Christmas in Cambria: Part 1

Tucker and I have a Christmas tradition of not having any traditions aside from a hike, my equivalent of church service in the temple I feel most at home: nature. In the last decade, we’ve spent four winter holidays at our home base in Southern California and five elsewhere in the country. This year, I really wished to be elsewhere, having spent two whole years at our basecamp either working in town or not working at all during The Year Hollywood Imploded.

So with three days left till Christmas, no hike within an hour really speaking to me, and limited funds due to the afore-mentioned industry implosion, I decided to look beyond a day trip, but not so far as to warrant a week of hotel stays I could not afford.

And I found it:

Christmas in Cambria.

I was surprised to learn this is not, in fact, the title of a Hallmark movie.

Just 200 miles up the California coast between Santa Barbara and Monterrey, Tucker and I had driven by but had never stayed. Home to Heart Castle (in San Simeon, just 5 miles north of Cambria), I had never gone since dogs are not allowed on the tours and I only go to places my entire family is welcome.

But we weren’t going for the architecture made by man anyway; we were going to explore Mother Nature’s artwork in galleries Tucker is invited to explore.

Cavalier Oceanfront Resort offered the most economical dog-friendly, ocean view accommodations, so I booked two nights in a room with a fireplace, a balcony Tuck and I could enjoy outdoors, and views to the ocean and coastline.
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But first, we had to get there. Having the entirety of Christmas Eve for the three or four hours drive, we made the journey the destination with multiple stops along the way, the first being our local coffee house.

We made a brief stop at Dinosaur Caves Park to check out some cool rocks just north of Pismo Bay where we had been on Christmas in 2020. Looking southward, I spied the little cove we found behind a hotel on that trip.

To the north in Dinosaur Caves Park were rocks reminiscent of the Oregon coastline.

And Tucker, drawn to people who need him, hopped up on the bench to return a greeting a woman had given him.

I asked her if she had a dog and she said she had had to say goodbye to her constant companion just three months ago. It was her first Christmas without him, so this moment meant a lot to her.

Sometimes I wonder if Tucker is a medium, or if all dogs are in some way. Maybe they can sense that a person’s heart is reaching out to the other side, seeking their dog. Or maybe Tuck can see the spectre of their dog beside them and in his interaction with the person, he shares a message from the dog beyond.

We bid the woman a merry holiday as she left to meet up with her daughter who was driving up from Pasadena, and Tucker and I continued heading north to Cambria, where the woman once lived with her dog.

Sometimes it truly does feel like we’re being guided to right where we need to be.

Thirty miles from our destination of the resort, we stopped for a trail I had tagged the night before: Black Rock Trail.
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As we came into Morro Bay, I wondered how I could have ever missed this. We had driven the coast before, Tucker and me. And I had even done it alone. But how had I missed this California version of Haystack Rock?

The trail was not to the rock, but to the views of the rock. We were aiming for wide shots now; we'd do close-ups later.

We started off at a campground, and once we found our way out of the parking lot of RV’s, we ended up in a sloping meadow with peek-a-boo views of the mountains beyond.

The trail up, steeper than I had anticipated, wove through meadow and forest. And eventually we even crossed… the parking lot. The parking lot I could have driven to, so as to only need to walk up the last few yards to the summit.

​But that’s not how Tucker and I roll.
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And it was the steepest section anyway, so it’s not like we would have avoided the hardest part; we just would have missed the stroll upwards and incredible views along the way.

At the top, we could look east or west. West drew my attention more due to the rock, this enormous bulb of energy pulsating from the bay.

But the eastern view was also powerful: layer upon layer of mountains.

And to the south, both mountain and water met sky.

I considered staying for sunset, but thought it best to head to get back to the base of the mountain before dark. The descent was just as beautiful.

Everywhere we turned, we experienced yet another stunning visual.

We were still miles away from where we would bed down for the night, the place chosen for its outdoor firepits along the bluff where I hoped we could get some social time in.
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There was much adventure ahead, but it didn’t mean our holiday hadn’t begun. It started that morning when we backed out of the driveway and hit the road. 

Whether it's a mountain summit or an overnight lodging, our goal isn't to reach a particular destination; our goal is to fully experience every moment of the journey. And the journey of Christmas in Cambria was just beginning.