Page Contents

Path
Sights
Food
Bird
Birds
Tunes
Runs

13 July: Cambria

  With my mother safely ensconsed in her apartment and settling into her own routine again, we restarted our trip on Sunday the 13th. We left from Pasadena this time and, on Frank's fine recommendation, aimed for Cambria, another resort town on the coast and just north of Moro Bay (where we'd been earlier in the week). A highlight of this part of our trip came the next day when, based on Pat's memory, we were able to contact friends from long ago and visit with them. But this page is based on the calendar date

Path

  Rather than repeat our previous path, we chose--again, at Frank's suggestion--to drive up the central valley of California and cut west to the coast. The path took us along Interstate 210, connecting to Interstate 5 to leave LA (with the climb over the Grapevine--probably last traversed by Pat and me in 1973 when we moved from Pasadena to Eugene for my graduate studies), to CA 46. We then took 46 (the road on which James Dean died) west through the wine country of California's Central Coast (no stops; save this for a later trip!) around Paso Robles, right out to the coast, and (via a bit of CA 1) into Cambria.

Sights

  Before going to dinner, we decided to take a brief walk along the beach, accompanied by a few hundred other people who apparently had similar thoughts (notes the footprints in the sand in the accompanying photo; in fact, I had to use the sandy mass at the left to shield from our camera's view several young people frolicking on the rocks at the left).

  When we were taking this photo and others similar to it, it was probably the first time on this trip that one of our standing quips arose. It's very simple and goes like this: "Rocks and water." That's all either of us has to say to arouse amusement in the other. People who are familiar with each other often seem to have catch phrases that communicate a lot more than the words themselves; the history of the use of the phrase, I suppose, carries lots of connotations that have been refined from repeated sharing of it. In this case, "rocks and water" came from one of Pat's experiences (Pat can explain the history of the quip, if she wishes) but has sunk into our repertoire. It is repeated just about any time that three things converge: rocks, water, and camera.

  The rocks-and-water theme continued when we went for a walk after dinner. The situation allowed us to recapture a hint of our experience earlier in the week when we had been in Moro Bay. Although there was not the dramatic Moro Rock to provide a setting for the setting sun, Pat was able to capture another sunset over waters associated with the Pacific. She actually has a series of several shots from later in the evening.

Food

  We found a place to stay along the narrow strip of beachfront that is between CA 1 and the Pacific. Among the myriad choices that line what I think is called the Moonstone Beach area, we slipped into the Fogcatcher Inn and were able to secure the last of the rooms with a full ocean view. It was spacious, second-floor room with copious windows on--you guessed it--the side that faced the beach. We could see the narrow strip of business road, the boardwalk, the beach, and the ocean without obstruction.

  Following the recommendation of the person who checked us into the Fogcatcher, we chose to eat at Sea Chest Oyster Bar and Seafood Restaurant (6216 Moonstone Beach Dr.; 805-927-4514, but don't call for reservations as Sea Chest doesn't take them--a line forms beginning about 5 or 5:30; no credit cards). I had steamed, green-lip mussels (several of which were as large as the mussels we had years ago in Provincetown, MA) a and a nicely broiled piece of opah (not an easy fish too cook properly, in my experience). Pat had a scallops apetizer as her meal and they were well prepared, too. The wine list featured not just local products but other good ones. Try this place.

Bird

  The White Bird behaved just fabulously. On the Interstate, it was smooth and easy. On windy, narrow roads, it acted liked it was on tracks, cornering flatly and staying precisely on the lines I chose. I was getting a hint, however, that it rarely saw a gas pump to which it didn't want to pay a visit. I must read the specifications for the tank size and milage estimates. Even though the instruments offer two odometers, I wasn't keeping odometer readings that would allow me to calculate milage. Maybe later.

Birds

  On the highway we saw a couple of buteo-like birds and a falconidae (looked like a kestril). Of course, there were the ubiquitous ones (pigeons, crows, mockingbirds, etc.).

  Along the beach, we saw pelagic birds (gulls, pelicans, cormorants) as well as plenty of smaller birds among the bushes and trees.

Tunes

  Somewhere around here I got better with managing the iPod-iTrip-radio combination. I settled on having the iTrip software localcast on multiple frequencies and then sending the seek function of the radio to find something familiar sounding. It was clear that the iTrip device's utility was inversely related to the number of FM broadcasts in the area. More broadcasts meant fewer available frequencies over which I could have the Bird's radio receive the iTrip localcast.

Runs

  My run on the 13th in Pasadena before we left was 22:58 and I was weak. I was still feeling sort of peaked (interesting word), I thought, from the illness of June, which had taken me off the roads almost entirely for most of three weeks. I needed to remind myself that one comes back gradually.