Sunday is my only real day off, and it’s the same for my wife, Candice, so we almost always reserve the day for some serious leisure. By far, our favorite day trip to make involves a moderately early rise, rinse, and then we head north.
We don’t usually have more than a light snack for breakfast, because we’ve got our foodie plans—that’s for sure. We may stop for coffee in between Santa Maria and SLO, but we make a habit not to dawdle before we’re at least in Morro Bay.
You see, Highway 1 north of San Luis Obispo is a special place to our tastes. The lineup of Morro Bay, Cayucos, Harmony, and Cambria is exactly what we crave on those days when we want a road trip without hours of leg-numbing commute and plenty of stops to fun, kitschy, or boutique shops.
Cambria is the ultimate destination, but Cayucos is always a favorite stop along the way. The light breakfast was specifically so we would have belly room for a stop at A Deli and Pieman Pies. We’ve been going there ever since it was a tiny hole in the wall with plenty of American deli charm.
The shop has expanded over the last year, doubling the amount of room in the kitchen and the guest area, offering several tables for visitors to enjoy their burgers, cold sandwiches, and sweet baked confections. We, on the other hand, go for the pot pies. The crust is flaky on the outside and gooey with gravy on the inside. The turkey or the beef are always perfect, and after tasting one, you’ll never eat frozen pot pie from a box again.
With the contentedness that only pie can bring, it’s time to wander through some antique shops! Our favorite is the one just a few doors down from the Pieman’s Deli, adorned only with the white and red-lettered “Antiques” signage. We’ve wandered this shop at least a dozen times over the years, and have gone home happy with a beloved artifact after most visits. I’ve scored a resonant antique guitar there that is just perfect for an old-time country tune, and my wife can always find a cute pair of earrings in one of the glass cases.
I always spend most of my time, however, in the extensive book section. Unlike most visits, I had a specific title I was looking for, which I found within minutes. I was able to buy a great condition Dover Thrift Edition of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. I’ve wanted to read the book in preparation for PCPA’s upcoming musical production of the novel. The book was marked $5, but the entire book section was marked 50 percent off, so I walked away with the literary classic for a cool $2.50.
Back on Highway 1 and we’re headed toward Cambria, our favorite of favorites, but of course we stopped in Harmony. You can’t not stop in Harmony, especially if you’re a musician like my wife and me. If it’s only to visit the pottery and glass blowing shop, or to get a couple of selfies by the chapel door, Harmony is always worth a quick stop.
Once in Cambria, the options are many. We always start on the east side of old town, up the hill. If you take a right at Main Street, the first stoplight going into Cambria, you enjoy a picturesque, sloping drive into Cambria’s main drag including bed and breakfasts, inns, antique shops, boutiques, and restaurants.
It’s easy to while away most of the day in the antique shops alone in Cambria, but most of them do close by 5 p.m. on Sunday, so you can’t spend all day there. Antiques on Main is a huge shop, with two stories and a basement filled with the goods of yesteryear. They have an extensive section just for The Beatles memorabilia, a favorite of mine, but on this visit, we found a small wooden table complete with three levels of wine racks perfect for our tiny kitchen.
When it’s lunchtime in Cambria, there are lots of choices. We have plenty of favorites, but this time we chose a new place on Bridge Street, just off the main drag. The cute little cottage used to be an English tea room, complete with doilies and portraits of the royal family, but now it’s just called The Café. Two giant sandwiches were enough to feed my wife and me for the rest of the day. Their French dip was the best I’ve had in years, and the roast beef was made in house. When we do have room for dinner, however, we are partial to Linn’s and the incredibly fresh and flavorful food at the Thai restaurant Wild Ginger.
While the sun was still up, we made sure to get over to Cambria’s Moonstone Beach, which has sand unlike any other beach on the Central Coast. We spread a blanket and lay down in the sunlight, sifting through the colorful sand made up of polished stones and other detritus. While basking there, we cracked open Sense and Sensibility and I read it aloud to Candice, doing my best upper-class British voices while the surf swished and sloshed an almost musical accompaniment.
Arts Editor Joe Payne has learned a thing or two from Jane Austen. Reach him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 2-9, 2016.