Ride With Me

Yesterday afternoon John had to drive to Cambria. We lived there for nearly 30 years. Moved back to San Luis Obispo in August of 2007. We are both from San Luis, so it was like going home. San Luis is 30 miles south of Cambria on Highway One. If you kept going north up Highway One you would go to Hearst Castle and in about another hour and a half....an hour and a half of winding and winding ...you would find youself in beautiful and beloved Big Sur. We both LOVE Big Sur. Who doesn't?

It felt kind of funny being back in Cambria yesterday. I have only been back twice since we moved and both times I was in the village. Not our old neighborhood. Driving through a place where you used to live feels odd. I have never really had that feeling cause we have lived in Cambria all our married life. We moved there right after we both graduated from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.Got married, moved to Cambria and never gave it another thought. We drove past our old house and I remembered how much I loved living there. There are alot more houses now, but other than that it felt the same. I remembered the giant vegetable garden that I had. All the pumpkins and tomatoes and corn and herbs galore. Even with the deer, I managed to have a wonderful garden. I guess there was enough for everybody. I looked up at the porch and remembered how I had it covered... top to bottom with all the pumpkins I grew that year. 57 of 'em. I looked at the window that our Christmas tree stood in. Remembered getting ready to go to a Christmas party across the street. All excited, all the houses glowing in their Christmas lights. Woodsmoke in the air. You could see it curling through the pines from the houses on the hill.I remembered sitting on top of my bed during the late afternoons waiting for the sun to sink into the Pacific ocean....my kitty Schuggie laying next to me...and I was always reading a cookbook. My crockpot on the drainboard bubbling away with something ...and a can of cream of celery..my favorite at the time. Come to think of it..cream of celery is still a
favorite.
Cambria is remote...and small. There is no Safeway or movie theaters or Starbucks or Jamba Juice or Barnes and Noble or Trader Jo's or Food 4 Less. But what is there is peace and quite and nature. It is a different way of life. And I liked it. And I like it here too. I remember my mom used to say to me.."wherever you are...just make your spot." And she was right. If I live in Cambria or San Francisco or Los Angeles or..San Luis Obispo...wherever I have lived..I've loved. Cause you just "make your spot."