Cambria Again

Life sure can throw you some curve balls, and in January I'd had enough of them....it was time to get outta Dodge. Cambria is one of my favorite places to visit; it's within reasonable driving distance (4.5 hours by car from my house) and I could do it on a small budget. Hearst Castle's tours are fairly cheap at $24 per, and I managed to find an inexpensive room at a local motel.

I decided this time to take the coastal route instead of the inland 101 route, and I took my time going thru Big Sur - which, as a native Californian, I've never seen (shame on me!) My God, it was gorgeous! The ocean was such an outstanding shade of royal blue, that I felt like I was in Hawaii at times. I snapped several pictures, but the pics really don't do it justice.

Halfway there, I noticed a small A-framed house made out of glass on the right, perched above Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Beach. Now if you've read Jane Fonda's recent autobiography, where she talks about Ted Turner's courtship, she describes a small A-framed glass house on JP Burns State Beach, where Ted Turner took her on one of their first dates. Hmm...looks just like she described, and it's in the right place...very non-descript, totally made out of glass, and deserted.....hmm....

...and 3/4 of the way there, as I approached the far end of a large concrete bridge, I saw a large white flatbed truck go off the road, make a sharp u-turn, and totally disappear down a steep decline. Wow! Where'd it go? OK....being the curious and impulsive person that I am, I followed it. The truck was driven by two young women with the state forest service, and they taking water samples from the creek. It actually was a small picnic area under the bridge with a porta-potty bathroom and really no beach. That meant that the rocks I was standing on basically ended right at the surf, 10 yards in front of me. Standing right next to the water, at a tiny park under the bridge.

I decided to try a motel in town that I hadn't used before - the Cambria Palms. It was next to a small motel I'd visited before, the Creekside Inn, which I hadn't cared for at all (being a single female traveler, if there's one thing I hate when I travel, it's being treated like, "oh she's alone, so we don't have to waste any time and energy on her"; they gave me an awful room in back of the office - ugh!)

The Cambria Palms was a nice experience - basic, cheap, clean, and it had everything I wanted - the price was only $63 for the room. The bathroom was decent, the bed's pillow-top mattress was very comfortable, and there was basic cable TV. Best of all, my room looked out on the back patio and barbecue area, which had been carefully landscaped. My room also had a small table and chairs next to the rear sliding glass door, with a wonderful view while sitting there - perfect for painting!

My latest

It was a very comfortable night. Although the room initially had everything I needed, it lacked one basic necessity: a good wireless internet connection. Because I travel alone, there are two things that are absolutely required in my room: cable TV and internet. The connection was so slow, at times I couldn't get onto a browser. So unfortunately, I had to say goodbye to the Cambria Palms. After visiting a few small motels in Cambria, I decided on the Bluebird Inn - smack in the center of town, really ideally situated. Nice place. Cozy, and the internet connection was adequate. It had one of those all-wood-paneled lobbies that looked like it belonged in a hunting lodge. Warm, inviting, soft lighting, coffee and snacks on the sideboard, and a raging fire. Perfect for reading in the afternoon. Of course I did my usual trip to Hearst Castle. Note that starting in March and thru June, there will be a new type of tour - self-guided, that you can take on your own through the gardens. This is only in the afternoon on Friday and Saturday....after June, it will be daily. I did some talking with the guides while I was there. They were a little nervous about the advent of the self-guided tours because they were afraid of layoffs. I empathize with them, but on the other hand I can't help thinking about being able to stroll the gardens on my own and taking pictures at my leisure, instead of having to keep up with the fast pace of my group. I decided last year to put together a screen saver for my computer of all the lovely lamps at Hearst. It's turned out very well. Here are a few of them: