Shopping

Shopping is a major pastime in the village. Boutique owners are hypersavvy about keeping their merchandise current -- and priced just a hair lower than L.A. or San Francisco. This close-knit community has always attracted artists and artisans. For the finest handcrafted glass artworks, from affordable jewelry to investment-scale sculpture, head to Seekers Collection & Gallery, 4090 Burton Dr. (tel. 800/841-5250; www.seekersglass.com). Nearby, at Moonstones Gallery, 4070 Burton Dr. (tel. 800/424-3827; www.moonstones.com), you'll find a selection of works ranging from woven crafts to jewelry and an exceptional collection of woodcarvings and other crafts. The shopping highlight of the West Village is Home Arts, 727 Main St. (tel. 805/927-2781; www.home-arts.com), which offers an appealingly eclectic mix of country and contemporary home fashions and gifts. If a visit to the nearby Paso Robles wine country has inspired you, Fermentations, 4056 Burton Dr. (tel. 800/446-7505; www.fermentations.com), has wines, wine accessories, and gifts, plus Wine Country gourmet goodies open for tasting. Heart's Ease, 4101 Burton Dr. (tel. 800/266-4372 or 805/927-5224), is inside a historic cottage and is packed with an abundance of garden delights, apothecary herbs, and custom-blended potpourris.

If Cambria has aroused your artistic instincts, a few miles south is another tiny artists' colony, called Harmony.