Cambria is a singular place with multiple personalities; four to be exact, and although they share a name and a proximity, they have little else in common...

Two of Cambria's faces are coastal. Of these, one is residential and the other is commercial, a tasteful row of motels and inns whose setting is reminiscent of Pacific Grove. It's called Moonstone Beach for the kind of pebbles that once were ubiquitous here. The residential area features primarily wood-sided homes either hidden in tall, dense pines or perched precariously alongside them on surrounding hills.

Forested hill residential areas give the whole complex of Cambria places a tree theme, almost like an alpine village. Everywhere in the two villages, trees are a dominant surrounding.

At Moonstone Beach, as well as inland, the trees are an attracting element. Here, the exotic posturing of the Monterey Cypress forms a metaphor for the wildness of the sea, and frames the rocky promontories and tide pools. Tree-lined paths meander from beach to cliff terrace, happily obscuring the traffic of Hwy One from this peaceful scene.

Other trails lead up to a State Park Reserve where there's a picnic area. From here it is only 8.5 miles to the elephant seal beaches south of Piedras Blancas Lighthouse.

Cambria is also a tourist gateway to something very great, just up the road.

Hearst Castle, as WR's "ranch home" is now called by the State Park Service, attracts a million visitors annually. It is a monstrous American pomposity. But Cambria doesn't seem too overly impressed by its flamboyant neighbor.

Perhaps that is because of its other, even greater neighbor, the wild and awesome Big Sur.

About half the people who come to Cambria are either returning from, or on their way to, Big Sur. It is the kind of attraction that evokes wonder in all who experience its natural splendor.

With all the competing agendas of its four parts, Cambria has been searching to accommodate each of its identities. In this respect, it shows signs of being influenced by Carmel as a Beach Resort/Art Colony cum Retirement Haven/Tourist town, With its many disparate elements, there is no handy description for Cambria.

Where else could one find a glitzy gallery across from an herbal garden, a formal dinner house around the corner from a new age Celtic alternative medicine shop? And the ironies don't stop there.

For now, it is an interesting and rewarding place to be. And, the people are nice.

A strong willed environmental consciousness appears to be emerging in response to those who would develop this relatively pristine part of the coast. An epic battle in nearby San Simeon is unfolding around the fragile ecosystem of this area, with the California Coastal Commission currently working on a Local Coastal Plan in the face of a monstrous tourist resort proposal by the Hearst Corporation.

For details visit the Commission website.

8.5 miles north of Cambria's Moonstone are the breeding grounds for Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas beaches. These mammoth pinnipeds began arriving in 1989, and now have a colony of more than two thousand here. Once thought extinct, their reappearance has generated great excitement and crowds. Go to the beaches at San Simeon and Piedras Blancas.