird:

We arrived into Cambria just past dark, and Riley spied our inn among a long row of picturesque Victorian vacation cottages. We stayed at the Little Sur Inn, which was spacious, full of small luxuries, and had a nice homey feel to it. The staff was real helpful; when we arrived, the desk clerk was patiently going through a stack of their videos-to-rent with a 13-year-old boy, helping him find the few that he hadn't yet seen. There was a guest book in our room for visitors to sign, and on the first page someone had written praise for how charming and romantic a spot the inn was. Indeed we found it so...

Woke the next morning to one of the loveliest complimentary hotel breakfasts that I've ever sampled... an impressive variety of clever, dainty pastries, plus fresh fruit and juice. We got on the road, popped Harry Chapin's Greatest Stories into the player, and enjoyed driving through hills and shore, sun and clouds, while listening to poignant tales of love lost and found, choices taken or regretted, and the highest forms of hope and cynicism. My favorite songs on that tape are "A Better Place to be" and "Mr. Tanner,", and of course there was the rollicking fun of "30,000 Pounds of Bananas" as well.

Stopped again near Lucia, to photograph what appeared to be some red kelp beds along the shoreline:

And then a while later, I saw a ship that looked so much like a pirate ship that I had to pull over and take a closer look. It turned out to be an old-fashioned fishing ship, with its nets cast out to the water. Looking around us, Riley realized that we were on too pretty a bit of shoreline to just pass quickly by:

And so we climbed down the hillside full of flowering succulents...

and stripped off socks, stockings and shoes, and headed into the surf!

I felt pretty exhilarated by the cold playful water, which had a tendency to sneak up just a bit higher and a bit further ashore than we expected it too; at one point our shoes and socks and fruit bag, which we'd left on dry sand, got completely drenched by a renegade wave. My camera was the only thing that didn't get soaked, since I was holding it at the time. I held it way above my head each time a wave surged in.

Riley also patiently indulged me in my penchant for photographing small shore critters, pointing out this little guy neatly camouflaged against earth and bark:

And there were lots of seagulls flying obligingly close to shore as well:

We hiked back up the hill, changed into drier clothes, and drove north again. Next stop was Monterey; Riley hadn't been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium before. It's a wonderful aquarium, focused on local species instead of far-off exotica, and highly committed to wildlife preservation. My favorite exhibit was the jellyfish:

I am somehow tickled by this second photo of that one jelly - less well focused, but it does have that "Houston, we're coming in for a landing!" feel to it:

The aquarium also had lots of cool anemone and surf flora:

We also got to watch otters play. The way they move reminds me cheerfully of the ferrets who were endearing companions to

acrobatty and I in the '90's, and of course ferrets and otters are closely related, in the mustelid family.

Riley and I were pretty tired after that, so we drove back to Pacifica for pierogies and kitten adoration, and then I dropped him off back at his apartment in SF. On his way out, he gave me a little glass picture that he'd found at Casa de Fruta: a pretty drawing of a stripey-cat, next to the words "Home is where the cat is." Purrr...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

mactavish.livejournal.com

I love your travel posts. May I link to this?

cyan-blue.livejournal.com

Sure! :-) Thanks.

Thanks. :) *switching the existing post from private to friends* :)

zanzara.livejournal.com

Should've stopped in at the sewer plant and said hi to my spouse ;)

Great pics btw!

Glad you liked the pics! Which sewer plant?

Cambra Community Sewage Plant (aka: "Wastewater Treatment Facility").

Nice little plant as sewer plants go...

forbiddenone.livejournal.com

What kind of camera do you use? THey are awesome pictures!

Thanks! Digital, Olympus D-460 ZOOM

Is that one of the more expencive ones? (It certinly looks it)

Dunno, t'was a gift.

emmett-the-sane.livejournal.com

I think it sold for about $400 or so a couple of years ago. Probably could find it for half that by now.

corva.livejournal.com

Such wonderful photographs and the words that illustrate then so clearly (funny that way around).

Cambria is on of my favorite places to visit. There is a great little hostel downtown called the Bridge Street in that is a worthy place to stay and not pricey either. I adore hostels because you get to meet other travels but can retreat and have alone time as well.
http://www.bridgestreetinncambria.com/

The pebbles on the beaches down there are so perfect! I have a jar 3/4's full from the wanderings over the years.

Thanks for the heads-up about the hostel! :-) And thanks for the compliments, as well.

2wanda.livejournal.com

Awesome pictures! Your jellyfish pictures sure turned out good.

Thanks! Those are my faves. The aquarium made it so easy to take good pics there... perfect lighting and everything!

desu.livejournal.com

The little man and I were just down there the other day. I, too, love the jellies. When I take pictures of them, I use a longer exposure for a more ambient feel:

http://www.livejournal.com/users/desu/203207.html#cutid1

Oh, nice! :-)

gratteciella.livejournal.com

Very nice pics ... though of course you would also have seen some amazing sights if you'd let E take the camera :)

Well, sometime soon I'll get *my* film developed. Oh, for a digital camera of my own ...

*Chuckle* My camera! Mine!

(I figured you'd have a camera there, anyway).

If we do that kind of a trip together again, and Geri commandeers the camera, I'm bloody well buying one of my own! :)

*My* camera...

Well, I'm hoping to receive something like that from my parents for my upcoming birthday. At least, my dad was going to buy me one before but somehow never got around to it, and I've certainly dropped enough hints ... If not, maybe I'll just use birthday money from Grandma and get one for myself!

adamchristopher.livejournal.com

I love your pictures and stories. I always feel like I've been somewhere! You're awesome.

Thanks! I'm so glad you like them.

firecat

So many gorgeous photos! I can't even begin to decide which is my favorite.

Awww. thanks! My fave is the first jellyfish, bright against the blue.

That's a great photo, but the photo of the surf impresses me more - I've rarely seen a photo of surf that's so crisp and that captures the wonderful round fullness of a wave breaking.

Thanks! I'm fond of that one too... I really love getting that awesome green color with the light shining through at the wave crest. Here's another one I took along those lines: