Cambria is the antidote to stress

April 24, 2025

Opinion by Claudia Harmon Worthen

“I’m moving to Canada.” I’ve been hearing that a lot lately, along with the fuzzier, “I have to get away,” even as I try not to stress at the daily drip of bad news, the economic turmoil and the dismantling of the world I’ve known my whole life.

I was contemplating this as I looked at the ocean from my balcony high on a steep, piney Cambria slope. And I gave thanks that I’ve had the privilege of living in this unique town for 40 years.

Cambria is the antidote to stress. It’s a place to feel the rhythms of nature. The fog that rolls in like clockwork on summer evenings. The crash of winter waves. The migrating birds that pause every year and sing to us.

We locals have our rhythms too. Our town supports a year-round calendar of events, and one of them is coming up on Sunday, May 4, when Beautify Cambria is hosting its 9th annual Bee, Butterfly & Bat Faire. “May the fourth bee with you.”

Cambria Historical Museum, 2251 Center Street at Burton Drive, May 4, 11a.m. to 3 p.m. Attractions include:

●      Observation beehive with the queen

●      Stellaluna the pallid bat, in person

●      Presentations by bee, butterfly and bat experts

●      Flowerpot painting and planting

●      Seed ball-making workshop

●      Scavenger hunt with Star Wars-related prizes

●      Stunning pollinator photo gallery

●      Live music

Local vendors will be selling luscious local honeys, gifts, pollinator-friendly plants, mushroom compost, sharing gardening tips, delicious pulled pork & vegan food, and locally made mead, an ancient alcoholic drink made from honey.

Like most of Beautify Cambria’s programs, the faire was prompted by the desire to preserve Cambria’s natural (and man-made) treasures. Cambria is among the 20% of places in the world where the Milky Way is still visible.

So Beautify Cambria created its Dark Sky Initiative to preserve this precious resource by raising awareness of light pollution and its deleterious effects on humans and wildlife. Join us at a Beautify Cambria stargazing event. Hear expert presentations, see stunning images from deep space on a big outdoor screen. And connect with something vast, ancient and powerful.

One of the best places to see the sky and ocean together is the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve, particularly the Bluff Trail that follows the water’s edge. Close by, the smaller Greenspace Strawberry Canyon, filled with tall Monterey pines and gnarled coast live oaks, is the place to visit for an authentic Cambria forest experience.

Back in town, I’m always discovering new boutique stores filled with unique clothing, art, jewelry and giftware. There’s even a small store, Paws on Main, dedicated to rubber stamps. Restaurants range from casual to fine dining.

Visitors appreciate the redwood benches sprinkled throughout downtown, another Beautify Cambria project, created by a local artisan as not only functional resting places but natural street art. And Beautify Cambria is the only nonprofit in the country that maintains municipal trashcans. It’s worth a trip to Cambria to see these flower-topped trash/recycling/planter receptacles (pronounced “trippers”).

An eight-minute drive up the coast brings you to the village of San Simeon. There are plenty of food and drink venues, and an excellent coastal Discovery Center at San Simeon Bay.

Stolo winery on Santa Rosa Creek Road reminds visitors that Cambria is in wine country, as does Harmony Cellars, a small-batch winery just south of town on Route 1. Tiny Harmony is also home to the Harmony Glassworks, an art gallery with a large selection of handmade glass from around the world, and a studio with glass-blowing demonstrations.

I love that my small town can offer such a variety of natural and cultural amenities. Canada and all the other getaways have their charms, but I’m staying in Cambria.

Claudia Harmon Worthen is president of the Beautify Cambria Association.