Moonstones

One of my favorite vacation spots is Moonstone Beach Drive in Cambria.  For those who don’t know, Cambria is half-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco, close to Hearst Castle and close to the beach where you can witness elephant seals giving birth.  I first ventured to Cambria for those reasons, but I don’t return for those reasons.  Instead, I make yearly pilgrimages to Cambria because, in a sense, when I go there, I go home to myself.

Cambria gives me something I don’t get anywhere else.  It gives me a chance to breathe differently - slower, more completely.  It allows me a chance to be someone different - someone on vacation who doesn’t have to take care of anyone, who doesn’t have phone calls to make, meals to cook, or errands to run.

In addition, staying in a hotel on Moonstone Beach Drive means the ocean is my neighbor.  It lulls me to sleep, wakes me in the morning, and accompanies me while I write on the balcony of my hotel room.  Nothing soothes my soul quite the way the ocean does.  (Maybe it’s a Pisces thing). 

Around my left wrist, I wear a silver bangle with three stones - moonstones.  Two of the moonstones are adjacent to each other, the third moonstone is on the other side.  The bangle was a Mother’s Day present, the moonstones a perfect representation of my husband, my son, and myself.

Moonstones are indeed found on Cambria’s beaches.  Some say the moonstone is a gem for lovers; some say it is a gemstone good for the wearer - good for introspection, good for meditation, good for inner strength.  Cambria is all those things for me.  It is the only place where I can slow down, focus on me, regain a sense of peace.  

The bangle encircling my wrist is a beautiful representation of our family.  And while my family provides me with joy and tenderness, warmth and delight, they are also a source of exhaustion and frustration, worry and work.  It is the other Moonstone I rely on to get me back in balance.