Cambria - Using All Five Senses

California's incomparable central coast
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On Wednesday, we drove from our cottage on a hill overlooking the Pacific in Cambria to Montana de Oro State Park. On a guided nature walk, our docent, Randy, urged us to use all five senses when experiencing Mother Nature. A good reminder, but not one that we needed. The aroma of flowers followed us on our walks in San Luis Obispo. The smell of salt water never fails to tingle. In an open field, Randy asked us if we smelled breakfast. With a little prompting, we did! Maple syrup! I don't remember which plant was the instigator, but the smell was distinct.

Later, we picked sprigs of "cowboy sage" and rubbed it between our fingers to release its fragrance. Cowboys of yesteryear came into town for a break from their labors, smelling of livestock, sweat, dirt, campfire and who-knows-what-else. The cowboy sage plant made them more presentable to the women whose company they were eager to gain.

Among the sights, Randy pointed out two rattlesnakes, sleeping amid the scrub plants - an interesting visual sensation. We avoided employing our sense of touch.

The sights and sounds of the coast and the forest thrust themselves dramatically before us, but it's the things we can smell and touch and taste that give experiences a true fullness.

Randy was full of information that he was glad to impart. I thanked him at the end of our walk for giving me so much to forget by dinner time.

As far as taste goes, that night we dined at Robin's in Cambria - crab enchiladas accompanied by a chilled Conundrum. (That's not a problem at all; it's a delicious, fruity,northern California white wine.)

Intrepid travelers storing up energy for the next adventure

We packed a lot into our time in Cambria - a visit to the elephant seals, a tour of the lighthouse at Piedras Blancas, a drive up Route 1 to Ragged Point, where the dramatic coastline of Big Sur begins, and some hiking whenever we could.

The beautifully-restored lighthouse at Piedras Blancas

Beauty in every direction.

At Piedras Blancas, our guide, Abel, talking about the coastal fogs, mentioned the '80's movie, "The Fog." It was filmed in Point Reyes and had some notables in the case - Janet Leigh, Hal Holbrook, Jamie Lee Curtis. So that night, Carol and I watched it on Netflix. Grade B all the way. Try as they might, this horror film failed to horrify.

The daddy elephant seals are long gone, except for a couple stragglers. The beach still was home for tired mothers, resting before their return to the sea, and about 4,000 pups. A docent informed us that the elephant seals are doing well, with large and growing numbers of births every year. The pups are growing large, and are developed enough now that they are taking to the shallows to play, fight, practice being adult elephant seals and learn to swim.

This elephant seal photo is from '09 in Point Reyes, but I swear I saw this guy the other day.

Today we said goodbye to Cambria and took a leisurely drive down the coast to get Carol to her flight back home. We stopped in Pismo Beach, where we were served some top-rate orange freezes, made from scratch before our eyes. Pismo Beach, we agreed, merits a return visit.

Carol's home now, and I'm on my way to Death Valley. If I can find a lodge with wi-fi, maybe you'll get a report and photos in the next several days. Keep trying. In the meantime, enjoy the photos.

Near San Simeon, California