Cambria

We rented a house in Cambria for a few days last week. We had always stayed at a pet friendly motel in the past but struck on the idea of a house when we noticed a rental sign on one when we were leaving last summer.

And it was heavenly. For all concerned. Pampered pooch could run through the house (three times the size of her house at home!), walk on the beach, through the forest, through the nature preserve, see sea lions, deer and cows.

And we had a 180 degree view. WAHOO! Sadly there was tons of fog this time of year and we weren't able to experience the breathtaking sunsets we usually see but the peace and quiet and comfort made up for it, over and over again.

We ate, we walked, we napped, we read.

We had wonderful food at Wild Ginger and Indigo Moon as always. (We had less than stellar breakfasts while in Cambria, very disapointing until we ate at Linn's our last morning there and were presently surprised. And so very thankful and just plain full! Oh and French Bakery across the street came to the rescue and provided us with oh so yummy spinach and feta croissant sandwiches for the trip home.)

We looked at charming antique stores for the first time and visited our favorite stores, Hearts Ease and The Garden Shed - there was so much that I wanted to bring home with me. We made our annual visit to Paws on Main and of course I came home with more rubber stamps.

The Bianchini house restoration and museum project was finally completed but kept being closed every time we tried to see it. Thankfully it was open on our last day and we enjoyed it very much - we had watched it wallow and disintegrate in disrepair for years on end and to now see it restored so lovingly was great.

We saw the sea lions again. We saw a little speck in the distance, high up on the hill, that is Hearst Castle and look forward to go on the tours (we've missed in previous years with our doggie in tow), now that we know we can leave our beloved furry family member comfortably and contentedly in the house. (The one draw back to the house was the tiny back yard, that had a short picket fence gate at each side of the L-shaped yard, so we couldn't leave our dog unattended in the yard, without worry of "the great escape" from said yard, by said dog. Oh and the second drawback was two very crabby appleton resident blue jays that liked to buzz us and swoop at us. I had visions of "The Birds".)

We took the second half of a lovely country road a short part of the way home - from Cambria to Cayucos - and then it was back to the real world of traffic and noise. Thankfully we missed the bulk of the traffic as the way home seems longer and more tedious every time.

Home is indeed a wonderful word and place to return to.